“It’s Chaos and Peace”: Unexpected Mediumship Awakenings After the Loss of a Loved One, and Implications for Mental Health Practice
Lenore E. Matthew
Hawaii, United States of America
Ample research has explored the phenomenon of mediumship with most literature centering on “born” mediums, or those who have been aware of their abilities from early on in life. Sudden awakenings of mediumship in adulthood have been less explored, and when they are, tend to be in the context of near-death experiences or, to a lesser extent, the end of one’s own life.
In a related vein, studies on the afterlife have explored receiving signs from deceased loved ones and sensing their presence after death. There has been less consideration, however, of awakenings of a bereaved person’s mediumship—a deeper, more interactive experience than receiving signs or sensing a deceased person.
The aim of this study, therefore, is to understand the phenomenon of unexpected mediumship awakenings after the loss of a loved one. This study was inspired by the lived experience of the author, a researcher/practitioner and professional working medium, whose ability suddenly awoke when her late husband passed away.
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Dr. Lenore Matthew holds a Ph.D. in Social Work with expertise in program evaluation as well as trauma and grief. She is also a trained evidential psychic medium. Her ability of mediumship suddenly opened up in 2020, when her late husband took his own life. Previously, Dr. Matthew worked as a research and evaluation specialist with international humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations. Today, Dr. Matthew has a private practice where she melds her mediumship, research, and personal experience to help others heal through trauma, traumatic loss, and grief. She does so through educational trainings, demonstrations of mediumship, and research on the effects of mediumship on trauma and grief survivors’ health and well-being.
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Program chaired by Jacob W. Glazier. Download the Abstracts at https://parapsych.org/uploaded_files/pdfs/00/00/00/01/26/2023_pa_abstracts_of_presented_papers.pdf
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Published on January 29, 2025
