PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS
“There are extra issues in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – “Hamlet”
So it might be in psychiatry. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, apparently in an afterlife, and realizes there are issues not but understood about human beings.
So it’s with me after studying 2 books advisable to me by Al Simon, after which doing my very own analysis as nicely, resembling studying a later e-book Brian Weiss on the afterlife.1 I attempted to cowl what I discovered and thought in a number of columns final week. What now do I conclude figuratively and actually?
As many who’ve studied parapsychology have come to know, and as coated within the January 3, 2025, article within the New York Occasions “Do You Imagine in Life After Loss of life? These Scientists Research It,” you threat wanting silly, irrational, or “doing the work of the satan” should you accomplish that.2 Maybe that’s the reason I didn’t follow-up on my early profession curiosity in parapsychology till now.
Nonetheless, the associated subjects are intriguing and have additionally made their means into the humanities, as within the poetry of Walt Whitman, particularly his 1855 “Music of Myself” with traces like this one:
“(I’m giant; I comprise multitudes)”
In our time, there are associated motion pictures resembling “Previous Lives” (2023), “Soul” (2020), and Bob Dylan’s track which can be a tribute to Whitman, titled “I Comprise Multitudes.”
Parapsychology Surveys
We at Psychiatric Occasions determined to do our personal ballot of psychiatric opinions about some facets of parapsychology, these facets outdoors of the standard parameters of mainstream psychology and psychiatry. The ballot was posted on June 20, 2025, and titled “Ballot: Do You Imagine in an Afterlife?”
Though the variety of responders was comparatively small, the outcomes have some preliminary curiosity. Trending was that about half believed in an afterlife, however about half additionally didn’t imagine in previous lives. Maybe that’s not shocking provided that the most important Western religions of Christianity and Islam typically emphasize an afterlife in a Heaven, however not previous lives nor reincarnation. The responses to the opposite questions trended that half completely imagine that speaking about dying helps relieve undue dying anxiousness, and that greater than half speak to their sufferers about dying.
For the general public, a 2023 Pew analysis survey discovered that about quarter discovered it seemingly that individuals who died may very well be reincarnated.3
Scientific research of those associated subjects are comparatively few. Probably the most outstanding tutorial heart to take action has been on the College of Virginia, established and led by the Division of Psychiatry’s previous Chairman, the late Ian Stevenson.4 Nonetheless, even that heart was positioned off the primary psychiatric campus. The September 1977 challenge of the Journal of Nervous and Psychological Illness targeted on analysis on reincarnation.5 It famous the standard and meticulousness work of Dr Stevenson, however nonetheless ended with questions concerning the reliability and validity of the hundreds upon hundreds of consultant instances. Focusing extra on youngsters who appeared to attach with a previous life, Stevenson typically was suspicious about any use of the hypnotic regression that was utilized by the psychiatrist Brian Weiss and others.
Regression Remedy, Loss of life Remedy, and Development Remedy
The newer e-book by Dr Weiss mentioned his development into the way forward for sufferers, the general public, and himself, together with the long run in his hypnotic regressions of sufferers and teams. He famous that right here verification was about unattainable as a result of in contrast to previous occasions, there was not any risk about checking the reality, however as a substitute might produce a self-fulfilling prophecy. He famous, although, that future predictions have been widespread in historical past and that in Greek mythology, Cassandra was not believed, with disastrous outcomes. There are additionally the obvious precognition skills of some to anticipate the long run appropriately.
Over time, Dr Weiss got here to imagine that it was potential to typically have the long run altered when it was envisioned. That alternative can apparently embody selecting our dad and mom and companions for what we have to work on in a given lifetime on this world. In processing his personal previous lives, Dr Weiss reported discovering that his soul was in a Czech resistance fighter who was killed early in World Conflict II, and far earlier as a priest in historic Babylonia—eerily not all that completely different from what I’ve sensed for myself, although mine come from the persevering with presence of serendipities. Certainly, growing analysis by one other tutorial psychiatrist and others on the sooner ideas of Carl Jung and the brand new ideas of quantum physics appear to affirm the contribution that serendipities and synchronicity could make to understanding the aim of 1’s life now and prolonged.6
Regardless of the rising scientific affirmation that there’s prone to be life after dying,7 these conclusions are prone to carry some disbelief. In that case, of what common worth could also be these issues of previous lives, the right way to die, and afterlives, regardless of the reality could also be? If there may be reality concerning the incidence of previous lives and future lives, it’s prone to change our conception of ourselves, considerably like the invention of our unconscious did. Although lots of Freud’s particular concepts concerning the unconscious now appear questionable, that now we have an unconscious that influences our instant responsiveness appears indeniable. One problem, although, is whether or not and the way the unconscious will get intertwined with previous lives creativeness.
Regardless, perception in previous lives might present a larger sense of goal for every of us. This sense of goal—divine or in any other case—can be a aim of many different ideas of the which means of life. They embody: the ever common e-book about discovering which means even within the focus camps by psychiatrist Viktor Frankl8; the e-book from a Swiss psychoanalyst about studying extra about ourselves as we age that was advisable to me by a colleague9; and the social psychiatric life levels of the Erikson’s, the place a ninth stage of returning to fundamental belief was added by Erik’s spouse Joan.10 All we will conclude for positive is that this life will finish, however maybe what we name our souls has—and can—proceed in a possible unification of previous, current, and the long run with regardless of the final vitality supply of life on this and different dimensions could also be. Or we’re left with the unknowns of unique creation and the method of evolution. That there are psychiatrists at completely different locations and instances who’ve independently come to comparable conclusions might present its personal meaningfulness.
Why is all this hypothesis crucial? Up to now, that final reply is unclear; my private tackle it’s that it’s a grand experiment to see if these breakout souls of ours can contribute to extra of our optimistic traits: compassion, empathy, nonviolence, amongst different issues that can ultimately result in a extra superb world future that’s envisioned in lots of Dr Weiss’s giant group hypnotic periods. Maybe what that is getting at is a convergence of numerous non secular and religious ideas: karma, reincarnation, heaven and hell, paradise, and different short-term or lasting locations to the souls. It might be the place good deeds on this life converge with therapeutic in later or earlier lives. Certainly, it seems that previous life regression generally is a cheap possibility when requirements therapies are usually not working. Fairly startling if true, isn’t it? I informed you earlier this would possibly all seem to be an unbelievable fantasy or want. I personally am left with questioning awe in my very own outdated age, which will be therapeutic in itself.
Whether or not true or not, it supplies a a lot wider timeframe on our personal life, a lot completely different than that of genetic ancestry, as personally useful as that could be. Trendy ancestry connections present sure facets of bodily identities, however not what the lives of these connections have been like and meant.
I suppose that all of us have the chance to attempt to check these prospects out for ourselves by going to a good and skilled supply on this space, just like the psychiatrist Brian Weiss, although I’m not recommending that. I do suggest rigorously exploring this subject material. The quite a few case research within the books by Dr Weiss and others are fascinating, nearly like thriller brief tales.
Whether or not it’s simply academic curiosity, looking for previous lives and private therapeutic in regression remedy, dying remedy as within the periodic processing of dying and the trials of psychedelics for undue dying anxiousness, or development remedy for projected future lives, the essential precept is private autonomy guided by skilled experience in our quest for all times’s which means and therapeutic. Are you curious about that for your self or your sufferers?
Addendum: The psychiatrist Brian Weiss, the creator of two of the books I learn (and plenty of extra) previewed this column earlier than publication and reported no considerations with the content material.
Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialised within the cultural and moral facets of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a personal professional bono neighborhood psychiatrist. A prolific author and speaker, he has carried out a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Every day Information” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to obtain the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Affiliation for Social Psychiatry. Beforehand, he acquired the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Affiliation, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Meeting of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the Nationwide Alliance for the Mentally Sick in 1991. He offered the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, Might 19, 2024. He’s an advocate and activist for psychological well being points associated to local weather instability, doctor burnout, and xenophobia. He’s now enhancing the ultimate e-book in a 4-volume collection on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Jap Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Occasions.
References
1. Weiss B. Similar Soul, Many Our bodies: Uncover the Therapeutic Energy of Future Lives By Development Remedy. Free Press; 2024.
2. Solomon S. Do you imagine in life after dying? these scientists research it. New York Occasions. January 3, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/fashion/virginia-dops-reincarnation.html
3. Spirituality amongst Individuals. Pew Analysis Middle. December 7, 2023. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/faith/2023/12/07/spirituality-among-americans/
4. Arehart-Treichel J. Psychiatrist explores world past ‘regular.’ Psychiatric Information. 2004;39(23).
5. Brody EB. Analysis in reincarnation and editorial duty: an editorial. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1977;165(3):151.
6. Beitman B. Life-Altering Synchronicities: A Physician’s Journey of Coincidence & Serendipity. Park Road Press; 2025.
7. Moreira-Almeida A, Costa M, Coelho H. Science of Life After Loss of life. Springer; 2022.
8. Frankl V. Man’s Seek for That means. Beacon Press; 2006.
9. Quinodoz D. Rising Outdated: A Journey of Self-Discovery. Routledge; 2009.
10. Erikson E, Erickson J. The Life Cycle Accomplished (prolonged ed.). W.W. Norton & Firm; 1998.
