Methodological guidelines to investigate altered states of consciousness and anomalous experiences
Abstract
Anomalous experiences (AE) (uncommon experiences or one that is believed to deviate from the usually accepted explanations of reality: hallucinations, synesthesia, experiences interpreted as telepathic…) and altered states of consciousness (ASC) have been described in all societies of all ages. Even so, scientists have long neglected the studies on this theme. To study AE and ASC is not necessary to share the beliefs we explore, they can be investigated as subjective experiences and correlated with other data, like any other human experience. This article presents some methodological guidelines to investigate these experiences, among them: to avoid dogmatic prejudice and to 'pathologize' the unusual; the value of a theory and a comprehensive literature review; to utilize a variety of criteria for pathology and normality; the investigation of clinical and non-clinical populations; development of new appropriate research instruments; to be careful to choose the wording to describe the AE; to distinguished the lived experience from its interpretations; to take into account the role of culture; to evaluate the validity and reliability of reports and, last but not least, creativity and diversity in choosing methods.
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Mental health professionals do not generally receive adequate training to address the R/S aspects of their patients, including experiences of possession, which is important for avoiding erroneous diagnoses and iatrogenic symptoms.
“Still, mental health professionals do not generally receive adequate training to address the R/S aspects of their patients,38 including experiences of possession, which would be of paramount importance for avoiding erroneous diagnoses and iatrogenic symptoms.37,39”
From How psychiatrists think about religious and spiritual beliefs in clinical practice: findings from a university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil (2019) · cites this paper as [38]
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- Authors
- Moreira-Almeida, A., & Lotufo-Neto, F.
- Affiliations
- Research Center in Spirituality and Health (NUPES), School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, Brazil;
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil
- Venue
- International Review of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-02-17
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 283-292
- ISSN
- 0954-0261 (ISSN-L)
- 1369-1627
- OpenAlex
- W2588142513
- Semantic Scholar
- 0b9fd073e1fb987124a43d10e83febb4ab202c1b
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 5.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Review of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
- Keywords
- altered states of consciousness, anomalous experiences, hallucinations, synesthesia, telepathy, research methodology, research tools
- MeSH terms
- Synesthesia, Consciousness Disorders, Hallucinations, Humans, Perceptual Disorders, Telepathy, Guidelines as Topic, Biomedical Research
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