Should I Share: Patients’ Reflections on Disclosing Past Life Memories in Psychotherapy

People who have had past life memories often hesitate to bring them up in therapy, fearing they will be pathologized. When they do disclose, therapist responses vary from validating to dismissive, and dismissive reactions can harm the therapeutic alliance and even cause iatrogenic harm. Based on interviews with 15 individuals who had past life memories outside of therapy, the study introduces the concept of Spiritual-Psychoeducation as a framework for respectfully integrating such experiences into treatment. The findings suggest that clinicians need greater sensitivity to anomalous spiritual experiences as meaningful elements of psychological healing.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Spirituality has gained increasing legitimacy in psychotherapy; however, certain spiritual experiences, such as past life memories, remain marginalized in clinical settings. These experiences often arise outside therapy and may hold deep existential meaning for individuals, yet patients frequently hesitate to disclose them in conventional psychotherapy for fear of being pathologized. This qualitative study examines how individuals who experienced past life memories outside therapy decided whether to share them during psychotherapy, how therapists responded, and how these responses influenced the therapeutic process. Fifteen participants who had undergone conventional psychotherapy were interviewed using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The findings reveal that participants perceived their experiences as vivid and transformative, yet many refrained from sharing them due to concerns about stigma and clinical judgment. When disclosures occurred, therapist responses ranged from validating to dismissive, at times resulting in iatrogenic harm affecting the therapeutic alliance and patients’ willingness to continue. Participants expressed a desire for therapeutic spaces that could respectfully engage with spiritually meaningful experiences. The study introduces the concept of Spiritual-Psychoeducation as a potential framework for supporting the integration of such narratives in therapy. These findings suggest a need for expanded clinical sensitivity to anomalous spiritual experiences, divine gifts within the therapeutic process, as meaningful elements of psychological healing.