What the Psychic Showed Me - The New York Times

 "I realized that in acknowledging our grief so openly — sharing that vulnerability and bearing witness to the details of the lives of the people we all missed so dearly — there was healing. There was a kind of communion that came from stepping out of the isolation of our individual griefs and into a realization that loss is a universal experience.

I still remained unconvinced of the claims of psychics, but my interest was piqued by the way different views of the afterlife can affect the process of grieving."

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"Grief can be a long, arduous process. Plenty of research suggests that the greatest factor in alleviating the pain of grief is simply the passage of time. Again and again, though, I see a healing shift occur in people who feel that they have found a way to remain close to someone they’ve lost. This seems to allow people to accept their loss better, and find consolation in the idea that they are still connected.

How a visit to a psychic medium measures up against more conventional methods of alleviating grief — like anti-depressants, psychotherapy or empty-chair Gestalt technique — no longer concerns me. I do not recommend that all of my clients attend a reading, but I believe that for those who feel open to the idea, there can be value in the experience."


What the Psychic Showed Me - The New York Times