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Experiencing the continued presence of the deceased is common among the bereaved, whether as a sensory perception or as a felt presence. This phenomenon has been researched from psychological and psychiatric perspectives during the last five decades. Such experiences have been also documented in the ethnographic literature but, despite the extensive cross-cultural research in the area, anthropological data has generally not been considered in the psychological literature about this phenomenon. This paper provides an overview aimed at bridging these two areas of knowledge, and approaches the post-bereavement perception or hallucination of the deceased in cultural context. Ongoing debates are addressed from the vantage point of ethnographic and clinical case study research focusing on the cultural repertoires (in constant flux as cultures change) from which these experiences are labelled as desirable and normal, on the one hand, or as dangerous and pathological, on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person-centred therapy, a therapeutic modality situated within the humanistic-existential approach, continues to be a key form of psychological intervention eight decades after its foundation. The ideas of its main founder, Carl Rogers, have been central in the development of psychotherapy research and practice as we know it today, within the boundaries of the humanistic-existential approach and beyond. First, the article introduces the psychopathological and psychotherapeutic theory that underlie the person-centred approach. It then focuses on recent developments within Rogerian theory, as well as on research on person-centred therapy conducted to date. After reviewing some ongoing debates in the field, from a 21st century perspective, the article concludes by reflecting on the current situation of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes three linked reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, a mix of pragmatic change and reflection that can be seen as action research. Our case studies, stories, come from the UK, Spain and Ecuador and describe three different but overlapping actions all focused on making available or using online questionnaires and drawing on counselling, psychology and psychotherapy ideas and practices and technological solutions to help address the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown. We believe these experiences have implications for our professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bereaved people frequently report perceiving the continued presence of the person they lost in the form of a voice, a vision, a felt presence or any other sensory perception. This report explores this psychological phenomenon, experiences of presence, using narrative interviewing and analysis. Ten people were interviewed, in English or Spanish, using a biographical narrative procedure. The analysis, part of a project focused on unwelcome continued presences, was focused on the sources of distress, ambivalence and comfort reported in participant narratives on their experiences, as well as on the sociocultural processes influencing them. Identified properties were grouped into nine categories, with this report being primarily focused on sources related to distress, or ambivalence, and their relevance for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the similarities between humanistic (and existential) psychotherapy, represented here by the ideas of Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm and Irvin Yalom, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Despite the ongoing dialogue between both therapies during the last decade, regarding both their convergences and divergences, there is a gap in the literature concerning their complementarity in clinical practice. This analysis addresses this gap with the integrative (or pluralistic) clinician in mind, and approximates a theoretical and practical integration anchored upon the transtheoretical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Experiences of presence, involving the sensory perception or felt presence of the deceased, are common amongst the bereaved (30–60%). Despite them being predominantly comforting and reassuring, a minority (approximately 25%) report ambivalent or distressing experiences. The study's aim was to explore how psychotherapy is practised with this subset. Method: A mixed‐method approach, involving both quantitative analysis and thematic analysis, was used to analyse data from an online survey, conducted in English and Spanish, amongst mental health therapists (i.e., psychologists, psychotherapists, and counsellors). Seventy responded to the survey and four of them were further interviewed. Results: The participants primarily framed interventions for ambivalent‐to‐distressing experiences of presence as grief therapy, with the severity of the presentation as the main factor influencing their clinical decision‐making, but several perspectives co‐existed regarding how to intervene. These discourses were categorized into two themes: 'A normalising and exploratory psychotherapy' and 'A grief stages psychotherapy'. The main sources of patient's distress, as understood by the sample, were located in the bereaved–departed relationship, in pre‐existing mental health issues, and in a societal taboo or stigma. Conclusion: After comparing and contrasting the participants' working hypotheses with existing knowledge on experiences of presence, and contemporary theories in the research area, guidelines are presented on how to intervene with people disturbed by their experiences of presence. Practitioner points: Perceiving the deceased person, or feeling their presence, is common and normal amongst bereaved people.When these experiences are distressing or ambivalent, therapists' share that psychological suffering may originate from the departed–bereaved relationship, pre‐existing mental health issues, or the effect of societal taboo or stigma.Psychotherapy is frequently aimed at normalizing, accepting, supporting, and exploring patient's experience [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]