SPIRIT RECOGNITION
I have worked in acute psychiatry for two decades now, I practice psychotherapy. The contextual setting of my practice is currently spent between two acute inpatient psychiatric hospitals. There is absolutely nothing anyone can tell me or show me that will surprise me or that I will ever doubt as I have been afforded the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant humans beings. In my downtime one of my favourite hobbies is researching and delving deeper into the paranormal.
Approximately two weeks ago I ventured into an old house up the hill and across the street from where I live. I have always felt an unsettled energy when walking or driving past this particular house for nearly fourteen years now. It has been abandoned here on the hill for well over forty years. Like I said, approximately two weeks ago I went into the house by myself for an informal investigation. While in the house I snapped a few pictures, yet they came out completely black at the time. After I got home I discovered images in two of the photographs (pictures not supplied with story). I had my EVP and EMF meters with me and decided to use them. What I received through my EVP was a little boy by the name of “Mathew” who lived there along with his Father “Philip” and his Mother “Sonja”. “Mathew” told me he died by choking on a sponge one morning when his Mother and Father were outback gardening. “Mathew” went on to provide me with words as ground, sponge, drowned, Mother, Father, sorry and regret. Of course at the time I felt all this to be quite peculiar having nothing to connect these words with and not giving this experience another thought.
13 days later.
I was conducting a standard psychiatric interview at one of hospitals I currently work at, which since the beginning of my career as a psychotherapist I have administered thousands of these interviews. The patients’ name (of course all names have been changed because of patient confidentiality) is Terri. Terri is a twenty seven year old single female who has never been married and just recently relocated here from Montana. Terri had a child out of wedlock while a sophomore at college, the child is in the custody of her parents. Terri describes her child as uncontrollable and difficult to manage.
This was Terri’s first acute psychiatric admission. Terri’s initial presenting problem to the emergency department was “gross internal disorganisation, inability to care for herself and walking in traffic”. Terri was bought to the emergency department by the Police department. Terri also has Epilepsy and had reportedly had seven or eight Grand Mall seizures approximately forty eight hours before being found walking in traffic.
My first thought after having gathered this information was that this was not a mental health crisis yet rather a neurological crisis, nevertheless Terri was admitted directly from the emergency department to the inpatient acute psychiatric unit for observation and medical stabilisation.
During the interview Terri presented quite foggy in affect. Flat and vacant providing a flagrant difficulty accessing information as well as pulling information out of and was presenting as quite the unreliable historian. Both Terri’s UDS (Urine Drug Screen) and blood work came back unremarkable which is an indication that none of her behaviour was drug induced. I decided to come back the following day given Terri’s drastic recent change in mental status and inability to properly engage in a psychiatric interview.
The following day Terri presented remarkably clearer and medically stable with absolutely no recollection of the events that led to the Police being called and being admitted to the emergency department for “bizarre behaviour in the community”. We went through the standard intake questions all of which was congruent with what the emergency department Social worker was able to gather after having spoken to her parents in Montana.
Terri had suffered from Epilepsy since she was eight, she is unable to work due to her Epilepsy yet takes care of a friends (Terri’s word) little boy from time to time for extra money to supplement her Social Security Disability income. Toward the end of the interview I always ask the question about spiritual care and religious orientation. Terri went on to tell me she had been seeing a spiritual advisor/counsellor/friend who had the name of “Sonja” for the last seven years and it was “Sonja’s” son “Mathew” who Terri watches after to earn extra money.
