By now you’ve probably been expecting the second half of my feature on working with children and families, but as GHPS hosted a meet & greet over the weekend, a different subject inspired me to ask the following question: How important is bedside manner?
There are several ways to answer this question, all dependent on the variables. Surgeons are often stereotyped as lacking bedside manner –after all, their patient is unconscious for most of the work involved.
Paranormal investigators are not required to have a bedside manner; after all, a majority of the field is full of people who tinker with equipment and believe in some gray area between physiological life and the metaphysical “afterlife.” What does it matter if you lack the basic ability to convey empathy?
GHPS works differently. Bedside manner, for one, is at the core of how we do business. Being a therapist, I work on a day-to-day basis with people; to bring my skills in how I interact with clients on an investigation is beyond second nature; it is imperative. Whether my logical brain has evidence to support a haunting or not, I operate with the understanding that something is causing the client distress, and whether it’s a spirit or high EMF causing illness, those feelings are to be respected.
My bedside manner when it involved a possible spirit, however, hasn’t always been as thoughtful. I’ve investigated with people who berate or provoke, and I’ve tried those techniques only to find they don’t fit me or my way of communicating with people. I have since adopted my own style, which is much like how I communicated with anyone else; understanding with a small side of friendly sarcasm.
What do you mean? It’s a ghost, right? Who cares?
As Crystal and Michael discussed at our meeting over the weekend, people often don’t realize that spirits are still people. They were once alive and, if you believe in a metaphysical “afterlife,” still are. Would you provoke flesh and blood if it could swing back at you?
Spirits and those who are troubled by them both deserve respect and empathy. While this may seem like a radical approach, I challenge you to question why more groups do not do the same. Provocation may generate “evidence,” but there is seemingly no link between agitation and increased paranormal activity. That’s all Hollywood. GHPS holds itself to different standards because we are asked into people’s homes to try and help solve a problem.
Bedside manner needs to take a more active stance in paranormal investigation. While there is no 100% right way to conduct an investigation, I do feel if more people were to consider how they communicate while “on the hunt,” it would generate a more positive framework for the field to become recognized and respected.
