Induced After Death Communication (IADC)
What is an ADC?
The term After-Death Communication, or ADC, refers to the spontaneous experience of perceiving the presence of a deceased loved one. This may be a felt presence, the sense of a touch, a familiar smell, seeing or hearing the person you love, dreams that feel like "more than dreams," or a symbolic "sign." These communications can involve any of the senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, knowing. These experiences are frequently-reported and naturally-occurring phenomenon.
In my book The Chakras in Grief and Trauma, I share many stories clients have told me as well as some of my own experiences in sensing and perceiving connections with loved ones. In my therapy practice, I hear many different stories from grieving people sharing encounters and ways that they feel and believe their loved ones are communicating with them. After Death Communication phenomena occur across cultures and have been documented for thousands of years.
In my book The Chakras in Grief and Trauma, I share many stories clients have told me as well as some of my own experiences in sensing and perceiving connections with loved ones. In my therapy practice, I hear many different stories from grieving people sharing encounters and ways that they feel and believe their loved ones are communicating with them. After Death Communication phenomena occur across cultures and have been documented for thousands of years.
The IADC Process
IADC Therapy (Induced After Death Communication) generally involves two ninety minute sessions on two consecutive days. Sometimes a third session is agreed upon between client and practitioner. The therapeutic process focuses on reducing and processing emotional distress (fear, anxiety, deep sadness) associated with grief by using a modified protocol of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) therapy. Once a degree of resolution of distress is achieved, a state of openness and receptivity is cultivated. In this open and receptive state, most clients perceive a deep and loving connection with their beloved dead through one or more of the five senses, similar to the types of communications mentioned above, or through some other sense-of-presence perception. The experience is highly personal and individual.
IADC has shown to be most effective for those whose loved one has died at least a year prior to the session. In some cases, a person who experienced a loss 6 to 12 months prior to treatment can have a successful IADC session depending on your unique circumstances. If you have experienced your loss within the last 6 months, please wait to pursue IADC. Support and grief counseling will still be helpful and I encourage you to seek out and take advantage of those supports at any point in your grief journey. Conversely, it also makes no difference if a lot of time has passed since the death of your loved one, IADC can be helpful.
Clients who undergo successful IADC experiences report significant reduction of their previous levels of distress associated with the death of their loved one. They frequently report resolution of unsettled issues in the relationship with their beloved, or their deaths, and feelings of reassurance of their loved one’s wellbeing and continued existence. Perhaps most meaningfully, however, clients report experiencing a deep sense of connection with their loved ones and a transformation in the painful and persistent sense of separation.
Although most clients believe in the authenticity of their induced ADCs in this technique, existing beliefs play no role in the efficacy of the treatment, and IADC Therapy does not suggest a source for the experience. A client who believes the phenomenon is spiritual in nature can receive the same healing benefit as one who believes it is neurobiologically—based or otherwise explained.
IADC has shown to be most effective for those whose loved one has died at least a year prior to the session. In some cases, a person who experienced a loss 6 to 12 months prior to treatment can have a successful IADC session depending on your unique circumstances. If you have experienced your loss within the last 6 months, please wait to pursue IADC. Support and grief counseling will still be helpful and I encourage you to seek out and take advantage of those supports at any point in your grief journey. Conversely, it also makes no difference if a lot of time has passed since the death of your loved one, IADC can be helpful.
Clients who undergo successful IADC experiences report significant reduction of their previous levels of distress associated with the death of their loved one. They frequently report resolution of unsettled issues in the relationship with their beloved, or their deaths, and feelings of reassurance of their loved one’s wellbeing and continued existence. Perhaps most meaningfully, however, clients report experiencing a deep sense of connection with their loved ones and a transformation in the painful and persistent sense of separation.
Although most clients believe in the authenticity of their induced ADCs in this technique, existing beliefs play no role in the efficacy of the treatment, and IADC Therapy does not suggest a source for the experience. A client who believes the phenomenon is spiritual in nature can receive the same healing benefit as one who believes it is neurobiologically—based or otherwise explained.
Research on IADC
A control group-design research study, Effects of Induced After-Death Communication on Grief, was conducted at the University of North Texas by Dr. Jan Holden et al. Participants who underwent IADC were shown to have benefited significantly over those who received conventional treatment. Click here to read this study in Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement. A research study on the IADC Grief Questionnaire was conducted by Dr. Claudio Lalla in Italy. Click here to read the results of Dr. Lalla’s study. And a new study by Dr. Tom Nehmy has been approved to begin at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Click here to learn more about Dr. Nehmy’s study.
Learn More About IADC
Beginnings:
Now retired, Dr. Allan Botkin first developed IADC Therapy in 1995 while working at the Chicago Veterans Administration Hospital. Learn more about his pioneering work at induced-adc.com. Dr. Botkin’s book, Induced After Death Communication: A Miraculous Therapy for Grief and Loss, offers an in-depth account of the discovery and development of IADC Therapy.
You can read more about Dr. Botkin and IADC at the Induced After Death Communication official site.
Documentary Film:
The award-winning documentary film Living With Ghosts, by writing and director Stephen Berkley, following a widow's grief journey as she finds her way to participating in IADC therapy as part of the research study mentioned above at the University of North Texas.
Now retired, Dr. Allan Botkin first developed IADC Therapy in 1995 while working at the Chicago Veterans Administration Hospital. Learn more about his pioneering work at induced-adc.com. Dr. Botkin’s book, Induced After Death Communication: A Miraculous Therapy for Grief and Loss, offers an in-depth account of the discovery and development of IADC Therapy.
You can read more about Dr. Botkin and IADC at the Induced After Death Communication official site.
Documentary Film:
The award-winning documentary film Living With Ghosts, by writing and director Stephen Berkley, following a widow's grief journey as she finds her way to participating in IADC therapy as part of the research study mentioned above at the University of North Texas.