Ever since I was a very young man, I have traveled all over the country looking for answers to the dark mysteries of the paranormal. I have learned different techniques, standards, and levels of the paranormal world over the years. What has always remained the most important to me is giving the highest level of customer service, empathy, and comparison to self that goes along with helping those deal with the paranormal. By helping find solutions and alternatives in dealing with issues and concerns of paranormal incidents with clients and customers, you give them hope and a deeper understanding of what is going on. Also by giving the client or customer alternatives in faith solutions and practices you help personalize the experience.
Some years ago I decided to stop going solo and join a paranormal group in order to broaden my horizons. Upon entering the group I found that a lot of focus was put onto technical equipment. Very little time was spent understanding what level or area of the paranormal that each case was dealing with, very little research was done, and very little empathy was given to the client or customer. This in turn made the customer feel overwhelmed and intimidated. I found that the group I was in was only interested in collecting evidence so that it could be shared with other groups and on their website. As we walked away from each case, the client or customer was left wondering what to do, because no solution was given to their problem. The group had merely accrued evidence and simply walked away.
I had to find out if this was normal practice with other paranormal groups. I started reaching out to other paranormal groups across the country and asked them how they conducted their cases. I was amazed at how many of them had “borrowed” each others techniques and practices in dealing with cases. Very little was ever mentioned of the client or customer, only referred to as cases. So, in order to rectify this, I started my own group. We focused very little on technology and focused more on the client and how to resolve their paranormal issues. We also received training from law enforcement on legal practices when investigating, techniques on collecting data, and professionalism in presenting evidence. Most importantly we reached out to those who have been in various fields of research dealing with the paranormal for many years, understanding and learning about different levels of the paranormal. All of this was in order to build contact relationships and better customer service.
Another aspect we learned to do was to involve the mental health field by way of psychologists and therapists. Most common with paranormal cases is the fact that experiences with the paranormal causes stress and often times ending with bad relationships in the home and abuse. Other times, cases dealt with clients or customers who were dealing with mental issues themselves. Recognizing the signs of mental stress or disorders is always important when dealing with cases and clients.
When watching many of the television shows, there is often times a disconnect from the paranormal team to the client. Leaving the client or customer in shambles and even deeper in the paranormal. Often times these teams on television will tackle strong paranormal cases in order to boost ratings and not comprehending the severity that they are getting into, which leads to causing harm to the customer, the paranormal team, production crew, and opening spiritual doors that should not be messed with. Some television shows call in mediums, psychics, healers, and counselors. I applaud this, simply due to higher expectations and examples of customer service for the client or customer.
A good example of a bad television experience would be of a show that was aired on the Travel Channel in the second week of March of this year. The team was reviewing two cases and both of the clients of the cases came on to the set very upset by how the investigation was handled. They both expressed that because no resolution was brought by the team and/or production company, that the activity had not only increased but had intensified. Both clients expressed that they thought that with bringing in a group that an identification would have been acquired and solutions brought to the table. Which was not done in this case. The team expressed to the client on the show that this was not their job, that their only responsibility was to acquire evidence. What a bad example for young groups to have witnessed.
Although acquiring evidence is important, and using technical equipment necessary in order to understand what is being dealt with, finding a resolution is the goal that should have been achieved. By using technical equipment and finding the source of paranormal activity, not only will you be assisting the client or customer, but you will also be assisting in finding possible resolutions with the spirit, entity, or person who is causing the paranormal activity. By recognizing the source of the paranormal activity you are helping a person who has passed on, an entity that should not be bothering or interrupting a client, finding the relationship or common interest between the spirit and the client, and be able to find the solution to resolve any conflict.
So what happened to my group? Going through all this training and with the experience of assisting many clients or customers finding resolutions, as well as educating the client; we have all been able to advance in our field on become independent investigators. Working with many groups around the country, as well as other countries has allowed us to be able to assist clients or customers more completely while still working with other groups or individuals in the paranormal field. This has allowed growth, education in the field, and a better understanding of the causes for paranormal activity.
I encourage groups or individuals in the paranormal field to reach out to those who have worked in the field and have plenty of experience. Also reach out to law enforcement and other outside agencies in order to increase the positiveness and expertise of your cases. Most importantly always remember that those that have passed on and those that are clients or customers always comes first. By doing this we can make advances in the field of parapsychology and earn more respect for the work that we all do.