Moody¹ is credited with publishing the first academic research on, and coining the term, near-death experience (NDE) through his 1975 publication of Life After Life,  based on case studies of patients who had reported an altered state of consciousness during a period of so-called clinical death. Each of the 150 NDE cases he documented was unique, but there were 15 key elements that kept recurring.

Three decades later, The International Association for Near-Death Studies² defines a near-death experience (NDE) as a profound psychological event that may occur to a person close to death in a situation of physical or emotional crisis. Further, since a NDE includes transcendent and mystical elements, it is a powerful event of consciousness that can often be life-altering. 

The cumulative NDE research suggests that as many as 10-40% of those who survive a clinical crisis, such as surgery, cardiac arrest, accidents, childbirth, allergic reactions, acute illness, drowning, terminal illness, combat, and extreme emotional stress, report a NDE^3-9.

Prospective Studies on the Incidence of NDEs from 1982 to 2008

These figures are likely to increase as a result of improved techniques of resuscitation¹⁰. Further, the actual occurrence of NDEs may be significantly higher, since many NDErs may be reluctant to talk about their experience post-NDE due to fear of being labeled mentally ill by untrained healthcare professionals who may initially discount and even pathologize their experience due to a lack a sufficient knowledge and associated clinical skills regarding this phenomenon¹¹. Interestingly, those who report NDEs have been shown to be distinct from those meeting the clinical criteria for Post-traumatic Stress disorder or Dissociative Disorders^12-16, as well as intellectually “solid” and psychologically “healthy” as evidenced by intelligence tests and standardized psychological measures.^{12, 14, 16-18}

Featured Course

Near-Death Experiences: Implications for Clinical Practice

(4 CEs) by Cheryl L. Fracasso, M.S. & Harris L. Friedman, Ph.D.

“At first, many near-death experience patients are confused and fearful because the experience is so out of their realm of awareness and so uncommon to their everyday senses”, notes course co-author Dr. Harris Friedman, clinical psychologist and Research Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Florida. Not only do they lack the words to describe the event, but they lack the ability to integrate the NDE into their personal life history. Moreover, this confusion and fear may close off any future attempts to discuss the NDE with their healthcare providers. This is significant because the short- and long-term effects of NDE have the potential to negatively impact a patient’s emotional, physical/physiological, social, and spiritual life, at times, requiring clinical intervention. Thus, there are various clinical implications for health practitioners working with the NDE population, among them that initial validation is critical to the course and outcome of the NDE patient and their ability to cognitively integrate this life-changing experience in an adaptive and healthy manner.

This online CE/CEU course synthesizes 33 years of evidence-based research on NDEs, including its frequency, possible etiology, DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, assessment strategies, and short-term and long-term effects. In addition, clinical implications for treatment are addressed along with important barriers to treatment that can occur when co-morbid Axis I or Axis II DSM-IV-TR disorders exist.