Interview with Jamie Hernandez
Monday April 7, 2008 8:20 AM
Jamie Hernandez is a counselor for the Paranormal Research Society and we recently spoke about how her work comes into play during paranormal investigations.
Emily: What is involved in determining whether or not a person is experiencing psychological, emotional problems or a haunting?
Jamie: This is a difficult question to answer, because so often on cases I've worked on, the paranormal goes hand in hand with emotional and psychological issues — it is rarely one or the other. As a paranormal investigator, there have been cases I've worked on where just by doing a phone interview, the client seemed to be disoriented and confused, and so I would recommend that they receive a medical and psychological evaluation before pursuing help from a paranormal investigator. I think you always have to try to find natural explanations first. Additionally, if a client self-reports a history of a psychiatric disorder, or abuse of certain drugs, you'll want to get more information about that before looking at the paranormal.
Even when we proceed with a case, we try to get as much information about the client's medical and psychological background and even speak to these professionals if the client consents. So, most of my job consists of trying to figure out how the client's paranormal experiences are affecting him/her psychologically and emotionally, or vice versa. For example, when dealing with poltergeist-type activity, many current researchers feel that this is actually caused by psychokinesis, or a client's emotional/mental turmoil turning outwards and affecting the physical environment. So in these cases it would be their psychological/emotional state causing the paranormal, so to speak. Each case is different and challenging in its own way.
Emily: How often have you come across a person or persons that thought they were experiencing supernatural activity but it turned out to be something psychological?
Jamie: This is also hard to answer. I have had a few clients that I asked to get a psychological evaluation before having a paranormal investigation, but unfortunately none of those clients have ever contacted me again, so I'm not sure what happened. With the cases I have actually worked on with PRS and other groups, it's also hard to tell. Even if you don't find evidence of the paranormal during the investigation does not mean that their paranormal experiences are not real. It is very real to them. Therefore, I feel it is more important to try to help clients cope with their situation and empower them to take control of it, regardless of the source of the problem. If we can be there to listen and try to understand and help them, sometimes this is enough to get them through a difficult time... even if we feel the paranormal experiences are legitimate, oftentimes because of the distress it is causing in the client's life, we will recommend that they seek counseling to help them cope.
Emily: What paranormal experiences have you had while working with the PRS?
Jamie: I guess the most substantial experience was hearing the glass break on the bar episode, which was definitely startling. I had strange feelings on a couple of other cases, especially the demonic case in Syracuse, NY. I had knots in my stomach the entire time I was on that case and my instincts were telling me to turn and walk away from it, but of course I couldn't because that family was really depending on us to help them, and I take that very seriously.
