Could Past Life Regression Be the Key to Finally Dealing with Your Trauma?

Lewis tells us, “The concept of a past life suggests that an individual’s soul or consciousness may have existed in a previous lifetime before this current one.” Understanding that we can have multiple past (and future) lives, Logan maintains, can help us see how vast our consciousness really is, and can help us explore the idea that the soul is more complex than who we are currently. “It can also help provide some comfort and understanding that life does continue on after this lifetime, and takes the pressure off from ‘having it all figured out’ in this life,” she says. Past life regression therapy, then, is a spiritual practice that seeks to help a person discover their past lives by leading them into a meditative state and using guided visualization techniques. Lewis says there are many different reasons a person might seek out past life regression therapy, from helping unlock, release and heal repressed and unresolved emotions and trauma to wanting to understand themselves better. For example, maybe you've always felt disconnected from your math- and science-minded family as more of a creative thinker; perhaps you'll discover that in a past life you were a gifted painter and gain a greater appreciation for your own unique talents.

A past life regression therapy session begins with the client and the practitioner having a conversation and setting an intention—finding out who they were in a past life, healing trauma, releasing a phobia, etc. The client then lies down and is led into a deep meditative state. From there, the practitioner will guide the client with a series of questions to help them understand who they were in a past life, including anything relevant to the client’s intention that was set at the beginning of the session. “Together, the client and practitioner discover what is needed to help address any challenges or concerns that are going on in the client’s present lifetime,” Logan says. “Finally, the practitioner guides the client back into an alert state and has a conversation about what came through during the session to help the client process and understand the experience and how what they discovered in the session could be impacting their life now.”

If you’re intrigued by the idea of past life regression but not quite enough to, like, pay for it, you’re in luck: Lewis says there are ways to try it on your own. Begin by setting an intention and deciding why you want to discover a past life in the first place. Look at your current life and think about where you may feel stuck. Lewis highly recommends finding a guided past life meditation experience online—she offers one on her website but says you can also search on YouTube.

Now, let’s get to what you might’ve been thinking while reading all of the above: Is past life regression therapy a thing? Past life regression therapy isn’t supported by science, but there is something to be said about the use of hypnosis. According to the American Psychological Association, there are plenty of examples in the scientific literature attesting to the usefulness of clinical hypnosis, adding that hypnosis has been used in the treatment of depression, anxiety, phobias, gastrointestinal disorders and more. Even Lewis admits that there have been a limited number of scientific studies done on past life regression therapy, and they are mostly inconclusive. Still, she tells us, “Ultimately, the purpose of past life regression therapy is a holistic and spiritual method to improve the state of mind of the client. It is up to the individual participant to determine if this alternative therapy is right for them and if the results prove to help them in some way.”

As Dellner concluded after her session, “So, do I think a past life regression session can cure phobias or tell you what career you should have? Well, no. But as an interesting exercise to help uncover what’s bothering you or boost your confidence? Hell yeah.”