Induced After-Death Communication (IADC): An Approach for Healing Prolonged Grief

Grief doesn’t follow a timeline. For some, the pain softens naturally. For others—especially after a traumatic, sudden, or deeply meaningful loss—the emotional system can remain stuck. This can create what’s known as prolonged grief, where sorrow, longing, or traumatic memories remain just as vivid months or years later.

Induced After-Death Communication (IADC) is a therapeutic protocol derived from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that helps shift this stuckness. The approach became more widely known through the documentary Life With Ghosts, where participants experience IADC and many report a sense of emotional reconnection, clarity, and relief from the heaviness of loss.

IADC is not mediumship, nor is it designed to summon contact with someone who has died. Instead, it uses the brain’s natural processing capacities to help clients release emotional pain and restore a sense of connection in a grounded and regulated way. Because of the depth of this work, IADC practitioners receive specialized training to facilitate the protocol safely, ethically, and with clinical integrity.

How Induced After-Death Communication Works

IADC follows a structured process developed by psychologist Dr. Allan Botkin:

1. Regulating the Nervous System Through EMDR Techniques

Bilateral stimulation helps the brain process:

• distressing memories of the death or loss

• traumatic imagery or looping thoughts

• unresolved guilt, regret, or “unfinished business”

This step reduces overwhelm so the nervous system can shift from survival mode to a more settled state.

2. Reducing the Emotional Charge of the Loss

As the emotional pain decreases to a workable threshold, the mind becomes more able to accept:

• what happened

• that the loss is real

• that the memory can be held without being re-lived

This shift often creates the opening for reconnection.

3. The IADC Experience

At this point, the clinician offers a gentle prompt that invites the mind to notice what arises. 

People may experience:

• symbolic imagery or memory

• a felt sense of connection

• emotional clarity or reconciliation

• an internal message or moment of peace

Some interpret this experience psychologically, some spiritually, some a mix of both.The meaning belongs to the client.

4. Integration and Closure

The session ends with grounding and reflection, allowing the experience to be integrated into daily life with greater peace and emotional balance.

Where EMDR focuses on resolving trauma, IADC helps restore connection without suffering.

Why IADC Can Support Prolonged Grief

IADC can be helpful when grief feels:

• stuck or frozen

• defined by looping memories of the loss

• filled with unfinished emotional business

• impossible to soften without losing the bond

The goal is not to remove grief, but to help it move. It creates space for a shift from longing to connection, allowing life to continue without erasing love.

Is IADC a Spiritual Experience?

It may be experienced that way, but it does not require spiritual belief.Clients are free to interpret their experience through whatever framework feels authentic—psychological, symbolic, spiritual, somatic, or a blend.

If You’re Seeking Support

If prolonged grief or traumatic loss is impacting your ability to live fully, IADC may offer a pathway toward healing. Working with a trained practitioner ensures the process is attuned, supportive, and grounded in clinical skill.

If you’re curious about whether Induced After-Death Communication or EMDR-based grief therapy may be right for you, I’d be honored to speak with you. Please reach out at hmdalzell@verizon.net

Grief does not mean you failed to heal. It means you loved deeply — and healing is still possible.