title: Dissociation and the experience of channeling: narratives of Israeli women who practice channeling.
abstract: "Channeling" is a phenomenon in which people describe themselves as receiving messages from another personality or dimension of reality. Channeling is often regarded as dissociation, which is a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. This study explored the interface between channeling and dissociation through a phenomenological analysis. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews with 20 Israeli women who practice channeling. The analysis revealed 3 themes: dissociation, absorption, and control. The channelers' descriptions correspond with what is coined as "dissociative states" and enable an emic view of the etic definition of dissociation.
authors.affiliation: a Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center, Netanya, affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University Israel.
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stolovy
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lev-Wiesel
authors.forename: Zvi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Eisikovits
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013688:Telepathy