In Memoriam: Peter Fenwick, MD, A Pioneer in Near-Death Experiences Passes Away

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

“There is no death. I know that now.” - Peter Fenwick, 2024

I found out in the New York Times obituary on 1/10/25 that “Peter Fenwick, Leading Expert on Near-Death Experiences, Dies at 89” in London.¹

Originally, Dr Fenwick was interested in neurosurgery, but switched to neuropsychiatry so he could talk to people and that he did, talking to them about one of the most difficult to discuss topics: death. Before getting there, he started with an interest in consciousness, and began to focus on epilepsy, sleepwalking, dreams, and meditation, including George Harrison of the Beatles as one of his meditation subjects. He himself meditated daily starting in 1965.

Then, in 1975, he heard about the Moody’s book Life after Life and near-death experiences (NDEs). He was skeptical and responded:

“ . . . psychobabble. It was an American book! This had happened on the other side of the Atlantic. It would never happen in this country. I had to change my mind.”

He did start to change his mind a year later when a patient of his, dying during a catheter insertion, reported leaving his body and watching what was happening in the room from above. He entered light at the end of a tunnel, but decided to come back. He thought the patient to be reliable in his report and then went about collecting some other NDEs reports.

Requesting an institutional ethics approval for a formal study, he was turned down with this feedback: “Don’t be ridiculous.”

That reminded me of when I reported that I wanted to study the psychiatric aspects of climate change back in 2008 at my medical school. The Chair of the Department laughed. Years later, that Chair requested a book on the subject.

To answer his critics, that there must be another explanation, he provided some proof that anoxia could not cause the visions, as pilots experience anoxia in their training, but either become unconscious or report being confused. Feverish hallucinations did not seem to fit, either.

He switched institutions and, going public in different ways, received more letters from individuals who reported an encounter with death. Now giving them a questionnaire, he reported the results in the 1995 book with his wife: The Truth in the Light: An Investigation of 300 Near-Death Experiences. In that study and others, they found:

• 40% met someone then knew
• 42% became more spiritual
• 48% were convinced there was “survival after death”
• 50% experienced traveling in a tunnel
• 72% saw a bright light (and often the light had answers)
• 82% were less afraid of dying

He came to support hospice and palliative care, advocating also for public and personal discussion about death and dying. Some patients reportedly experience lucidity right before dying, even with having dementia.

He wrote other books, many articles, and gave various presentations on NDEs and related matters like reincarnation and parapsychology. From 2000-2010, he studied the magnetic fields of the brain in Tokyo.

His autobiography is titled: Shining Light on Transcendence: The Unconventional Journey of a Neuroscientist. A colleague concluded:

“As a psychiatrist, Peter gave solid scientific support to the case of bringing spirituality back into health care, and mental health care in particular.”

Most people, religious or not, have some hope or expectation of life after death. He provided some scientific support for that possibility. As I reach old age, I hope he is right.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

Reference

1. Rosenwald MS. Peter Fenwick, leading expert on near-death experiences, dies at 89. The New York Times. January 9, 2025. Accessed January 14, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/science/peter-fenwick-dead.html