Paper short abstract

Therianthropy is the belief that one is part non-human animal. I will present results from 3 studies considering therian identity, mental health, and altered states of consciousness. Cognitive differences and human interactions with other animals may account for the ontogeny of therianthropy.

Paper long abstract

Therianthropy is the belief that one is part non-human animal. The theriotypes experienced traverse all species and can be extinct or extant. Opinions vary in the academic literature as to whether it is a mental illness or a spiritual belief. However in the West it is almost always placed within the psychiatric arena. Nevertheless, a growing online community of therians, many of whom appear to be functioning well, suggest that this is a poorly understood phenomenon. I will present results from 3 research studies considering the identity, mental health and well-being, and the experience of phantom limbs and mental shifts within the therian community. A combination of cognitive differences, such as higher levels of schizotypy and autism, along with encounters with non-human animals, and the responses of humans to other animals, and therianthropy itself, may impact on the ontogeny of therian identity. Therians interpret their experience using a variety of explanations; spiritual, biological and psychological, and as such they develop a more holistic interpretation of their experiences than the academic literature currently allows. Since our findings suggest that any differences in mental health between therians and non-therians is small we therefore call for the academic community to also move away from pathologisation and towards a more complete and complex understanding of therianthropy.