Marek Malůš PhD – Researcher into Dark Therapy in the Czech Republic

Marek Malůš - Dark Therapy - Czech RepublicIn a previous post, we focused on the research being carried out by Marek Malůš PhD on Dark Therapy in the Czech Republic (known there as ‘Terapie Tmou’). In this post we decided to look into the man himself, and where this all started.

Marek Malůš PhD is currently the assistant professor of the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy in Ostrava, Czech Republic. He is professionally focused on researching the effects of sensory deprivation on the human body, or what he calls Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST), in particular when external stimulation is restricted through a stay in the dark, otherwise known in mainstream circles as Dark or Darkness Therapy.

He received his PhD at Palacký University, Olomouc which was where he first began his studies into REST in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Between 2010-2013, Marek collaborated with Czech Darkness Therapy expert, Dr. Andrew Urbiš at the Beskydské Rehabilitation Center in Celadna, in order to study 37 of their clients whilst they were engaged in a 7 day Darkness Retreat.

According to one source, they used “questionnaires and surveys including the Existence Scale, the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and The Symptom Checklist 90” to collect relevant data. Of particular interest was the affect this had on altered states of consciousness, as well the role of the pineal gland and the hormone ‘melatonin’.

In 2015 he began the next phase of his research, in collaboration with the Darkness Therapy Centre in Kozlovice, which you can read more about HERE, which also then began to look at more psycho-physiological effects of stays in darkness on the body, not just psychological. Marek has completed 3 Darkness Retreats himself, over the course of 3, 7 and 14 days.

Despite the ever increasing popularity of Dark or Darkness Therapy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, little research seems to have been done outside of these countries, except that carried out in the 1970s in the US. As a result, Marek has been invited to present his findings both in the Czech Republic and abroad, including at the world’s leading conferences focused on methods of limited external stimulation at the Universities of Portland, USA and Vancouver, Canada. Here is a video of Marek’s presentation at the FLOAT Conference in Portland in 2015.

In his presentation, Marek discusses whether ‘Dark Therapy’ is actually in fact a therapy. He says it is difficult to say positively, because the term is not scientifically appropriate. Many people think of it as a treatment or self-treatment, but in Marek’s view it is “A special place and space suitable for therapeutic process, which enables, affects and catalyzes our ability to get more in touch with both our conscious and unconscious part of ourselves.”

However, it has been difficult to find out what the specific findings were of Marek’s earlier studies, due to it being in Czech and as yet, the results and analysis from the research carried out in 2015 remains unpublished. As soon as they are available, we will be sure to let you know.

You can find out more about Marek and how to contact him at:

https://ff.osu.eu/marek-malus/66728/

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