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/

Initially this research was carried out in cooperation with the Department of Psychology of the University of Olomouc, then later with the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Physiology and Patho-physiology, of the University of Ostrava (both in the Czech Republic). To begin with, research was carried out with students of psychology and related disciplines over a period of 2 and then 3 days. However, since 2015 it has also been carried out with actual Dark Therapy clients, on a voluntary basis, and in 2016 the researchers extended their study to test the effects of up to 4 days in the dark.

The ‘Dark Therapy’ research is led by Marek Malůš PhD, assistant professor of the Department of Psychology Faculty of Philosophy in Ostrava, who completed several darkness retreats himself to inform his study. This is a unique global study, which builds on research that was started in the 1970s in the US, and extends to the areas of both psycho-physiology and physiology.

The research objectives are focused on several areas of human psychology and physiology, in order to measure the changes which take place as a result of the participant’s stay in the dark, based on the results of tests taken before and after the stay.

The psychological studies monitor cognitive function (a total of 12 tests). These include, in addition to memory and concentration, attention, language function, speed of thinking and the ability to understand information.

The executive functions include the ability to assess and problem solving, planning and organization. Further parameters are monitored based on the participant’s personality, as well as motivational and experiential characteristics, including the assessment of the advantages/disadvantages stemming from the participants.

In contrast, the physiological studies are investigating the psycho-physiological effects of processes, basic blood counts and the effect on the human eye (a total of eight tests). Attention is focused on the measurement of ECG, heart rate and its variability, blood pressure, and the detected change in weight. Whilst monitoring the human eye, they measure visual acuity, color vision and the quality of peripheral vision.

The outcomes of this extensive study are currently not yet known because evaluation and analysis of the results are still pending. Preliminary results show however (as you might expect), that the four-day stays are already showing more fundamental changes than shorter stays, including positive shifts occurring in cognitive functions, heartbeat and also improving eyesight.

You can find out more at http://www.terapietmou.net/