Kirlian and aura photography

1. Introduction

Version followed: three related practices are described as their originators and users present them: (a) Kirlian or corona-discharge photography as Semyon and Valentina Kirlian described it; (b) gas discharge visualisation (GDV), also sold as Electro-Photonic Imaging and Bio-Well, as Konstantin Korotkov and its users describe it; (c) consumer "aura cameras", principally the AuraCam 6000 associated with Guy Coggins, as the manufacturer is quoted in press coverage. The psychotherapist does not take, sell, interpret or recommend these images; section 4 is the therapist's own work with clients who use them. [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia; Spirituality Studies 2020; NPR 2012; The Ringer 2018]

• Kirlian photography. An object (often a fingertip or leaf) is placed in contact with film or a plate between electrodes, a brief high-voltage, high-frequency pulse is applied, and the glow (corona and streamers) around the object is recorded. The Kirlians described the principle as transforming "non-electrical properties" of the subject into electrical ones and held that the figures could reveal "the biological state of an organism", including disease. Proponents later reported a "phantom leaf" effect and correspondences between flares and acupuncture points, interpreting the glow as life energy or "bioplasma". [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia, summarising Kirlian & Kirlian 1973 and Tiller 1973]
• History. The Kirlians produced their images from 1939; a similar Czech report (Prat and Schlemmer) appeared the same year; Thelma Moss brought plans to UCLA after meeting the Kirlians in 1971, and the First Western Hemisphere Conference on Kirlian Photography met in New York in 1972. [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia] The Kirlians' base is given as Kazakh State University in one source and as Krasnodar in another; a USSR patent is dated 1949. [uncertain: secondary, unverified]
• GDV / Bio-Well. A brief current is applied to each fingertip, the resulting glow is captured by a camera, and software reports "energy" values for energy centres (chakras), the spine and organs; interpretation is described as based on acupuncture-point concepts from Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. Korotkov continues to hold that GDV shows a form of life energy, and proponents report diagnostic accuracy figures. [source: Spirituality Studies 2020; SPR Psi Encyclopedia]
• Aura cameras. The sitter rests both hands on metal sensor plates; the device reads biofeedback signals such as skin temperature and electrical conductance, and an algorithm converts them to colours printed around an ordinary portrait. The manufacturer is quoted saying these parameters are "projected as a radiant, colorful aura field" and that the image can show what "a psychic might see". Coggins introduced a mass-market aura camera in the 1980s (AuraCam 3000) and later the AuraCam 6000. A reading of colour meanings, often with chakra language, follows. [source: NPR 2012; The Ringer 2018; NeuroLogica 2012]

Core idea of change (as practitioners hold it). Making a normally invisible energy field visible gives the person feedback on their emotional, spiritual or physical state, which they can then work on (meditation, healing, lifestyle). Aura photography is now also sold as a self-knowledge, portrait and social-media experience. [source: The Ringer 2018; Spirituality Studies 2020] Energy and aura concepts are attributed to these practitioners; they are neither asserted nor dismissed here.

Physical explanations as sources state them. Moisture on and in the skin, which alters gas ionisation and the charge pattern on the film, is cited as the main source of variation in Kirlian images; no image forms in a vacuum; finger pressure, film buckling and skin resistance also change images; the phantom leaf has been attributed to residue from an earlier impression or to fraud. [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia, citing Pehek, Kyler & Faust 1976; Millar 1976; Cooper & Alt; Hines 2003; Randi 1982; Carroll 2015] The aura camera's colour is described by a neurologist as derived from momentary skin conductance, temperature and sweat, "nothing more than a mood ring". [source: NeuroLogica 2012]

Status in one line each.

• Evidence status: not accepted by mainstream science or medicine as a diagnostic or scientific tool; the variation in images is attributed in published experimental work to moisture, pressure and other physical factors. [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia]
• Regulatory status (US): under FDA's non-binding General Wellness policy (2019), low-risk products making only relaxation, stress-management or self-esteem claims are not actively regulated, whereas claims to diagnose a disease fall outside that policy. How any specific aura camera or GDV device is classified in the US, EU or UK is [uncertain: not verified]; press reports that some related devices are "certified in parts of Europe". [source: FDA General Wellness guidance via Innolitics; The Ringer 2018]
• Who practises it: photographers and artists; aura-photography businesses and pop-ups (often in crystal or bookshops and at events); energy healers and some integrative or wellness practitioners using GDV/Bio-Well. No licence or statutory regulation of operators is documented in the cited sources [uncertain: not verified]; manufacturer and independent certification courses exist for Bio-Well [uncertain: not verified]. [source: The Ringer 2018; SPR Psi Encyclopedia]

2. Framework

The imaging is not a therapy and has no phases of its own. What a client typically experiences: a single short sitting (hands on plates, a cloak or backdrop for an aura portrait; fingertips placed one by one on an electrode for GDV), a printed or on-screen image, then a reading by the operator or a separate interpreter, sometimes emailed later; repeat scans are offered to track change, e.g. before and after meditation. [source: The Ringer 2018; Spirituality Studies 2020] Prices reported in one US article were modest per sitting (tens of dollars), with operators investing several thousand dollars in equipment. [source: The Ringer 2018]

The psychotherapist's work alongside it runs as a sequence woven into ordinary therapy, with focused attention when it arises and then periodic review [synthesis]:

If the client uses an aura portrait purely as art or fun, phases A and B may take minutes and the matter closes [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

• Curiosity without ridicule. Ask as you would about any self-care; ridicule ends disclosure. [synthesis; NCCIH encourages disclosure of all complementary practices]
• Attribute, do not adjudicate. Describe aura and energy claims as the practice holds them; your job is not to prove or disprove the client's spirituality. [synthesis]
• Separate meaning from medical claims. A colour reading as a prompt for reflection is different from a claim about organs or disease; the second goes to a doctor. [synthesis]
• Stay in your scope. You do not take, sell, interpret or recommend scans; you do not offer diagnostic opinions on images. [source: APA Ethics Code 2.04, 3.06]
• No dual commercial roles. Do not refer to, partner with, or profit from imaging businesses; disclose and manage any workplace conflict. [source: APA Ethics Code 3.05, 3.06]
• Autonomy and respect for belief. Clients may keep using these services; support informed choice rather than coercion. [source: APA Ethics Code Principle E; synthesis]
• Accurate information when asked. If the client asks what the device measures, share what published sources say, attributed and balanced. [source: APA Ethics Code 5.01 applies to your own statements; synthesis]
• Coordinate with consent. Contact the GP or other clinician only with the client's consent, except where law or safety requires disclosure. [source: APA Ethics Code 4.05]
• Risk overrides neutrality. Delayed medical care, harm to a child, or exploitation calls for active response. [synthesis]
• Document. Record what the client uses, what was discussed, and any coordination or risk response. [synthesis]

[source for this section: APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, amended 2010 and 2016); NCCIH tips]

4. Intervention inventory

All interventions below are the psychotherapist's own work alongside the client's use of Kirlian, GDV or aura imaging. None involves taking, reading or recommending an image. Where no source addresses the step, it is marked [synthesis].

4.1 Routine, non-judgemental inquiry and recording

• Purpose / when: at intake and reviews, and whenever a client mentions aura colours, chakra readings, "energy scans" or biofield images. Disclosure lets you spot health-related readings and spending early. [source: NCCIH tips; synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Ask an open question about all wellbeing practices, naming energy or aura readings among others so they sound askable. (2) If used: which kind (portrait-style aura photo, fingertip scan, software report), who provided it, how often, cost, and whether it was bundled with other services or products. (3) Ask what the reading said, especially any statement about organs, illness, pregnancy or mental health. (4) Record in plain terms (e.g. "Has had GDV fingertip scans with a wellness practitioner every few months; last report described 'weak' digestive energy; no medical follow-up yet").
• Example language (illustrative): "Lots of people use things like energy work, aura photos or body scans alongside their health care. Is anything like that part of your life?" / "What did the person tell you the picture showed?"
• Watch for: guarded or apologetic answers (signals expected judgement; soften further); readings that name body organs or diseases (go to 4.5–4.6); frequent repeat purchases (4.8). Working: the client volunteers updates later without prompting.

4.2 Exploring meaning, hopes and the explanatory model

• Purpose / when: once use is known, especially if the image matters emotionally to the client or shapes decisions. [synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Ask what drew them to it: curiosity, art, spirituality, self-understanding, a friend or event, wanting proof of something felt, distrust of doctors. (2) Ask how they understand what the image shows, in their own words, and write those words down. (3) Ask what they hoped it would tell them and how they felt when they saw it. (4) Identify what the practice gives them (control, validation, belonging, hope) and what need lies under it. (5) Reflect this back without endorsing or disputing the energy model.
• Example language (illustrative): "When you looked at the colours around you, what did you feel?" / "What would it mean to you if the colours changed next time?" / "What do you think the camera is picking up?"
• Watch for: strong emotional dependence on a colour or score ("my aura was dark, so I'm a bad person"); identity or group belonging tied to readings; a model in which the image predicts illness. Working: the client can describe both what the image means to them and what they will do with it.

4.3 Using the client's reading as reflective material (client-led) [synthesis]

• Purpose / when: when the client brings a reading ("heart chakra activated", "creative and artistic", "force of will") and finds it meaningful. The descriptions are general and positive by design, so the therapeutic material is what the client recognises in them, not the reading itself. [source for the style of readings: NPR 2012; The Ringer 2018]
• Steps: (1) Ask which parts of the reading fit and which did not. (2) Explore the parts that fit as the client's own self-description: examples from their life, values, wishes. (3) Link to therapy goals. (4) Do not interpret colours yourself or assign new meanings.
• Example language (illustrative): "You said the 'healer and teacher' part rang true. Where in your life do you see that?" / "Which part didn't fit you at all?"
• Watch for: sliding into acting as an interpreter of auras (stop and hand meaning back to the client); readings used to justify self-criticism. Working: the reading becomes one prompt among others, owned by the client.

4.4 Balanced information when the client asks

• Purpose / when: only when the client asks what the device measures or whether it is "real", or when a health decision depends on it. [synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Ask what they already know and what they want to know. (2) Share, attributed: practitioners hold that it shows an energy field; published experimental work attributes most variation in Kirlian images to skin moisture, pressure and other physical factors; aura cameras convert hand-sensor readings such as skin temperature and conductance into colours; mainstream medicine does not use these images for diagnosis. [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia; NeuroLogica 2012] (3) Separate this from the client's spiritual beliefs, which you are not assessing. (4) Ask what they make of it.
• Example language (illustrative): "The people who make these cameras say they show your energy field. Researchers who tested Kirlian images found the glow changes with things like skin moisture and pressure. What do you make of that?" / "That's separate from whether your spiritual practice matters to you; it clearly does."
• Watch for: defensiveness or feeling mocked (repair; return to 4.2); relief (client wanted permission to doubt a worrying reading). Working: the client can hold their own view while weighing health decisions on medical information.

4.5 Supporting informed, values-based decisions

• Purpose / when: when a reading prompts a choice: seeing a doctor or not, buying healing services or products the operator suggests, repeating scans, changing diet or lifestyle, or a pregnancy-related worry. [synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Name the decision. (2) Ask what the client values most (health, spirituality, money, relationships). (3) List options including "check with my doctor" and "do nothing". (4) For each, ask what they know, what they would need to know, and who could tell them (doctor, pharmacist, midwife). (5) Note any time pressure or sales pressure. (6) Leave the choice with the client unless risk applies (4.8). No published decision aid specific to these devices is cited here [uncertain: not verified].
• Example language (illustrative): "The scan said your liver energy was low. What feels right to do with that?" / "Who could tell you whether there's anything medically going on?"
• Watch for: decisions made under urgency created by the seller; the client hiding the decision from family or doctor. Working: the client names their reasons and the information they used.

4.6 Coordination with the client's doctor or pharmacist

• Purpose / when: a reading names an organ, illness or pregnancy outcome; the client has symptoms they are attributing to "energy"; or the client is considering skipping medical follow-up. [source: NCCIH tips; APA Ethics Code 4.05]
• Steps: (1) Encourage the client to tell their doctor about all complementary practices and bring a list. (2) Offer to write or call, with written consent, sharing only what is needed. (3) Help the client prepare questions. (4) Agree who will follow up. (5) Document consent and contact.
• Example language (illustrative): "Would it help if I let your GP know you've been worried about this scan, so they can check things properly?" / "Let's write down what you want to ask them."
• Watch for: refusal of consent (respect it unless law or serious risk requires disclosure; keep the door open); the doctor dismissing the client in a way that drives them back to unregulated sources (prepare them for that). Working: medical questions are being answered by medical clinicians.

4.7 Health anxiety and somatic presentations linked to readings

• Purpose / when: a client repeatedly seeks scans or aura photos to check whether they are "well", is distressed by a "weak" or "blocked" reading, or interprets bodily sensations through readings. Use established approaches for health anxiety and somatic symptom presentations; see Domain II for full protocols. [synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Assess the pattern: frequency of scans, triggers, reassurance seeking, avoidance, and medical checking. (2) Formulate the cycle (worry, checking via scan, brief relief or new alarm, more worry). (3) Agree goals that are about living well rather than about the reading. (4) Apply the Domain II health-anxiety approach (e.g. reducing checking and reassurance seeking, behavioural experiments) with the client's consent. (5) Coordinate with the GP so medical assessment happens once and appropriately (4.6).
• Example language (illustrative): "After each scan, how long does the relief last?" / "What happens to the worry when a reading comes back worse?"
• Watch for: genuine new physical symptoms (always route to a doctor); escalating spending; depression underneath. Working: fewer scans, less distress about readings, more time in valued activities.

4.8 Recognising and responding to risk

• Purpose / when: throughout. [synthesis unless cited]
• Steps and flags:
  • Delayed or abandoned medical care: a client treats a scan as diagnosis or as reassurance and skips investigations or treatment. Respond with 4.5–4.6, state your concern clearly, and document.
  • Pregnancy: proponents have reported GDV predictions of miscarriage [source: SPR Psi Encyclopedia]. A pregnant client given such a prediction may need support with fear and grief; encourage contact with the midwife or obstetrician, not further scans.
  • Children: if a parent uses readings to make health decisions for a child, or delays medical care for a child because of them, follow local safeguarding procedures; consider the child's assent and wellbeing.
  • Physical safety of devices: Kirlian and GDV devices apply an electrical pulse to the skin. Specific safety advice (e.g. implanted electronic devices, pregnancy, epilepsy) is not given in the cited sources; the client should ask the manufacturer and their doctor. [uncertain: not verified]
  • Financial pressure: repeat scans, "before and after" packages, linked sales of crystals, healing sessions or certification courses. Explore cost against the client's means and values.
  • Eating and diet: if readings prompt restrictive diet changes, screen for eating-disorder patterns (Domain II).
  • Group or high-control pressure: readings used by a group or leader to label members, demand spending, or discourage medical care; explore autonomy and support.
  • Mental-health labelling: readings that claim to show depression or "negative energy" may feed shame; work with self-criticism, and assess mood and suicide risk using standard practice if indicated.
• Example language (illustrative): "I'm worried that waiting to see the doctor could matter. Can we talk about what's making it hard to go?"
• Watch for: secrecy, urgency, escalating cost, isolation from family or clinicians. Working: risks are named, the client knows options, and safeguarding duties are met.

4.9 Reporting routes

• Purpose / when: when an operator or seller makes disease-diagnosis claims, causes harm, exploits a client, or a child is at risk. [synthesis]
• Steps: (1) Discuss reporting with the client unless safeguarding requires action without consent. (2) Identify the route: the national medical-device regulator for devices marketed with diagnostic claims (US FDA; UK MHRA; equivalents elsewhere), noting that under FDA's General Wellness policy diagnostic claims fall outside the wellness exemption [source: FDA General Wellness guidance via Innolitics]; the consumer or advertising regulator for misleading marketing (e.g. US FTC; UK Advertising Standards Authority) [uncertain: not verified]; the professional board if a licensed health professional uses these images to diagnose; police for fraud; local child or adult safeguarding services for risk to a child or vulnerable adult. (3) Document what was reported and to whom.
• Example language (illustrative): "If you want to raise a concern about how this was advertised, there are bodies that look at that. Shall we look at the options together?"
• Watch for: client fear of retaliation or shame at having paid; reassure and keep the focus on their wellbeing.

4.10 Managing your own role and conflicts of interest

• Purpose / when: when you work in a centre that offers aura or GDV imaging, a colleague asks you to use it, or a client asks you to interpret or recommend it. [source: APA Ethics Code 2.04, 3.05, 3.06, 5.01]
• Steps: (1) Do not take, interpret, sell or recommend scans, and do not use them in assessment. (2) Do not accept referral fees or commissions. (3) If imaging is offered on your premises, clarify to clients that your therapy is separate, and record this in informed consent (APA 10.01). (4) Seek consultation if pressured.
• Example language (illustrative): "I don't read auras or scans; that isn't part of what I do. I'm glad to hear what it meant to you."
• Watch for: drift into advising on the device; clients assuming you endorse it because it is offered nearby. Working: clients understand your role and continue to disclose.

5. Handling problems

The sources describe the imaging, not psychotherapy alongside it; all guidance below is [synthesis] unless cited.

• Client feels judged or mocked after asking about the science. Name the rupture, apologise for how it landed, and return to their meaning (4.2). Example (illustrative): "I think I came across as dismissing something that matters to you. That wasn't my intent. Can you tell me more about what it means for you?"
• Client asks you to interpret their aura or scan. Decline warmly and hand meaning back (4.3, 4.10). Do not offer colour interpretations even jokingly.
• Client asks whether it is "real". Ask what prompts the question, then give attributed, balanced information (4.4). Avoid a verdict on their spirituality.
• Client treats a reading as a diagnosis and will not see a doctor. Explore fears about medical care (past experiences, cost, distrust); use decision support (4.5); state your concern; offer to help arrange or prepare for an appointment (4.6). Respect an informed adult's choice while documenting; escalate only where law, capacity or safeguarding require.
• Repeated scanning and reassurance seeking. Treat as a health-anxiety pattern (4.7; Domain II); reduce checking collaboratively rather than banning it.
• Distress after a "dark" or "blocked" reading. Validate the feeling; explore what the client fears it says about them; work on shame and self-criticism; assess mood and risk where indicated.
• Stuck: client oscillates between belief and doubt. Normalise ambivalence; use the client's values to decide what, if anything, needs to change. It is not necessary to resolve belief to move forward on goals.
• Non-adherence to agreed medical follow-up. Explore barriers non-judgementally; problem-solve practicalities; revisit at each session; involve family only with consent.
• Family conflict over the practice. Offer a joint session with consent; help family members express concern without contempt; keep focus on safety and relationships.
• Financial strain or exploitation. Review spending openly; explore sales tactics experienced; support the client to set limits; consider reporting routes (4.9).
• Group pressure. Explore autonomy, exit costs and the client's own wishes; watch for isolation; support gradual, safe choices.
• Child involved. If a child's medical care is delayed or the child is distressed by readings, consult your safeguarding lead and follow local procedures.
• Workplace pressure to use or endorse imaging. Seek supervision or ethics consultation; decline roles that create conflicts (APA Ethics Code 3.05, 3.06).
• Overwhelm when a reading triggers trauma or loss (e.g. a miscarriage prediction). Slow the session, ground the client, and attend to grief or fear before any decision talk; link with obstetric or medical care.

[source: APA Ethics Code; NCCIH tips; SPR Psi Encyclopedia for the pregnancy claim; otherwise synthesis]

Sources

Web sources:

• Kirlian photography (Society for Psychical Research, Psi Encyclopedia)
• Spirituality Studies, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Spring 2020 (GDV / Bio-Well description)
• A Camera That Sees Your True Colors (NPR, 2012)
• What exactly does the aura camera detect? (KNKX / NPR, 2012)
• How Aura Photography Invaded Instagram (The Ringer, 2018)
• NeuroLogica Blog, July 2012 (aura camera)
• Validating Bio-Well Technology for Medical Research (Medical Research Archives, 2025)
• FDA Guidance: General Wellness: Policy for Low Risk Devices, 2019 (transcribed by Innolitics)
• APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
• NCCIH: Tips to start talking with your health care providers about complementary health approaches
• Kirlian photography (Wikipedia) [uncertain: secondary, unverified]

Works cited via the sources above:

• Kirlian, S. D. & Kirlian, V. K. (1973). Photography by means of high-frequency currents. In Krippner, S. & Rubin, D. (eds.), Galaxies of Life. Gordon & Breach/Interface.
• Moss, T. & Johnson, K. (1973). Bioplasma or corona discharge? In Krippner & Rubin (eds.), Galaxies of Life.
• Tiller, W. (1973). Some energy field observations of man and nature. In Krippner & Rubin (eds.), Galaxies of Life.
• Millar, B. (1976). Review in Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 48, 343–45.
• Pehek, J. O., Kyler, H. J. & Faust, D. L. (1976). Image modulation in corona discharge photography. Science, 194, 263–270. [uncertain: secondary, unverified]
• Hines, T. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books.
• Randi, J. (1982). Flim-Flam! Prometheus Books.