A professional investigation includes 4-6 phases.
First Phase
The First phase is ‘Client interview/contact’ wherein the client speaks to us and states what he/she is experiencing in his/her property/place. We ask questions to the client based on the situation that he/she presents and perform a client screening just to strike out the possibilities of any foul play or to determine if this case demands or requires our intervention. During this phase, we send the clients a few forms like non-disclosures/expectations form, permission to investigate, client assumption of risk and initial contact/interview form (client’s historical data like the history of the place, activities being experienced, members who experience the activity, family members/people who stay at the place, etc.)
Second Phase
# The Second phase involves us visiting the location/property to conduct a preliminary investigation. Preliminary investigation is useful for the investigators to compare and analyse different readings and measurements for two different timelines (for example the reading we received when we entered the place at midnight vs the reading we receive during our final investigation at 2 AM). The moment we step in, we note down the readings displayed on our equipment (EMF/K-II Meters) to see if we get any extreme/unusual readings during normal conditions (with all electrical equipment like fans, tube lights, etc. switched on and simultaneously with everything switched off). We also use these readings as our base reading before starting the third phase which is conducting a full-fledged paranormal investigation. Later, baseline readings are used as reference/comparison between current readings and the real-time readings that we document on the equipment.
Third Phase
# The Third phase is where we conduct a proper investigation (we have high-end equipment like night vision camera, motion sensors, EMF meters, IR Video Cams, DSLR camera etc. which we set up in the property/place of investigation in an attempt to document a piece of evidence or any subtle changes in the ambient environment. The goal here is not to PROVE something but to OBSERVE and DOCUMENT changes in the ambient environment. During the observation, if we experience anything unusual in a certain spot within the property, we mark it as a ‘hotspot’ and try to focus majorly on that spot to see if it reoccurs with other researchers or if we can document anything substantial that may later provide answers for the experience of the client. This phase may (depending on the experience we have during the investigation) involve client counselling where we ensure the collective experience (client plus investigators) doesn’t harm the client’s psychology. The goal here is to empower the client to be self-reliant and not fall prey to frauds done by self-proclaimed Godmen.
Fourth Phase
# The Fourth Phase starts with us analyzing the recording/documentation. If we do manage to document something which we feel can be a significant proof/evidence of the paranormal, we attempt to debunk it thereby ruling out any normal occurrences/contamination (sounds from stray dogs, people talking in the background, EMF spike due to mobile phones, etc). If we encounter a piece of documentation that passes all the tests (debunking/rationalizing), we clip it and share it with the client. If we don’t document anything unusual, we inform the client and conclude the investigation.
Fifth Phase
# The Fifth phase is optional and solely depends on our findings during the fourth phase/evidence analysis. It starts with us revisiting the property and conducting a preliminary investigation (the goal here is to determine if can recreate the experience that we got from the third phase). This stage also involves us performing a cleansing session. Cleansing is performed differently in different teams. For us, we usually communicate with whatever is present in that space and check if we can help it in any way possible so that it no longer has to disturb or show its presence to the client.
Sixth Phase
# The Sixth phase involves a counselling session for the members of the family. The purpose of this session is to help the members overcome the fear of the unknown and also to strengthen their belief system. Additionally, we would showcase and explain all the evidence that we documented in the second, third and fifth phase.