Law of attraction and The Secret

1. Introduction

Version followed: the popular revival in Rhonda Byrne's The Secret (film 2006, book following it), described from secondary summaries of the book; earlier New Thought formulations (William Walker Atkinson, 1906) are given as history only. Contemporary "manifesting" content on social media is treated as a descendant of this version.

What it is. The law of attraction is a teaching from the New Thought and mind-cure stream (rooted in mesmerism; see 081 and 084) holding that what a person consistently thinks about and feels becomes their reality. In Byrne's presentation, everything is energy vibrating at a frequency; a person's thoughts and feelings set their own frequency, and they draw in people and circumstances that match it, whether or not they know about or believe in the law [source: Butler-Bowdon, review of The Secret]. Byrne summarises her method as "Ask, Believe, Receive", language borrowed from the New Testament, and the book and DVD promise happiness, health, money and relationships [source: Lampman, Christian Science Monitor, 2007]. The book names as forerunners Wallace Wattles (The Science of Getting Rich, which Byrne calls her "hero"), Charles Haanel (The Master Key System), Robert Collier and Genevieve Behrend, and features contemporary teachers including Michael Bernard Beckwith, Jack Canfield, Neale Donald Walsch, Denis Waitley and Bob Dooley [source: Butler-Bowdon]. The phrase itself appears as a book title in Atkinson's Thought Vibration, or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World (1906), a set of New Thought lessons whose chapters include "The Law of Mental Control", "Transmutation of Negative Thought" and "The Attractive Power–Desire Force" [source: Atkinson 1906]. The later Abraham-Hicks teachings of Esther and Jerry Hicks (e.g. Ask and It Is Given) are a major channelled strand of the same current [uncertain: not verified]; for channelling see 108 (Channelling, including Abraham-Hicks), and for related currents 085 (New Thought) and 092 (affirmative prayer).

Scale and spread. By March 2007 about 3.75 million copies of the book were in print and about 2 million DVDs had sold, helped by promotion on Oprah Winfrey's and Ellen DeGeneres's programmes [source: Lampman 2007]. TikTok videos tagged "manifestation" had about 34.6 billion views by May 2023 [source: Young, BPS Research Digest, 2023].

Its own account of how change happens. Change is said to come from aligning one's inner state (clear desire, belief, positive feeling, gratitude) with what one wants, so that the universe delivers it, often by routes one cannot foresee; doubt and negative feeling are said to block delivery [source: Butler-Bowdon]. Religion scholars place it in a long American New Thought and positive-thinking tradition, and some read it as repackaged New Age teaching [source: Lampman 2007, quoting Sean McCloud and Douglas Cowan].

Evidence status (one line). No controlled evidence shows that thoughts attract external events; research on positive fantasies finds that idealised fantasy alone predicts less effort and attainment (Oettingen), and belief in manifestation is associated with riskier financial choices and past bankruptcy in correlational studies (Dixon, Hornsey and Hartley) [source: Todd/WEF 2016; Dixon et al. 2025; UQ News 2023].

The therapist's frame. This guide sets out the practice as its authors publish it, so the therapist can understand what a client is doing, then the therapist's own work: exploring what the practice means in the client's life, cultural formulation, differential assessment without pathologising belief, adverse effects (self-blame, manifestation anxiety and OCD-like rituals, financial risk, delayed medical care), dependency on teachers or influencers, and referral. The therapist does not teach manifesting, set intentions on the client's behalf, or act as a guide in the practice [synthesis].

2. Framework

The law of attraction is a belief system and self-help practice, not a therapy; it has no published clinical protocol, phases or session counts. Two frameworks are relevant: the practice's own sequence, and the clinician's sequence of work with a client who practises it. No source gives session numbers for either; any pacing below is [synthesis].

A. The practice's own sequence (as Byrne presents it) [source: Butler-Bowdon]

Ask. Get very clear about what is wanted. Byrne compares this to ordering once from a catalogue and then expecting delivery, rather than re-ordering out of doubt.
Believe. Act, speak and think as if it has already been received; do things that put one "in" the desire (the book's examples include test-driving a wanted car or walking through a wanted house).
Receive. Feel good now, because positive feeling is said to set the frequency for manifestation.
Sustaining practices. Visualisation, gratitude morning and night, keeping one's feeling state high, "inspired action" rather than forcing, and trusting the universe without asking "how". Moving on is not criteria-based; the reader is told to hold belief while waiting, as delay between thought and result is expected.

B. The clinician's sequence [synthesis, drawing on the clinical sources cited in section 4]

Engagement and meaning. Goal: understand, in the client's words, what the practice is, where they learned it (book, film, teacher, online creators, community), and what it gives them. Move on when the client feels the therapist is curious rather than judging.
Cultural formulation and assessment. Goal: place the practice in the client's identity, community and religious life (Cultural Formulation Interview, including its spirituality, religion and moral traditions module), and screen for OCD-type magical thinking, mania, psychotic features, depression with self-blame, complicated grief, financial harm and health decisions. Move on when there is a shared formulation of whether the practice is a resource, a problem, or both.
Focused work, chosen by formulation. For a resource: support its helpful parts (hope, gratitude, goal clarity) and link it to concrete action (e.g. mental contrasting). For harm: address self-blame, manifestation anxiety (ERP for OCD presentations), financial risk, health-decision routing, and dependence on teachers or influencers.
Consolidation and referral. Goal: the client holds their beliefs freely, makes health and money decisions with appropriate professionals, and has a relapse plan. Refer for OCD-specialist ERP, psychiatric assessment, financial counselling, medical care, or (if the client wishes) a conversation with their own spiritual community.

3. Guiding principles

Describe, do not adjudicate. The law of attraction is a belief; the therapist neither endorses nor ridicules it. Practical meaning: use the client's terms ("vibration", "alignment", "the universe") with a short gloss, and keep your own view out unless asked [synthesis].
Separate belief from behaviour and consequences. The question is not "is it true?" but "how is this working for you?". Practical meaning: assess effects on mood, money, health, relationships and time [synthesis].
Do not pathologise belief. Shared cultural and religious beliefs are not symptoms; DSM-5 provides a non-disorder code for faith-related distress, Z65.8 "Religious or spiritual problem", listed under ICD-10-CM Z65.8 [source: Unbound Medicine; Barrett 2020]. Practical meaning: diagnose a disorder only when its criteria are met independently of the belief content.
Watch for blame of the sufferer. Critics argue the teaching implies that people bring bad events on themselves by bad thoughts [source: Lampman 2007, citing Cowan], and that it implies people with depression are responsible for their condition [source: Strelan, PsyPost 2024]. Practical meaning: listen for self-blame after illness, loss, abuse or poverty and address it directly.
Magical thinking can become compulsive. When thoughts are felt to cause events, attempts to control or cancel thoughts can become rituals [source: Peace of Mind Foundation/IOCDF, "Magical Thinking"]. Practical meaning: screen for neutralising, checking of one's thoughts and reassurance-seeking.
Hope plus realism. Positive fantasy alone predicts less effort; pairing a wish with obstacles and plans supports action [source: Todd/WEF 2016, on Oettingen]. Practical meaning: keep the client's hope and add concrete planning.
Money and health decisions belong with the right professional. Manifestation belief is associated with riskier investments and bankruptcy [source: Dixon et al. 2025]; The Secret reports "stories of miracles" including healing [source: Lampman 2007]. Practical meaning: no practice is treated as treating illness; medical decisions go to the treating doctor, financial ones to qualified advisers [synthesis].
The therapist is not a teacher of the practice. Practical meaning: no affirmations, visualisations or intentions set for the client as manifesting; no endorsement of courses or coaches [synthesis].
Client autonomy and consent. Practical meaning: ask permission before exploring or questioning the practice, and let the client set how far it is examined [synthesis].
Ethics and competence. Practical meaning: work within competence; seek consultation on spiritual and religious matters; keep any personal interest in manifesting out of the therapy [synthesis]; spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists have been described by Vieten and colleagues (2013) [uncertain: not verified].

4. Intervention inventory

Part A describes the practice's publicly taught methods in Byrne's version, so the therapist can recognise and talk about them; the therapist does not teach or lead them. Part B gives the therapist's own interventions. The example language throughout is illustrative wording, not language used by Byrne or other teachers.

Part A. The practice as published (for recognition, not instruction)

A1. Ask: clarifying the desire

Purpose and use (as taught): to state clearly and once what is wanted; Byrne compares it to placing a catalogue order and then expecting delivery without re-ordering out of doubt [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): decide specifically what is wanted; state it; do not repeat the request out of doubt.
Example language (illustrative, exploring it in therapy): "When you 'ask', what do you actually do? Do you write it, say it, picture it? And what happens in you if you feel the urge to ask again?"
Watch for: the "ask once" rule turning into anxiety about having asked wrongly, or checking and re-asking rituals (see B6) [synthesis]. Clear goal-setting itself can be useful material for B4.

A2. Believe: acting as if

Purpose and use (as taught): to act, speak and think as though the desire has already been received; examples include test-driving a wanted car or walking through a wanted house imagining it is one's own [source: Butler-Bowdon]. Byrne also teaches not needing to know "how": wondering how is said to signal doubt, illustrated by Jack Canfield's image of driving at night by headlights [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): behave and talk as if the outcome is present; avoid doubt and "how" questions; trust the route will appear.
Example language (illustrative): "Acting as if can feel energising. I'm curious where it has cost you anything, money, a decision, a check-up you put off?"
Watch for: spending, borrowing or investing "as if" the money has arrived; skipping practical steps because asking "how" feels like doubt; suppression of realistic worry [synthesis, informed by Dixon et al. 2025].

A3. Receive: feeling good now

Purpose and use (as taught): positive feeling is said to set the frequency for manifestation; negative emotions are said to block what the universe would give; the shortcut is to be and feel happy now [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): notice feeling state; deliberately shift it upward; keep it high while waiting.
Example language (illustrative): "What happens when you can't feel good, on a bad day, or when you're grieving? What does the practice tell you that means?"
Watch for: fear of one's own negative feelings, suppression, guilt or shame about sadness or anger, and belief that a low mood will attract harm. This is the main route to manifestation anxiety (B6) and to self-blame (B5) [synthesis].

A4. Visualisation

Purpose and use (as taught): to imagine the desired outcome vividly, as if present. The Secret's main example is Jack Canfield's account of visualising a $100,000 income with a mock note taped to his ceiling; he reports earning $92,327 that year (the reviewer notes this was not literally $100,000) [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): picture the outcome in detail, regularly, with the feeling of already having it.
Example language (illustrative): "When you picture it, how do you feel afterwards, more ready to act, or as if it's already done?"
Watch for: Oettingen's finding that positive fantasies predict lower attainment, for example less weight lost and lower earnings two years after graduation among those who fantasised most positively; she links this to fantasies feeling like the work is already done [source: Todd/WEF 2016]. Also watch for prolonged absorption, immersive daydreaming or derealisation [synthesis].

A5. Gratitude practice

Purpose and use (as taught): Byrne calls gratitude the most important practice, to be made a way of life and practised morning and night; thinking "not enough" is said to keep lack as one's reality [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): list or dwell on things one is grateful for at the start and end of each day.
Example language (illustrative): "Gratitude seems to matter to you. Does it feel like something you enjoy, or something you have to get right?"
Watch for: gratitude used to silence legitimate grievances (abuse, unfair treatment), or done as a must-not-miss ritual with fear of consequences if skipped [synthesis].

A6. Inspired action and the feeling of love

Purpose and use (as taught): the universe is said to work without strain, like grass growing; "inspired action" is said to work better than forcing. Drawing on Haanel, the book presents the law of attraction as another name for love, with loving thoughts said to improve manifesting [source: Butler-Bowdon].
Steps (as taught, in outline): act when an impulse feels inspired; cultivate loving thoughts.
Example language (illustrative): "How do you tell an inspired action from an impulsive one?"
Watch for: impulsivity reframed as inspiration, especially with decreased need for sleep, pressured plans or large purchases (screen for hypomania or mania, B3) [synthesis].

Part B. The therapist's interventions

B1. Client-led exploration of meaning

Purpose and when to use: at first mention of manifesting, the law of attraction, The Secret or an influencer; to learn what the practice is for this person before deciding whether it is a resource, a problem, or both [synthesis].
Steps: (1) ask permission to talk about it; (2) invite the client to describe it in their own words and terms; (3) ask where they learned it and who they follow (book, film, teacher, online creators, community); (4) ask what it has given them (hope, structure, meaning, comfort, belonging); (5) ask what it has cost them; (6) summarise back using their language and check accuracy [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned manifesting. Would it be OK to hear more about it? What does it look like day to day for you, and what has it helped with?"
Watch for / working: the client explains freely, without defensiveness or apology; you can name both benefits and costs together. Shame, guardedness or a sense of being tested suggests the alliance needs repair (section 5) [synthesis].

B2. Cultural formulation, including spirituality and religion

Purpose and when to use: early in assessment, to place the practice in the client's cultural identity, community, religious background and explanatory model of their problem. The DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview and its supplementary module on spirituality, religion and moral traditions are the standard tools [uncertain: not verified].
Steps: (1) explore the client's own explanation of their difficulty and how the practice fits it; (2) ask about religious upbringing and current affiliation, including any New Thought congregation or teacher; (3) ask how family and friends view the practice; (4) ask what help they expect from therapy versus from the practice; (5) record the formulation in their language. Use the published interview rather than improvised items; do not reproduce its questions in client materials [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Some people see manifesting as spiritual, some as psychology, some as both. How do you see it? Does it connect to any faith you grew up with?"
Watch for / working: a formulation the client recognises; conflict with family or a prior faith (relevant to Christian critics who see it as at odds with prayer as yielding to God's will [source: Lampman 2007, quoting Christel Manning]); whether faith-related distress fits Z65.8 "Religious or spiritual problem" rather than a disorder [source: Unbound Medicine ICD-10-CM; Barrett 2020].

B3. Differential assessment without pathologising belief

Purpose and when to use: when the practice is intense, distressing, impairing, or the client's statements are unusual for their reference group [synthesis].
Steps: assess each area on its own criteria, not on belief content [synthesis]:
- OCD / magical thinking: belief that thoughts, words or acts can change events, with rituals to prevent harm or bring good, such as cancelling a "bad" thought with a "good" one [source: Peace of Mind Foundation/IOCDF]. Ask about time spent, distress, neutralising and reassurance-seeking.
- Hypomania / mania: grandiose certainty of imminent wealth, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, spending sprees framed as "acting as if".
- Psychotic features: fixed beliefs of personal reference or special powers beyond what the practice's community teaches, hallucinations, disorganisation; compare with how co-practitioners hold the same ideas.
- Depression: self-blame for illness, poverty or loss as caused by "low vibration"; hopelessness after manifesting "failed"; suicidal ideation (assess with standard risk assessment).
- Grief: belief that one's negative thoughts caused a death or illness; prolonged guilt.
- Dissociation: derealisation or depersonalisation with heavy visualisation or immersive practice.
Example language (illustrative): "Lots of people manifest. I want to understand what's specific to you: how much of your day does it take, and what happens if you don't do it?"
Watch for: pathologising a widely shared belief, and the opposite error, missing mania or OCD because the content is culturally familiar [synthesis].

B4. Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (WOOP)

Purpose and when to use: when the client wants their goals but visualisation or "feeling as if" is not translating into action. Oettingen's method (WOOP: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) adds realism to positive dreams [source: Todd/WEF 2016; Oettingen 2014, as cited there]. Offer it as a separate, secular tool, not as a better way of manifesting [synthesis].
Steps (Oettingen's four steps, paraphrased): (1) Wish: name a specific, feasible wish; (2) Outcome: imagine the best outcome and how it would feel; (3) Obstacle: identify the main obstacle, especially one inside oneself; (4) Plan: form an if-then plan for meeting that obstacle. If the obstacle looks too large, consider postponing or dropping the goal [source: Todd/WEF 2016].
Example language (illustrative): "You've got a vivid picture of where you want to be. Let's add one thing: what in you is most likely to get in the way, and what will you do when it shows up?"
Watch for / working: concrete if-then plans that are carried out; goals revised or released when obstacles are unworkable. If the client treats WOOP as a ritual that must be done perfectly, revisit B6 [synthesis].

B5. Working with self-blame and victim-blaming

Purpose and when to use: when the client attributes illness, abuse, poverty, accidents, a relationship ending or a death to their own thoughts or "vibration", or others blame them this way. Critics note the logic would make victims of crime responsible for their suffering [source: Lampman 2007, quoting Douglas Cowan] and people with depression responsible for their condition [source: Strelan 2024].
Steps: (1) name the self-blame gently and ask how the client came to it; (2) explore the full set of causes (circumstances, other people's actions, chance, biology, structural factors) without arguing about the metaphysics; (3) separate responsibility for future choices from blame for past events; (4) work on self-compassion; (5) if abuse or harm by others is involved, place responsibility with those who caused it and address safety [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You're carrying the idea that your thoughts caused this. Can we look at everything else that was going on at the time, and notice what was and wasn't in your hands?"
Watch for / working: reduction in guilt and shame; the client can keep meaningful beliefs while dropping the blame. Persistent guilt with low mood may indicate depression or complicated grief needing focused treatment [synthesis].

B6. "Manifestation anxiety": OCD-type magical thinking and ERP

Purpose and when to use: when the client fears that a negative thought, word or feeling will attract harm, and performs rituals to prevent it: cancelling "bad" thoughts with "good" ones, repeating affirmations a set number of times, re-doing gratitude lists, checking their own mood, seeking reassurance that they have not "blocked" or "ruined" an outcome. Magical-thinking OCD is described as the belief that thoughts, words or wishes can change events in the world, with overresponsibility and rules to prevent harm [source: Peace of Mind Foundation/IOCDF]. "Manifestation anxiety" is a popular label, not a diagnosis [synthesis]. ERP is described by the IOCDF as the most important type of CBT for OCD [source: IOCDF, ERP page].
Steps: (1) assess for OCD with a full diagnostic assessment; consider psychiatric consultation on medication [source: Peace of Mind Foundation/IOCDF]; (2) map obsessions ("my doubt will stop the house sale") and compulsions, including mental ones; (3) explain ERP: deliberately facing the thoughts, images and situations that trigger anxiety, and choosing not to perform the compulsion, so the brain learns the feared outcome is not a threat [source: IOCDF ERP page]; (4) obtain informed consent, agreeing that exposures are chosen together, graded, and can be paused; (5) plan graded exposures in the practice's own domain, for example allowing a doubtful thought about a goal without cancelling it, writing a sentence naming a feared outcome, skipping or shortening a ritualised gratitude list, letting a sad feeling stay without "raising the vibration" [synthesis, modelled on the IOCDF example of thinking a "bad thought" without neutralising it]; (6) agree response prevention and stop reassurance-giving (including by the therapist); (7) coach in session first, then between sessions; the person gradually learns to run their own exposures [source: IOCDF ERP page].
Contraindications and safety: do not begin exposure during active suicidality, mania, psychosis or acute crisis; keep exposures within the client's values (the aim is freedom from compulsion, not abandoning belief); involve an OCD specialist if you are not trained in ERP [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "OCD is telling you your thoughts have the power to cause disaster. Let's test that carefully: today, would you be willing to let the thought 'I might not get the job' sit there for a few minutes without fixing it?"
Watch for / working: anxiety rising then falling within and across exposures; less time on rituals; fewer reassurance requests; the client distinguishing their chosen spiritual practice from compulsions. Watch for covert neutralising during exposures and for the practice's teaching being used as reassurance [synthesis].

B7. Financial risk and exploitation screen

Purpose and when to use: when manifesting is linked to money goals, paid courses, coaching or investment. In three studies (N = 1,023), higher belief in manifestation was associated with attraction to risky investments, past bankruptcy, and believing unlikely success could come quickly; about a third endorsed the beliefs [source: Dixon et al. 2025; UQ News 2023]. The researchers link this to vulnerability to get-rich-quick schemes and volatile investments such as cryptocurrency [source: UQ News 2023; BPS Research Digest 2023].
Steps: (1) ask what the client has spent on programmes, coaches, retreats or products, and on "acting as if" purchases; (2) ask about debts, investments and recent big decisions; (3) look for upselling, guaranteed-income claims, recruiting others, or pressure framed as "investing in yourself"; (4) encourage a pause before large decisions; (5) refer to an independent financial or debt adviser, and to consumer-protection or fraud reporting if a scheme may be fraudulent [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Can we look at money for a moment, not to judge, just to see the whole picture: what's gone into courses or coaching this year, and how is that sitting with you?"
Watch for / working: the client making decisions with independent advice; reduced spending on promises of guaranteed results. Distress and shame about losses need sensitive handling (B5) [synthesis].

B8. Health claims and medical decisions

Purpose and when to use: when the client believes thoughts can heal illness, or delays or declines medical care in favour of manifesting health. The Secret contains a health chapter [source: Butler-Bowdon], and Byrne reports "stories of miracles", including healing from chronic pain [source: Lampman 2007]. Evidence status: no controlled evidence that manifesting treats physical disease [synthesis]. No practice described here is a treatment for cancer or any physical disease.
Steps: (1) ask about current health conditions and treatment; (2) ask whether the practice has changed any medical decision; (3) without arguing metaphysics, support the client in keeping medical decisions with their treating doctor; (4) never advise starting, stopping or changing medicine; (5) with consent, liaise with the medical team; (6) for children, see B10 [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Many people use their beliefs alongside medical care. Decisions about treatment are ones to make with your doctor. Would it help to think together about what you'd like to ask them?"
Watch for: missed appointments, stopped medicines, self-blame for illness, family conflict about treatment [synthesis].

B9. Dependency on teachers, influencers and communities

Purpose and when to use: when the client spends large amounts of time on manifestation content, teachers or online creators, or feels unable to decide without them. Manifestation is promoted by "self-described experts, gurus, and influencers", and influencers promise success in high-stakes career and financial decisions [source: UQ News 2023, quoting Dixon]. Online spread is large [source: BPS Research Digest 2023].
Steps: (1) map time, money and emotional reliance; (2) explore parasocial attachment (the felt relationship with a creator); (3) look for signs of coercive control in any group: discouraging outside advice, isolation, blame when results fail, escalating payments; (4) support small experiments in independent decision-making; (5) help the client build relationships outside the community; (6) if leaving a group, support grief for lost belonging [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "It sounds like this creator has been a big part of your life. What would you decide about this if you couldn't check what they'd say?"
Watch for / working: more self-trust and broader support; caution about labelling any group, describe behaviours not labels [synthesis].

B10. Children and safeguarding

Purpose and when to use: when a parent applies the teaching to a child, for example treating a child's illness or distress as caused by negative thinking, withholding medical care, or blaming a child's feelings [synthesis].
Steps: (1) assess the child's welfare and access to medical and developmental assessment; (2) explain to the parent, without disparaging their belief, that health and developmental needs require professional assessment; (3) follow local safeguarding procedures if care is being withheld or harm is occurring; (4) obtain parental consent and the child's assent for any work with the child [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative, to a parent): "I can see how much hope this gives you. Alongside it, your child needs a doctor to look at these symptoms. Can we plan that today?"
Watch for: a child who hides sadness or fear to avoid "bad vibrations"; missed health care [synthesis].

B11. Keeping what helps

Purpose and when to use: when the practice is mainly a resource. Reviews and commentators note possible benefits: optimism while pursuing goals and coping by reframing setbacks [source: BPS Research Digest 2023], and an association of positive attitude with better outcomes, though not through a magical mechanism [source: Strelan 2024].
Steps: (1) identify what the client values (hope, gratitude, clarity, morning routine, community); (2) support those as chosen values-based practices; (3) pair hope with planning (B4); (4) keep the therapist out of the role of manifesting coach [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Gratitude in the mornings seems to steady you. Let's keep that, and also look at the next practical step towards the job."
Watch for / working: flexible, enjoyable practice without fear, guilt or financial strain [synthesis].

B12. Referral and community involvement

Purpose and when to use: when needs exceed the therapist's role or competence [synthesis].
Steps: refer to an OCD specialist for ERP; to psychiatry for suspected mania, psychosis or severe depression; to the GP or treating doctor for any health decisions; to a financial or debt adviser for money harm; to bereavement services for complicated grief; and, only if the client wishes, involve a trusted spiritual adviser or community leader of their choice [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "This part needs someone who specialises in it. Would you like me to help set that up?"
Watch for: referral felt as rejection; frame it as adding support, and keep continuity where possible [synthesis].

B13. Role boundaries and self-disclosure

Purpose and when to use: throughout. The therapist does not teach manifesting, lead visualisations as manifesting, endorse paid programmes, or promise outcomes. A therapist who also coaches or teaches manifesting keeps that work fully separate from therapy and does not take therapy clients into it [synthesis].
Steps: decide in advance how you will answer "Do you believe in it?"; disclose briefly, if at all, and return to the client's experience [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "My own view matters less here than what it means for you. What's behind the question?"
Watch for: the client seeking the therapist's endorsement as reassurance (a possible compulsion, B6), or the therapist's own enthusiasm or scepticism steering the work [synthesis].

5. Handling problems

The published sources on the law of attraction do not address therapy; the guidance below is [synthesis] unless a source is given.

The client fears that therapy itself is "negative". Talking about problems may feel like focusing on lack and attracting more of it. Response: acknowledge the worry, agree the purpose (understanding, not dwelling), set a balance between problem talk and resources, and check at the end of sessions how the client feels. If the fear is intense and rule-like, assess for B6. Illustrative: "I hear that naming the problem feels risky. Shall we agree to look at it for part of the session and then turn to what you want to build?"
Exposure feels like "attracting" the feared outcome (ERP refusal). This is the central difficulty in manifestation-themed OCD. Response: separate the client's chosen beliefs from OCD's rules; start with very low steps the client accepts; frame ERP as reclaiming the practice from fear; never coerce. If refusal persists, work on motivation and values first and consult an OCD specialist. Illustrative: "We're not asking you to give up what you believe, only to stop letting fear decide how often you have to fix your thoughts."
Manifesting "failed": despair, shame or suicidal thoughts. After a loss, a failed business or a diagnosis, the client may conclude they are fundamentally "blocked" or bad. Response: conduct a standard suicide risk assessment and safety plan where indicated; work on self-blame (B5); grieve the loss and the lost hope.
Grief and guilt. A bereaved client may believe their fear or negative thoughts caused the death. Response: treat as grief-related guilt (B5); assess for prolonged grief; avoid debating metaphysics.
Rupture: the client feels judged or dismissed. Signs: guardedness, sudden silence about the practice, missed sessions. Response: name the rupture, take responsibility for anything that sounded dismissive, restate your stance (curious, not adjudicating) and invite feedback. Illustrative: "I may have come across as sceptical earlier. That wasn't my intention, and I'd like to understand it better."
The client wants the therapist to join in. Requests to visualise together, "hold the intention", or say the goal will happen. Response: decline warmly and explain role boundaries (B13); offer goal planning (B4) instead. Reassurance requests may also be compulsions (B6).
Non-adherence to plans because "how" is doubt. The teaching that asking "how" signals doubt [source: Butler-Bowdon] can make planning feel wrong. Response: explore it in the client's terms (e.g. whether inspired action and planning can coexist for them) and offer WOOP as a separate tool (B4); respect the client's choice.
Escalating spending or risky investments. Response: B7; slow decisions down; if mania is suspected, urgent psychiatric assessment; involve trusted others with consent.
Health decisions. If the client stops treatment or delays care, respond as in B8, keep the decision with the treating doctor, and, where a child is affected, follow safeguarding procedures (B10).
Unusual beliefs that go beyond the practice. Statements of special powers, being chosen, or the universe sending personal messages, especially with sleep loss or disorganisation. Response: assess (B3) and refer for psychiatric evaluation; avoid both colluding and arguing.
Entanglement with wider online content. Manifestation content may sit alongside other online beliefs, including anti-medicine or conspiracy material. Response: explore with curiosity, map sources and time online, and focus on concrete harms (health, money, relationships, isolation) rather than debating content.
Family conflict. Relatives may ridicule or be alarmed by the practice. Response: with consent, family sessions focused on concrete concerns and mutual respect; help relatives avoid shaming, which tends to entrench positions.
Stuck: "it works when I do it right". The belief can absorb all failures ("not aligned enough"); the BPS summary notes the authors' concern that reframing failure as lack of alignment can lead to denial or false hope [source: BPS Research Digest 2023]. Response: avoid trying to disprove the belief; move to values (what matters regardless of outcome) and to the costs the client is already noticing.

Sources

Web sources:

Tom Butler-Bowdon, review of Rhonda Byrne, The Secret
Jane Lampman, "'The Secret,' a phenomenon, is no mystery to many", Christian Science Monitor, 28 March 2007
Sarah Todd, "Positive thinking leads to success. Doesn't it?", World Economic Forum/Quartz, May 2016 (on Gabriele Oettingen's research and WOOP)
Dixon, Hornsey and Hartley, "The Secret" to Success? The psychology of belief in manifestation, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 51(1), 49–65 (record, University of the Sunshine Coast)
UQ News, "Manifesting your way to bankruptcy", 20 September 2023
Emma Young, "Manifestation: believe and achieve?", BPS Research Digest, 10 August 2023
Peter Strelan, "The law of attraction debunked", PsyPost (from The Conversation), 27 February 2024
International OCD Foundation, "Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)"
Peace of Mind Foundation (IOCDF), "Magical Thinking"
ICD-10-CM Z65.8, Other specified problems related to psychosocial circumstances (includes 'Religious or spiritual problem'), https://www.unboundmedicine.com/icd/view/ICD-10-CM/945432/all/Z65_8___Other_specified_problems_related_to_psychosocial_circumstances
Jason A. Barrett, "COVID-19's religious strain: Differentiating spirituality from pathology", Current Psychiatry 19(12), 2020

Books cited:

Byrne, R. (2006). The Secret (film; book followed) [edition details uncertain].
Atkinson, W. W. (1906). Thought Vibration, or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World.
Oettingen, G. (2014). Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation [as cited in Todd 2016].
Hicks, E., & Hicks, J. Ask and It Is Given [uncertain: not verified].
American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5-TR, Cultural Formulation Interview and supplementary modules [uncertain: not verified].
Vieten, C., et al. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists [uncertain: not verified].

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