Issues such as relationship problems and family bereavements are almost universal. People requiring help with such issues from social workers and counselors, however, can be incredibly diverse. A new study investigates the experiences of one particular group – self-identified vampires – in disclosing their identity to helping professionals.

Share on Pinterest The authors suggest that self-identified vampires are probably more common than most people realize.

The study, published in Critical Social Work, seeks to understand the experiences and concerns of people self-identifying as vampires who are faced with the choice of disclosing their identity to professionals such as social workers and counselors when seeking help for various issues.

Advances in technology and social media have created an environment conducive to unique and unconventional identities, the authors state. The Internet has made it much easier for individuals to discover and work out new identities that can help them understand themselves better.

“We really need to understand some of these new identities and new ways to identify ourselves, and some of these new identities do not fit into stereotypes,” says study co-author DJ Williams, an associate professor of social work at Idaho State University. “Helping professionals of all varieties need more education on these kinds of topics.”

People that self-identify as “real vampires,” for example, claim the need for extra energy regularly to sustain health. This energy can be obtained either psychically or with small amounts of blood from animals or willing donors.

Williams explains that while people with alternative identities may have significantly different lifestyles and beliefs to others, they can still be affected by personal issues in the same way as everybody else: