Jonathan Kaplan, a clinical psychologist in New York, recently noticed that more and more of his clients are referring to Mercury being in retrograde.

“I’m not familiar with cosmic cycles,” he said. (Instead, his specialty is cognitive behavioral therapy.) “Nor do I try to be, but I want to understand what that means to a person and how that influences their understanding of the world.”

Now he, like many other therapists, is learning something new, to better communicate with patients.

Alternative treatments, rituals and metaphysical organizing principles loom large in popular culture. Astrology and tarot cards have permeated apps and social media. Sound baths and other forms of “energy medicine” appear not only in “healing centers,” but also in hospitals.

“A lot of things in psychology were once considered edgy and alternative,” said Charlynn Ruan, a clinical psychologist and the founder of Thrive Psychology Group in California, who said she is learning about different alternative treatments and approaches. “I’m not teaching it, but I’m not saying you can’t bring this into the room. That would be disempowering and arrogant.”