Oct 31, 2010 By Amy Revak 6 min read

In what he is calling “a lot of synchronicity,” Uniontown psychologist Adam Sedlock is getting the opportunity to participate in paranormal research decades after he was first drawn to that area of interest. Sedlock, who has a practice in Uniontown, has become an honorary member of the Paranormal Research Society (PRS), a group originally formed at Penn State University that is featured on the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) cable television network show “Paranormal State.” The first of three episodes on which Sedlock will be featured this season will air at 9:30 p.m. today, Halloween. The episode, “Return of the Dead: The Glove II,” was filmed in Daisytown, Washington County.

Sedlock’s role on the show is two-fold, he recently explained. He is there to interview people who are reporting paranormal experiences to ensure they are not delusional and making up the incidents; and to interview and to observe the PRS team to ensure they are able to mentally handle the investigations.

Sedlock said when the PRS initially formed several years ago, there was a psychologist on board. However, that man, whose first name was also Adam, stepped down with the belief that any paranormal entity is demonic.

“I find it rather ironic that the show’s first psychologist quit and his name was Adam. Who would have thought?” Sedlock said.

On an Ohio investigation, Sedlock first met renowned demonologist Lorraine Warren. Sedlock said he was present when Warren arrived. He said she warmly greeted the team, but then looked at Sedlock and said that she didn’t believe they had been introduced.

After holding his hand, Warren said, “Oh, you found one finally,” Sedlock said.

Sedlock’s interest in the paranormal began in 1977, when he was pursuing a graduate degree. He then put it on a back burner when getting a job and raising a family took center stage.

“In 1977, I had a great interest and now, in 2010, it’s back,” Sedlock said.

The show, which began its fifth season on Oct. 17, is a half-hour series chronicling the life of Ryan Buell and other members of PRS as they seek to find the truth behind real-life mysteries, hauntings and ghosts. Buell founded PRS when he was a student at Penn State University. The group receives numerous calls about paranormal activity each year.

“For every show you see, there are probably 10 other cases they investigate,” Sedlock said.

Sedlock first met Buell and fellow PRS member Sergey Poberezhny when they came to Uniontown on an investigation. That led to his first experience with the show, in which he had to travel to Arlington, N.J.

For this season’s episodes, Sedlock went to Daisytown, a location in Ohio and Rochester, N.Y. The New York episode is the last of the season, Sedlock said.

Filming for the next season begins in November, and Sedlock said he agreed to appear in seven more episodes.

Sedlock is now teaching at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and was even asked to speak to a local paranormal group.

Ironically Sedlock, 56, isn’t a fan of the series, but that didn’t stop Buell from seeking Sedlock’s participation.

“Ryan likes the fact that I don’t watch the show,” Sedlock said.

Buell said he found out while investigating a Uniontown haunting that didn’t make it on the show that Sedlock was very interested in parapsychology, and Sedlock ended up being the “right fit” for the PRS team.

Buell said when PRS was affiliated with Penn State, there was a psychologist that was a partner, but he went on to work with the Catholic church, and Buell always had wanted to have another psychologist as part of the team, but they were either very far away or weren’t the right fit.

“Some (psychologists) were more TV personalities, but we are interested in the research end and we wanted someone to be skeptical who would take the time to really study the case. Adam was an amazing fit,” Buell said.

Buell said Sedlock didn’t stop because the camera stopped rolling, and Buell could see that Sedlock put his heart and soul into the investigations.

“I’m not looking for someone who’s a fanatic and wants to be famous,” Buell said.

While Sedlock started as a consulting member, he is now a more solid member of PRS, Buell said.

“He is very, very, very valuable. Any strong paranormal team should have a psychologist involved,” Buell said.

With Sedlock’s decades of experience, the fact that he has his own business and acts as a consultant and teacher is a “dream for a society like us,” Buell said.

Buell added that Sedlock has long been interested in the paranormal.

While Buell has attempted to get Penn State’s psychology department involved in the show, they weren’t jumping up and down to be one a show about ghosts.

Although Sedlock may not be prominently featured on episodes, it doesn’t mean he isn’t an important part of the group.

Because every 22 minute-show includes 100 hours of footage to choose from, Buell said sometimes not everyone involved in investigations appears on air, which is what happened with Sedlock last season.

“The show focuses on the story and we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can,” Buell said.

“Adam has been so instrumental in our cases and is becoming more and more instrumental. He’s actually investigating with us. The last episode of the season (we just filmed) he was involved as much as the team. As the season progresses, people will see more him become more and more involved.”

Sedlock has a private practice, ACS Psychological Associates Inc. in Uniontown, which provides outpatient and in-home behavioral treatment of people of all ages, as well as offering forensic services to the public.

He also is chief psychologist at the State Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands in Somerset, a member of the medical staff at Uniontown Hospital and Highlands Hospital in Connellsville, chairman of the professional psychology board of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA) and serves as the designated rural health coordinator for the PPA.

“It’s a great experience,” Sedlock said of consulting on the show, while not saying whether or not the paranormal events featured in the show are proof of ghosts or not. “Is it real? I don’t know, we’re trying to find out.”