Framework proposed for supporting clients through transformative DNA recognition events

Anagnórisis, genetic mirroring, and anagnóric mirroring: Identifying a framework for DNA revelations in reproductive medicine. (Shepard, 2025)

Dec 08, 2025

Shepard, A., & Potter, M. (2025). Anagnórisis, genetic mirroring, and anagnóric mirroring: Identifying a framework for DNA revelations in reproductive medicine. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 9(4), 310-326. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/17324

Geographic Region: United States, Canada, England, Australia

Research Question: What is the nature and structure of anagnórisis—the recognition moment when everything changes yet nothing changes—as experienced by individuals who discover misattributed paternity or unknown donor conception through DNA testing, and how does this recognition phenomenon transform identity and self-understanding?

Design: A secondary analysis of data from a prior study by Shepard and colleagues that explored psychological well-being and identity formation following DNA discoveries. The original study used semi-structured interviews lasting between one and two hours conducted via Zoom by the principal investigator. Interview questions were open-ended and focused on understanding lived experiences, though they did not explicitly ask about recognition moments.

Sample: 33 participants from the original phenomenological research: eighteen in the misattributed paternity group and fifteen who were donor-conceived without prior knowledge. The majority of participants identified as White and female. The mean age for the donor-conceived group was about 38 years old. Participants resided across multiple English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. Recruitment occurred primarily through online platforms, including Facebook and Reddit forums, using study flyers.

Key Findings

The phenomenon of anagnórisis emerged across most participant narratives as moments when “nothing about my life changed, yet everything felt different,” representing a universal human experience of identity transformation through recognition.
Anagnóric mirroring, defined as the paradoxical recognition of unchanged physical features that acquire new meaning following DNA discoveries, was endorsed by approximately 70% of participants across both groups (24 of 33 participants).
Participants described reinterpreting their physical appearance and resemblances after DNA discoveries, with some experiencing loss of previously assumed family resemblances and others finding new connections through recognized similarities with biological relatives.
Recognition moments prompted participants to reevaluate their entire life narratives, including past experiences, present identity, and future trajectories, without any external circumstances actually changing.
Anagnóric mirroring experiences ranged from distressing (feeling robbed of identity, seeing a stranger in the mirror) to connecting (finally seeing themselves reflected in biological relatives, finding missing pieces of identity).
One participant described: “It was like looking in the mirror and all of a sudden, ‘Okay, that’s not a Scottish face. That’s someone else...that’s someone else’s face.’ That was really weird and really weird to sit with.”
Another participant reflected: “Now that I look in the mirror... I can’t unsee my face shape now...I’ve never seen it like this before. I just remember looking at [biological father’s] eyes and thinking, ‘Those are my eyes. And I’ve never seen my eyes before.’”
The search for belonging through physical resemblance was common, with one participant stating: “You keep looking for those commonalities, like ‘Oh, do I look like them? Are there things that we do similar?’...it’s like, ‘Oh well this soil feels right.’”
Anagnórisis was conceptually distinguished from identity disturbance: while identity disturbance is pervasive, maladaptive, and associated with psychopathology, anagnórisis is event-triggered, can be growth-producing, and represents a universal phenomenon rather than a disorder.

The authors propose a comprehensive therapeutic framework grounded in established psychological theories to support individuals experiencing anagnórisis. The framework integrates multiple evidence-based approaches, including betrayal trauma theory, grief and meaning reconstruction models, and existential psychotherapy.

Normalize the recognition event: Clinicians can support clients by first naming and normalizing this experience using affirming language. Be sure not to mislabel the experience as something pathological in the absence of symptoms.
Avoid premature repair: Clients likely need to grieve the loss of prior narratives before re-authoring new ones. Clinicians can support this process by helping clients explore if prior narratives still align with their new understanding of reality, and how that impacts their sense of self and belonging.
Apply trauma-informed pacing: Clinicians should approach these recognition events with a pacing that mirrors trauma-informed care: emphasizing safety, emotional regulation, and gradual meaning-making over immediate interpretation or resolution.
Support meaning reconstruction: Utilizing approaches like narrative, existential, and identity-focused therapies can facilitate integration. Act as a witness to the client’s process, providing validation by exploring one’s sense of truth, freedom, loss, and meaning. Building a tolerance to and normalizing the discomfort of ambiguity can be a supportive process.
Reevaluate biopsychosocial assessments: Consider new ways to obtain intake
information to improve your sensitivity to anagnórisis. Asking questions like, “Has new knowledge recently changed the way you see yourself or the past?” can invite the client to explore how newly acquired information has impacted their life.
Attend to cultural orientation: Attune to how clients frame their news from cultural perspectives. Understanding cultural orientations (individualism/collectivism) and intersecting identities can help clients interpret and move through the next steps of their journey. For some, anagnórisis can disrupt personal values, while for others, it can reconfigure communal belonging.

Limitations: The sample was demographically homogeneous with 96% Caucasian participants, severely limiting the ability to draw culture-specific conclusions about how anagnórisis manifests across diverse populations.

Applications: For donor-conceived people, this research validates the profound identity shifts that can occur when discovering donor origins, normalizing experiences where physical features acquire new meaning and providing language for the paradox that “nothing changed yet everything changed.” For mental health professionals, the study provides a potential clinical framework for supporting clients. Mental health providers should continue to develop intervention strategies and create standards of care guidelines to help the field respond to anagnórisis and anagnóric mirroring events with greater sensitivity.

Funding Source: No funding source was identified for this study.

Lead Author: Ashley Shepard is an adjunct faculty member at Shepherd University and maintains a private practice specializing in grief and bereavement. She holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California, with six years of professional experience as a hospice social worker. Shepard has a personal connection through her spouse’s experience with misattributed paternity.

Regulatory Context: The study included participants from the United States, Canada, England, and Australia, representing diverse regulatory frameworks for donor conception.

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