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12.21.14

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Exorcism embraced by secular therapists: Discovery Service: Upper School Library

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Exorcism embraced by secular therapists: Discovery Service: Upper School Library

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Find out how to read this

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12.20.14

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Sympathy for the Devil | Psychology Today

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Sympathy for the Devil | Psychology Today

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12.17.14

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The Devil Inside: Psychotherapy, Exorcism and Demonic Possession | Psychology Today

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The Devil Inside: Psychotherapy, Exorcism and Demonic Possession | Psychology Today

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12.17.14

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Exorcism as Psychotherapy: A Clinical Psychologist Examines So-Called Demonic Possession | Psychology Today

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Exorcism as Psychotherapy: A Clinical Psychologist Examines So-Called Demonic Possession | Psychology Today

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12.17.14

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Exorcism and the Endangered Future of Psychotherapy | Psychology Today

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Exorcism and the Endangered Future of Psychotherapy | Psychology Today

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12.17.14

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Giving the Devil His Due: Exorcism, Psychotherapy, and the Possession Syndrome | Psychology Today

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Giving the Devil His Due: Exorcism, Psychotherapy, and the Possession Syndrome | Psychology Today

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12.17.14

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Exorcism: Facts and Fiction About Demonic Possession

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Exorcism: Facts and Fiction About Demonic Possession

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12.17.14 - don't cite this one rn

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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion: L-Z - Google Books

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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion: L-Z - Google Books

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12.17.14 - Cited with Annotation

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David A. Leeming, Ph.D., has taught courses in Myth, Religion, and Literature for many years and has published several books on this subject. He has previous experience in overseeing encyclopedia-type projects, including the Oxford Companion to World Mythology (fall 2005). Until recently he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Religion and Health and Dean of Blanton Peale's Graduate Institute. He is currently Interim President of the Blanton-Peale Institute.

Kathryn Madden, Ph.D., licensed psychoanalyst and Diplomate, AAPC, has served the past 10 years at the Blanton-Peale Institute in New York City, first as Academic Dean & teaching faculty, and then as President & CEO. Kathryn received her Ph.D. in Psychology & Religion at Union Theological Seminary. She is co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Psychology & Religion, senior editor of Quadrant: Journal of the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Religion & Health: Psychology, Spirituality & Medicine. She is also author of Dark Light of the Soul (Lindisfarne, 2008). Kathryn lectures regularly at national and international conferences on the subject of depth psychology. She maintains a clinical practice in New York City. www.therapywithsoul.com Email: maddkc@aol.com

Stanton Marlan, Ph.D., ABPP, LP. is the author of The Black Sun: Alchemy and the Art of Darkness and other works on alchemy. He is a Jungian psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist in private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychology at Duquesne University and a training and supervising analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. He is a member of the C. G. Jung Institute of New York and a licensed psychoanalyst in that state. He is also President of the Pittsburgh Society of Jungian Analysts. He holds diplomates in both clinical psychology and psychoanalysis from the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is the past Editor of the Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice, a member of the editorial board of Spring Journal, and is one of three coeditors for the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. He has published numerous articles on Jungian psychology and alchemy and is the editor of Salt and the Alchemical Soul (Spring, 1995) and Fire in the Stone: The Alchemy of Desire (Chiron, 1997). He is the author of the widely acclaimed book, The Black Sun: The Alchemy and Art of Darkness (Texas A&M Press, 2005) and most recently has written a chapter entitled "Alchemy" for The Handbook of Jungian Psychology: Theory, Practice and Applications, edited by Renos Papadopoulos (Routledge, 2006), and an article "From the Black Sun to the Philosophers Stone" in the Alchemy issue of Spring Journal, 2006. He is also the editor of Archetypal Psychologies: Reflections in Honor of James Hillman, Spring Journal Books, in Press, 2008.

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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion: L-Z

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Integrating psychology and religion, this unique encyclopedia offers a rich contribution to the development of human self-understanding. It provides an intellectually rigorous collection of psychological interpretations of the stories, rituals, motifs, symbols, doctrines, dogmas, and experiences of the world's religious traditions. Easy-to-read, the encyclopedia draws from forty different religions, including modern world religions and older religious movements.

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12.12.14 - Cited with Annotation

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Exorcism and the Demons of Dissociative Disorders

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Exorcism and the Demons of Dissociative Disorders

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12.11.14 Cited with Annotation

Reread to see if it's really not a good report before deeming it negligible

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

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Could there ever be a situation in which a psychologist would be justified in conducting an exorcism for a client who was thought to be possessed by a demon? Although this scenario might sound unlikely, some psychologists have in fact conducted exorcisms in recent years.

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Exorcisms May Have Psychological Benefits - KnowledgeNuts

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Exorcisms May Have Psychological Benefits - KnowledgeNuts

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

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In A Nutshell

A new take on psychology suggests that the centuries-old practice of an exorcism might have clear and useful psychiatric value (in some specific circumstances). Psychologists and psychiatrists are beginning to suggest that performing an exorcism on a person suffering from various mental illnesses might serve to help them on the road to recovery-especially if they're devoutly religious and firm believers in demonic possession. For those that believe their problem is because of a demon that's possessing them, an exorcism could be just what the doctor ordered.

The Whole Bushel

Right now, the idea is just a theory, but it's an interesting one that sheds new light on a centuries-old practice that has always had non-believers scoffing. Exorcisms have been performed back as far as we have recorded history. The idea of being possessed by a demon or otherworldly being spans religious and cultural boundaries. And so does the idea that the demon or other foreign entity can be expelled by the performance of rites and readings.

Now, some researchers are suggesting the possibility that demonic possessions might be very, very real-in the sense that a person who is suffering from possession must have some sort of established belief system for that possession. In the creation of this belief system, which is obviously quite elaborate, there must also be a way to remove these demons. That's where an exorcism comes in.

It's similar to the placebo effect, but with psychiatry. It doesn't matter whether or not there's actually a demon present; what matters is that the subject believes there is. The performance of an exorcism may give them the will, the strength, or whatever outside help they need to fight their own type of psychological illness.

Psychologists like Carl Jung have made mention of a secular idea of possession in which the religious aspect is largely removed, but in which the patient still feels an invasion of evil thoughts that seem to take over their minds, or the feeling of being driven by something outside of themselves. In these cases, having an exorcism performed might be a way for the mind and the soul to reconcile the knowledge that whatever has been causing them to have these evil or destructive thoughts was not a part of them, and has been driven away.

For some patients, the act of an exorcism is thought to provide a meaningful way to allow them to confront whatever demons-religious or secular-might be ruining their day-to-day lives. Called the possession syndrome, this is the belief that a person has that they are being controlled by something that has found a home within them.

It's also not argued that what a person needs to overcome a mental illness is a support group and a way to actively participate in moving forward with their lives. In the case of a very spiritual person who believes they are possessed, an exorcism gives them that. An exorcism-and an exorcist-can give a person something that a secular therapist can't: a way to heal their soul and their beliefs. Multiple doctors and psychologists have noted the value of suggestion; and at it's most basic level, that's what an exorcism is.

What a priest might call a possession, a psychiatric journal might call an obsession, a multiple personality disorder, or a bipolar disorder. No one can deny that there are people who truly believe that they are being possessed by someone or something, and whether those are cases of real demons or of a psychological phenomenon, exorcism might just actually help a person confront their fears.

Show Me The Proof

Psychology Today: Devils, Demons and Dybbuks: Possession, Exorcism and Psychotherapy
LiveScience: Exorcism: Facts and Fiction About Demonic Possession
The Evolution of a Belief System Regarding Possession & Exorcism

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Exorcisms May Have Psychological Benefits - KnowledgeNuts

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A new take on psychology suggests that the centuries-old practice of an exorcism might have clear and useful psychiatric value (in some specific circumstances). Psychologists and psychiatrists are beginning to suggest that performing an exorcism on a person suffering from various mental illnesses might serve to help them on the road to recovery---especially if they're devoutly religious and firm believers in demonic possession.

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The Evolution of a Belief System Regarding Possession & Exorcism

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The Evolution of a Belief System Regarding Possession & Exorcism

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

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Devils, Demons and Dybbuks: Possession, Exorcism and Psychotherapy | Psychology Today

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Devils, Demons and Dybbuks: Possession, Exorcism and Psychotherapy | Psychology Today

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

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The Possession (2012), yet another in a recent deluge of films about demonic possession and exorcism supposedly based on real cases, opened this Labor Day weekend. (I have not seen the movie, so this is definitely not a review.) Directed by Orne Bornedal and co-produced by Sam Raimi, The Possession tells the terrifying tale this time of a mysterious wooden box containing an ancient Hebrew demonic spirit, the Dybbuk.

In medieval Jewish folklore, the dybbuk was a transmigrating spirit or soul capable of causing physical sickness and psychological suffering by possessing one's body or brain. Those perceived to be destructively possessed by the dybbuk would be forcibly brought for exorcism to the synagogue and supportively surrounded by a minyan of ten men traditionally required for Jewish religious services. The group, led by the exorcist, would then deliberately provoke the presumedly possessed person into a rage in an (evidently often successful) effort to forcefully evict the dybbuk from his or her body. However, unlike in Christian exorcism, which seeks solely to extirpate and expel the offending evil demon, the purpose of the Jewish exorcism is to heal both the person being possessed and the troubled spirit or disembodied soul ( dybbuk) doing the possessing.

The rabbi performing the exorcism may, like Catholic priests, employ specific paraphernalia like a lit candle, shofar (ram's horn) and empty glass flask into which the dybbuk can visibly retreat once leaving the victim. Or perhaps, as in The Possession, a small wooden "Dybbuk box." (Here we are reminded of the myth of Pandora, who, overcome by curiosity, pries open the forbidden box or jar, releasing evil into the world.) This apparent need to physically contain the dybbuk (and of the dybbuk, not dissimilar to a serpent, to instinctively seek containment) can also be found in the proverbial notion of a "genie in the bottle" or Aladdin's lamp, the word genie or jinniy being probably derived from the Arabic djinn, indicating the devil or "demonic spirit." Note also that the dybbuk, like the genie, isn't necessarily negative or evil, and like the daimones of ancient Greece (or genii or jinni in Latin) could also bestow the benefits of good health, wealth and happiness. In the positive sense, the genii or genie was originally an incorporeal, immortal tutelar deity or spirit presiding over the destiny of a person, later becoming a particular talent or mental endowment ( genius), and was commonly associated with generativity, vitality and creativity as much as destructiveness, negativity and evil.

As The Possession points out, belief in demonic possession--expecially prominent in the Roman Catholic Church--and its exorcistic treatment can also be found in Judaism, as well as in numerous other major religious systems including Hinduism and Buddhism. The "possession syndrome" occurs across cultures and religions, and there are striking similarities in both its various manifestations and treatments. Anger, rage and even violence are almost universally involved, especially during the ritualistic process of exorcism. Consider, for instance, the ancient Hebrew dybbuk Asmodeus, so-called "king of demons," closely associated in early Judaism with anger, rage and lustful violence. His primary function was to provoke marital animosity, discord and domestic abuse. This crucial connection between anger, rage and the religious treatment of demonic possession is archetypal, and can be found in most if not all sorts of exorcism. Especially today. For example, there is typically a sudden intensification of anger when the exorcist displays the holy relics, such as holy water, the Bible or a crucifix in Christian exorcisms. This intense rage can become so severe as to require physically restraining the afflicted person for the duration of the exorcism, and is understood to be the "rage of the demon" who anticipates and violently resists expulsion. Psychologically, this repressed rage is chronically disowned and dissociated by the so-called victim of possession, which is what is making him or her ill (possessed) in the first place. Indeed, by dint of physical restraints, the person being exorcised is free to cathartically ventilate his or her heretofore repressed rage harmlessly with a vengeance, providing at least some temporary relief. (A similar phenomenon can be seen in the evangelical exorcisms performed regularly and publicly by the highly controversial Rev. Bob Larson, as I discuss in an upcoming episode of the TV show Taboo on the topic of demonic possession and exorcism.)

What does the popularity of movies like The Possession and, earlier this year, the wretchedly reviewed The Devil Inside (see my prior post) say about us and our culture psychologically? Why are high-tech, scientifically-minded, religiously secular twenty-first-century cynics so fascinated with films about exorcism and demons? While the level of filmmaking ranges wildly, there seems to be a trend toward this supernatural (i.e., religious) subject these days. Paranormal Activity (2007) and its sequels deal with the subject of evil demons. Last year, The Rite (2011), starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as a Jesuit priest and professional exorcist somewhat reminiscent of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) in The Exorcist (an excellent film), was released to tepid if not terrible reviews. Nonetheless, the topic of exorcism and demonic possession evidently still touches a nerve in the movie-going audience, perhaps especially in horror fans, true believers and so-called recovering Catholics still not sure what to believe about such matters. Films about possession and exorcism, like The Last Exorcism (2010) and 2005's The Exorcism of Emily Rose, strive in part to convince their audience of the objective existence of the Devil, and, in turn, of God. But in dogmatically pursuing this fundamentalist agenda, the filmmakers are missing a golden opportunity to examine and explore the many important parallels between exorcism and modern psychotherapy, and to possibly reach and educate a far wider secular, spiritual and psychologically sophisticated segment of the public about this intensive treatment for what I term the possession syndrome.

Some of these movies make reference to the apparent actual growing demand for exorcisms and the need to train more priests (or perhaps rabbis) to perform this archaic religious rite. This widespread explosion of interest in exorcism was confirmed by a Washington Post article (Feb. 10, 2008) titled "Exorcism makes a comeback in Europe: Citing modern ills, hundreds of priests have trained to expel the devil." In that legitimate news report, a Catholic priest in Poland routinely conducting twenty exorcisms per week explains, " ' there is a group of people who cannot get relief through any other practices and who need peace.' " Another priest who holds a doctorate in theology and serves as the resident exorcist at a psychological counseling center outside Warsaw, states that "the institute realized they needed an exorcist on staff after encountering an increase in people plagued by evil.' " The article notes that, in keeping with current Vatican policy, exorcists regularly consult with psychologists and psychiatrists in an effort to differentiate mental disorders from bona fide demonic possession. But according to one busy practitioner, " 'My remedy is based on spiritual means, which cannot be replaced by any pharmaceutical remedies. . . .I do not stop at the level of just treating symptoms. I'm very much interested in the soul of a person. As a priest, I keep asking questions a doctor will never ask.' "

Perhaps it's time psychologists start asking some of those same questions. What is exorcism? How does it heal? Can we learn something valuable about psychotherapy from exorcism? Are there certain techniques employed by exorcists that psychotherapists should consider when treating angry, psychotic or violent patients? Are there vital existential or spiritual questions addressed by exorcism--for example, the archetypal riddle of evil--that psychotherapy detrimentally avoids or neglects?

Exorcism--the ritualistic expulsion of evil spirits inhabiting body, brain or place--has been practiced in some form throughout history, and is probably the first primitive type of psychotherapy. Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, was originally a trained exorcist. Jesus of Nazareth is reputed to have healed individuals suffering from mental and physical symptoms by casting out demons. Now, more than two millennia later, the Roman Catholic Church is reported to be secretly educating a new crop of exorcists to meet a rapidly rising demand for exorcisms in Italy, Australia, America and elsewhere around the globe. Here in the U.S., where there is evidently an acute shortage of formally trained exorcists, burgeoning numbers of suffering souls--some deeply disillusioned with or wary of what mainstream psychology and psychiatry have to offer today--are desperately turning to exorcism to deal with their debilitating "devils" and "demons."

Exorcism can be said to be the prototype of modern psychotherapy. (See my prior post.) Despite the secular scientific persona of most mental health professionals today, simply scratching the surface of rationality and objectivity reveals a secret exorcist: Like exorcists, psychotherapists speak in the name of a "higher being," be it medical science, rationality or some psychological, metaphysical or spiritual belief system. They firmly (and, in the case of biological psychiatry in particular) literally believe in the physical reality of the pathological problem manifested in the patient's symptoms and suffering, and dispense drugs and/or encouragement while joining with the patient in a sacred "therapeutic alliance" against the wicked and debilitating forces bedeviling them. Notwithstanding today's economically-driven, superficial, simplistic trend toward brief psychotherapies such as CBT, DBT and myriad psychopharmacological treatments, sooner or later one inevitably is confronted in clinical practice with strikingly similar phenomena and principles to those educed by traditional exorcists.

Psychotherapy, like exorcism, commonly consists of a prolonged, pitched, demanding, soul-wrenching, sometimes tedious bitter battle royale with the patient's diabolically obdurate emotional "demons," at times waged over the course of years or even decades rather than weeks or months, and not necessarily always with consummate success. And there is now growing recognition--not only by psychoanalytic practitioners--of the very real risks and dangers of psychic infection inherent also in the practice of psychotherapy. (This psychic susceptibility is almost universally depicted in these films, starting with The Exorcist and most recently by The Devil Inside.) Counter-transference is what we clinicians technically call this treacherous psychological phenomenon, which can cause the psychotherapist (or exorcist) to suffer disturbing, subjective symptoms during the treatment process--sometimes even as the patient progresses! Hence the ever-present importance for psychotherapists, like exorcists, to perform their sacred work within a formally ritualized structure, making full use of collegial support, cooperation and consultation, and to maintain inviolable personal boundaries. (Dr. Marsha Linehan's DBT, for instance, structures this support and consultation into the treatment program.) To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, no one wrestles with the emotional demons of others all day without themselves being affected. This is an unavoidable occupational hazard of both exorcism and psychotherapy.

Of course, the main difference between psychotherapy and exorcism is that modern psychotherapy is typically a secular treatment for figurative, metaphorical "demons"--mental, emotional or psychological traumas, memories or "complexes,"-- whereas exorcism takes the existence of demons quite literally. Doing so can have certain advantages in treating patients who believe in the Devil, demons and exorcism, if for no other reason than the extremely impressive power of suggestion. (This is also the power behind the so-called placebo effect.) Someone in the midst of an acute psychotic episode, for example, is confused, disoriented and hypersuggestible. They desperately seek some meaning to hang on to. Unless we can seriously offer a more or at least equally satisfying explanation of the patient's disturbing experience, it is, as clinicians well know from working with delusional patients, exceedingly difficult if not impossible to rationally dissuade someone of the fervent conviction that they are victims of demonic possession. Sometimes the best approach can be to go with where they are and use the patient's belief system to the treatment's advantage.

Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, who believed in and sometimes practiced exorcism, drew a distinction (like the Catholic Church, but mistaken in my view) between demonic possession and mental illness. Peck (1983) correctly pointed out that, unlike individual psychotherapy, exorcism makes more use of power in waging war against the patient's sickness, and is usually conducted by a team of exorcists who attempt to overpower the patient's efforts to resist treatment. He further notes that, unlike time-limited psychotherapy sessions, exorcisms can extend far beyond forty-five minutes, and often involve forcible physical restraint of the patient during these intense and typically angry confrontations. In religious exorcism, as opposed to psychotherapy, the team invokes the healing power of God via prayer and ritual, and attributes any success directly to God rather than themselves or even the exorcism process itself. Whereas in psychotherapy, success is typically attributed primarily to some combination of the doctor-patient relationship and the treatment process itself. Exorcism is based on a theological, spiritual or metaphysical model, unlike psychotherapy, which is generally rooted in a psychiatrically-based biopsychosocial or medical paradigm. But both methods address similar symptoms or syndromes, especially as seen in the most severely disturbed patients. The Catholic Church is careful today to rule out malingering or demonstrable mental illness when considering candidates for exorcism, using medical doctors and mental health professionals to help distinguish between so-called genuine possession and pseudo-possession. But can such a distinction truly be drawn? And, if so, on what basis?

The Roman Catholic Church's official diagnostic criteria for discerning genuine demonic possession (something mentioned in many of these movies) includes speaking in tongues or languages formerly unfamiliar to the possessed person, supernatural physical strength, and visibly negative reactions of the victim to prayers, holy water, priests, etc. But for the modern Church, physical and/or psychiatric disorders must first be excluded. From a psychiatric perspective, the problem with such criteria is that these phenomena can be found in many mental disorders, including dissociative and psychotic disorders of various sorts. (See my prior post on psychosis.) According to Dr. Peck, a born-again Christian, the distinction between "human evil" and "demonic evil" is crucial: He distinguishes "satanic possession" from mental illness, stating that though in such cases some emotional problem predisposes the patient to satanic or demonic possession, "the proper question to pose diagnostically would be: 'Is the patient just mentally ill or is he or she mentally ill and possessed?' " This is a clearly religious conceptualization. But another way of looking at this same possession syndrome is that in such cases what we are seeing are the most extreme and treatment resistant states of mind manifested in patients who may truly believe themselves to be demonically possessed. The pertinent question then for psychologists and psychiatrists is how best to treat such severely disturbed and intensely suffering individuals? It seems that at least some familiarity with their religious beliefs and meaningful integration of these beliefs into their psychotherapy is essential. These patients have usually tried traditional psychiatric treatment, with its banal neurobiological bias, to no avail. Providing some way to help such frustrated patients make sense of their frightening and bewildering subjective experiences and integrate them meaningfully into a deeper psychological and spiritual understanding of themselves and the world is what real psychotherapy should, really must, strive toward. Without such a meaning-centered, spiritually sensitive secular psychotherapy (see my prior post), exorcism is seen by some bedeviled individuals as their only hope.

This question as to the true nature of what I call the "possession syndrome" is at the very crux of the matter regarding exorcism: Exorcism is the traditional treatment for possession. What is possession? Is so-called demonic possession a psychological phenomenon, a form of psychosis or another as yet ill-defined mental disorder? Or is it the work of the Devil, and irrefutable proof of Satan's powerful reality? In a previous post, I discussed the infamous Andrea Yates filicide case. By the time she deliberately drowned her five children in 2001, Yates was convinced she was possessed. Satan himself, claimed Yates, compelled her to carry out her evil deeds. In her second trial, Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental institution. How can we make sense of her delusions and diabolically destructive behavior? Postpartum depression? Schizophrenia? Bipolar disorder? Or was Yates, as she fervently believed, a hapless victim of "possession"? And if so, what exactly is that? Do demons really exist? What is evil? Where does it come from? What is our relationship to it? Is it a proper subject of study for psychology and psychiatry? And how can we better deal with it?

The idea of demonic possession is a metaphysical, theological or spiritual explanation for human evil. The Exorcist (1973), a film based on William Peter Blattey's book about a supposedly "real" case, provides a highly dramatized depiction of evil, possession and exorcism, and stimulated renewed public fascination with what I call the "possession syndrome" (1996). The Exorcism of Emily Rose, also loosely based on an actual case, had a similar effect, raising legitimate ethical, legal and psychiatric questions regarding the practice of exorcism. As does The Devil Inside to some degree. Possession has been a well-documented phenomenon occurring across cultures in virtually every era. But the term possession is seldom mentioned in the psychiatric and psychological literature. Instead, we speak of obsession, which has similar intrusive, involuntary, egodystonic qualities. Or we refer to " multiple personality disorder" (Dissociative Identity Disorder), in which one or more sub-personalities temporarily take possession of the person against his or her will. Or we diagnose Bipolar Disorder in those possessed by mania, irritability or melancholy, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder to describe someone repeatedly possessed or overtaken by uncontrollable rage. It must be admitted that the archetypal phenomenon known historically as "possession" persists today in differing forms and varying degrees. The only difference is the way in which we now attempt to explain and treat it.

Phenomenologically, the subjective experience of possession--feeling influenced by some foreign, alien force beyond the ego's control-- is, to some extent, an experiential aspect of most mental disorders. Patients frequently speak of symptoms, unacceptable impulses, thoughts or emotions as ego-alien, and uncharacteristic moods or destructive behaviors as "not being myself," commonly exclaiming "I don't know what got into me," or wondering "What possessed me to do that?" Presently, such disturbing symptoms are hypothesized by psychiatry to be due primarily to some underlying neurological or biochemical aberration. Biochemistry, in the form of the tiny neurotransmitter, has become our postmodern demon du jour for which all manner of evils are blamed. Depth psychologists C.G. Jung (in his concept of the shadow) and Rollo May (1969)

provide psychologically sophisticated, secular theories of human evil and daimonic (as opposed to demonic) possession which do not demand literal belief in the devil or demons. (See my prior post on the "shadow." I discuss these matters in much greater detail in my book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic.) But, tragically, most psychotherapy today does not adequately comprehend or treat the possession syndrome. For some bedeviled individuals, the traditional ritual of exorcism or myth of "demonic possession" serve to make more sense of their suffering than the scientific, secular, biochemical explanations and cognitive-behavioral theories proffered these days by mainstream psychiatry and psychology. If psychotherapy as a healing of the soul (not just the mind) is to survive and thrive into the future, our current overemphasis on cognition, behavior, genetics, neurology and biochemistry must be counterbalanced by the inclusion of the spiritual and depth psychological dimension of human existence. It must become, as Freud intimated and C.G. Jung courageously recognized, psychotherapy for the soul. (See my prior post.)

The truth is, most psychotherapy patients need far more than what pharmaceutical intervention and/or cognitive therapy--the two most popular so-called "evidence-based" or empirically supported modalities today--can provide. They need and deserve support and accompaniment through their painful, frightening, disorienting, perilous spiritual or existential crises, their "dark night of the soul." They need a psychologically meaningful method to confront their metaphorical devils and demons, their repressed anger or rage, and the existential reality of evil. They need a secular spiritual psychotherapy willing to ask the right questions. In a time where so many have lost faith in God, rejected organized religion, yet still seek something transpersonal to believe in, something spiritual, something transcendental or supernatural, the notion of demonic possession has diabolically tempting appeal. For to believe that the Devil and his demons can take possession of one's body, mind and soul is to find evidence also of God's existence. And to make meaning from meaninglessness. This "will to meaning," as existential psychiatrist Viktor Frankl called it, is a fundamental human drive, one which abhors a meaningless "existential vacuum." For those who have lost faith, the myth of "demonic possession" can--in addtion to providing a possibility of attributing responsibility for our darkest, most despicable or spiritually unacceptable emotions, impulses and evil deeds to something or someone other than ourselves-- paradoxically provide a path back to God, since God and the Devil are but two opposite sides of the same spiritual coin. Unless psychology can provide a better or at least equally satisfying, meaningful alternate explanation of the possession syndrome--and a more effective way to deal with it-- belief in demonic possession and the practice of exorcism are cetain to persist.

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Devils, Demons and Dybbuks: Possession, Exorcism and Psychotherapy

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"The Possession" tells the terrifying tale of a mysterious wooden box containing an ancient Hebrew evil spirit, the Dybbuk. In medieval Jewish folklore, the Dybbuk was a transmigrating demon or disembodied soul capable of causing physical sickness and psychological suffering by possessing one's body or brain.

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A Phenomenological Model For Therapeutic Exorcism for Dissociative Identity Disorder

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A Phenomenological Model For Therapeutic Exorcism for Dissociative Identity Disorder

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

Revisit and Reread

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Sign in with your credentials to access the EBSCOhost premium information resources provided by your subscribing institution.

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		     Are the Demons or Just Delusions? Popular culture continues
 to debate whether exorcisms are necessary ... or just a cheaper alternative to conventional psychiatric therapy                                    

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		     Are the Demons or Just Delusions? Popular culture continues
 to debate whether exorcisms are necessary ... or just a cheaper alternative to conventional psychiatric therapy                                    

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

Revisit for possible books to read

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The Growing Evidence for "Demonic Possession": What Should Psychiatry's Response be?

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The Growing Evidence for "Demonic Possession": What Should Psychiatry's Response be?

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12.10.14 - Cited with Annotation

Revisit for helpful questions