PMID: 7027295Nov 1, 1981Paper

Multiple personality and spirit possession

Psychiatry
M G Kenny

Abstract

"Multiple personality" remains surrounded with a halo of the occult, and, as a rare exotic, fits uneasily into the framework of modern psychotherapy. Yet, the spirit-possession phenomena which it so closely resembles are widely distributed and commonly reported; and therefore, from the comparative perspective of anthropology, the truly interesting question is not why it occurs at all but why it occurs so seldom. This essay is an anthropologically motivated intellectual history of the perceived relation between multiple personality, possession, and kindred states. On the theoretical side, it concerns the creative role of psychological curing, the influence of theory upon the existence of the things which it is held to explain, and the influence of social and cultural factors on self-perception and the topography of the ego. I will begin by outlining the relation between multiple personality and possession, and follow with an account of how certain Western psychological theorists once tentatively allowed for the real existence of possession. Next I will examine cases of multiple personality in which possession was considered to play a literal role. As such an interpretation became increasingly suspect, decline of belief in posses...Continue Reading

References

Sep 1, 1978·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·M G Kenny
Feb 1, 1975·The American Journal of Psychiatry·G Victor
Feb 1, 1975·Psychological Medicine·B Cutler, J Reed
Jul 1, 1974·The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis·J M Brandsma, A M Ludwig
Mar 1, 1972·Comprehensive Psychiatry·P Horton, D Miller
Jul 1, 1971·The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease·D Gruenewald
Apr 1, 1970·Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences·O M Marx
Jun 1, 1961·The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease·M H CONGDONI STEVENSON
Oct 1, 1962·The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis·J P SUTCLIFFE, J JONES

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Aug 1, 1983·Psychological Reports·M Boor, P M Coons
Sep 1, 1987·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·R Littlewood, M Lipsedge
Jul 22, 2018·The Journal of Medical Humanities·Mohammed Abouelleil Rashed
Feb 1, 1987·Psychiatry·P H Salmons, D J Clarke
Jul 1, 1985·Behavior Modification·G R Caddy
Oct 1, 1994·The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis·N P SpanosM F Burgess
Aug 26, 1998·The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease·M G Kenny
Aug 4, 2016·Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences·Vishal BhavsarDinesh Bhugra

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry : Official Journal of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists
Hong Euy LimSook-Haeng Joe
The Psychoanalytic Quarterly
Robert Ehrlich
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved