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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion pp 1800–1803Cite as

Possession, Exorcism, and Psychotherapy

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What Is Exorcism?

Exorcism – The ritualistic expulsion of malevolent spirits inhabiting body, brain, or place – has been practiced in some form throughout human history and is probably the primeval prototype for psychotherapy. Exorcism is a traditional treatment for possession by evil spirits or demons and was a method employed for millennia by prehistoric shamans, witch doctors, priests, and medicine men prior to and during ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, was purportedly first trained as an exorcist.

Exorcism is deeply rooted in demonism and demonology, presuming that the “victim’s” symptoms are caused by evil entities that have invaded and taken possession of body and soul. Jesus of Nazareth reputedly practiced exorcism in healing “demoniacs,” as described in the New Testament: “They brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils… And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out...

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Bibliography

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  • Diamond, S. (1996). Anger, madness, and the daimonic: The psychological genesis of violence, evil, and creativity. Albany: State University of New York Press.

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  • Peck, M. S. (1983). People of the lie: The hope for healing human evil. New York: Simon & Schuster.

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  • The Holy BibleContaining the Old and New Testaments. Revised standard edition (1952). New York: Thomas Nelson.

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Acknowledgment

Derived and reprinted by permission from Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity by Stephen A. Diamond, the State University of New York Press ©1996, State University of New York. All rights reserved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Existential Depth Psychology Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Stephen A. Diamond

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  1. Stephen A. Diamond
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Correspondence to Stephen A. Diamond .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    David A. Leeming

  2. Blanton-Peale Institute, New York, NY, USA

    David A. Leeming

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Diamond, S.A. (2020). Possession, Exorcism, and Psychotherapy. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_224

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