Transcultural psychiatry
December 1, 2020
Boon-Ooi Lee, Laurence J. Kirmayer
41 citations
In dang-ki healing, a form of Chinese spirit mediumship in Singapore, a deity possesses a human medium to help clients feel hopeful and supported. Many mediums suffer personal conflicts before becoming possessed; they express and transform their distress through possession. Deities embody Chinese cultural traits and moral values, allowing the medium to embody an ideal self and gain spiritual knowledge through cleansing, self-mortification, and altered consciousness. Junior deities also train under senior deities to help clients. Practitioners, clients, and possessing deities are transformed in parallel, reciprocal ways that differ from Western individualistic psychotherapy, highlighting links between healing, cultural beliefs, and concepts of personhood.
Oxford University Press eBooks
April 5, 2018
Michael Lifshitz, Eli Oda Sheiner, Laurence J. Kirmayer
22 citations
Classic serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca can induce potent alterations in cognition and perception. The chapter reviews research through cultural neurophenomenology, which traces how neurobiology and sociocultural factors interact to shape experience. Scientific study of psychedelics is rediscovering their potential to promote creative insight, evoke mystical experiences, and improve clinical outcomes. Neuroimaging experiments have begun to unravel the influence of psychedelics on large-scale connectivity networks of the human brain. Culture and context constrain the flexible cognitive states brought about by psychedelics, suggesting that seemingly spontaneous psychedelic thought patterns reflect a complex interaction of biological, cognitive, and cultural factors—from pharmacology and brain function to ritual, belief, and expectation.
Culture, medicine and psychiatry
June 1, 2023
Boon-Ooi Lee, Laurence J. Kirmayer
7 citations
Most dang-ki spirit mediums in Singapore do not show clinically significant emotional distress, contradicting early claims that mediums are psychiatrically ill. Interviews with eight mediums from five temples, along with standardized psychological questionnaires, indicate that involvement in dang-ki healing may be therapeutic. The mediums reported changes in social identity, bodily experiences during possession, and overall sense of self through repeated rituals. The practice illustrates how selfhood is constructed through body-world relations, potentially conferring wellness and social efficacy.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 29, 2020
Jared R. Lindahl, D. James Cooper, Nathan E. Fisher et al.
2 citations
Buddhist meditation practitioners and teachers report a wider range of difficult or distressing experiences than previously discussed, some of which are considered expected on the contemplative path. Distinguishing these from psychopathology requires expanding assessment frameworks beyond normative fit with religious experience or mental illness to include the need for intervention, whether religious or clinical. Decision-making about intervention often depends on contextual factors, aligning with person-centered mental health care that considers interpersonal and cultural dynamics.