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.
Culture, medicine and psychiatry
September 1, 2016
Boon-Ooi Lee
39 citations
Spirit possession in mediumship and shamanism, once mistaken for culturally sanctioned psychopathology, can be therapeutic. A case study of dang-ki healing, a Chinese mediumship practice in Singapore, examined whether involvement transforms the medium. Interviews with a male dang-ki, ten temple assistants, and nine clients revealed that the medium's self-transformation is linked to the perceived legitimacy of his possession. Recognized as genuinely possessed by a deity with healing power, he uses mediumship for spiritual growth, internalizing the god's positive traits such as compassion. Deities represent ideal selves embodying Chinese cultural values, so possession embodies an ideal self. The medium's transformation parallels the god's own spiritual development, even for deities.
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.