Abstract
This article addresses the validity of viewing demonic possession as a phenomenon distinct from any other form of pathology. It does so by briefly examining the historical relationship of demon possession and other forms of illness; reviewing some of the psychological research into the phenomena of possession; and then presenting a description of possession derived from a study of fourteen possessed individuals.
The article concludes that possessions do exist as a phenomena independent of the current commonly accepted forms of psychopathology. A diagnostic description of possession is then presented to enable a greater ability to differentiate cases of possession from the present categories of the DSM-III.
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This research was part of a doctoral dissertation completed by the author at the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley, California. Murray Bilmes, Ph.D., was the chairperson of this dissertation. Craig Isaacs received a M.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley.
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Isaacs, T.C. The possessive states disorder: The diagnosis of demonic possession. Pastoral Psychol 35, 263–273 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01760734
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01760734