THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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perceptions of Satanic phenomena as 'subversion myths', ideological constructions which
provide a convenient outlet for social tensions originating elsewhere in society.
Part Three, compnsmg five chapters, focuses on the phenomena of involuntary and
voluntarily induced demonic possession. Possession, whether resisted or invited, is the
most forceful manifestation of Satanic influence. Chapter Six is consequently devoted to
a discussion ofpossession and its history, symptomatic manifestations, diagnostic status in
contemporary psychology and psychiatry, and psychological explanations of possession
states phenomena. Chapter Seven is the first of five chapters dealing with depth
psychological interpretations of satanic pacts, and both involuntary and induced
possession states. It is argued that depth psychology, encompassing those psychological
models devoted to the exploration of the unconscious, has emerged as the only
psychological discourse potentially capable ofproviding a coherent natural - as opposed to
supernatural - account of demonic possession. Chapter Seven locates the conceptual
foundations of such an account in Freud's psychology of religion, and his influential
portrayal of demons as unconscious manifestations ofdisavowed instinctual impulses.
On the foundations of Freudian theory an important alternative psychoanalytic model
arose. Termed object relations theory, it emphasised the primary role of early
interpersonal relationships, and the processes whereby these relationships are transformed
into complex intrapsychic structures only hinted at in Freud's work. These internal object
relations or introjects function as suborganisations ofthe psyche and, particularly in cases
of psychological disturbance, are experienced as intrusive alien entities. Part Four
explores the nature and significance ofthe object relations tradition for the research topic.
In Chapters Eight and Nine the object relations theories of Melanie Klein and Ronald
Fairbairn will be used as a framework for elaborating a comprehensive post-Freudian
psychoanalytic model of possession phenomena and satanic involvement. Chapter Ten is
devoted to a detailed presentation ofthis integrated object relations model, drawing on the
work ofa number ofcontemporary neo- and post-Kleinian psychoanalytic theorists.