Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

Religion/Spirituality and Dissociative Disorders 153a romantic relationship with a friend. Her boyfriendnever found out what happened to herafter 11 p.m. They got married in the autumn of1978. In 1994, when the story was published, thecouple already had two children.From a psychodynamic point of view, itseems important to emphasize that Barbaradidn’t have a romantic relationship until afterher grandfather’s death and that when her anticipatedmarriage, which meant leaving her parent’shome, was announced in March of 1978, it wasfollowed by the end of her ordeal. What effect didthe curse that lay on her grandfather’s shouldershave on Barbara’s incapacity to start her own life?What was the nature of the relationship betweenBarbara and her grandfather? Was it necessaryfor him to die for a man to occupy a place inBarbara’s life? Was he the prey the numbers askedfor before their departure?A psychoanalytic approach would certainlylook for an unresolved intrapsychic conflict,perhaps stemming from incest, that caused theneurosis. In fact, several of Barbara’s symptomscorrespond to the classical description of hysteria.Father Schindelholz was convinced that Barbarawas not suffering from hysteria, schizophrenia,or a paranoid disorder. He believed that the factthat Barbara remembered what the numbers hadsaid after the episodes was proof that they werenot psychiatric phenomena. This allowed her towrite down most of what happened (p. 16). Infact, this criterion is insufficient.Ellenberger documented all the cases of multiplepersonalities while trying to classify all theclinical varieties of the phenomenon. There arecases of multiple personalities who are simultaneousor successive, mutually conscious of each otheror mutually unaware of each other, and even caseswhere only one of the personalities is aware of theother.(6) The remark that Barbara was aware ofwhat happened while she was possessed after theepisodes is Father Schindelholz’s attempt to finda criterion that would make it possible to clearlydistinguish possession from a psychiatric disorder.His attempt must be considered within thelarger context of the different interpretational conflictsthat have characterized the debates betweenmedical doctors and priests since the eighteenthcentury.Did Barbara suffer from hysteria or possession?Answering that question would lead us toreproduce the same distribution of tasks establishedbetween clerics and physicians in the eighteenthcentury. A different approach might bemore fertile. This approach admits the possibilitythat diverse interpretational levels coexist, withBarbara’s suffering in a central position. Froma psychopathological point of view, Barbara’spsychological manifestations would undoubtedlyhave been interpreted as a phenomenon ofhysteria. Diverse forms of somatization (coughing,suddenly paralyzed members, convulsions,and so forth) are considered to be distinctivefeatures of hysteria. The problems were solvedwhen Barbara became involved in a durable relationshipwith a man of her age, making us thinkthat an intrapsychic conflict was the source ofher suffering. Barbara’s case was not consideredfrom that point of view. The phenomenon wasinterpreted from the point of view of her family’ssystem of beliefs: a demonic possession. It isinteresting, however, to note the fact that, aftersix years of treatment, Barbara was freed fromher suffering without resorting to psychiatry.Should we compare the efficacy of the two differentsystems of treatment? In this specific case,limiting the phenomenon to a psychiatric diagnosisof hysteria without taking into considerationits spiritual meaning would probably havemade Barbara and her family feel misunderstood,which could have led them to refuse the treatment.By listening to Barbara and her family overan extended period and letting them guide hisinterventions, Father Schindelholz was able tooffer Barbara the therapeutic support that helpedher to get through a difficult chapter in her life andachieve independence. We should mention thatthe priest felt on several occasions that he couldnot understand the reality he was confrontedwith. When reading his narration, it seems thatthe positive outcome was brought about despitehis expectations. His merit consists in his endurance;he did not abandon Barbara when he couldhave considered the case hopeless. Too often,