Abstract

Practiced in community centers and psychiatric hospitals throughout Brazil, Spiritist therapies are gaining increasing recognition internationally for their ability to complement conventional medicine. This pioneering text is the first comprehensive account of the philosophy, theory, practical applications and wider relevance of Spiritist therapies to be published in the English language.

Leading practitioners and researchers in the field describe the history, principles and diagnostic processes of the Spiritist approach to mental health, and provide an extensive summary of the various methodologies used, including spiritual mediumship, energy work, prayer, homeopathy, past life regression and the practice of integrating spirituality into counselling and psychotherapy. Considering the ways in which Spiritism aligns with contemporary science, they show that the Spiritist model has the potential to bring about a positive transformation in the ways in which mental health care is conceptualized and delivered around the globe. The final part of the book explores how Spiritist centers and psychiatric hospitals are established and financed, with specific examples from Brazil and the USA.

Providing important new insights into the rich tradition of Brazilian Spiritism, this authoritative text will be of interest to mental health professionals, counselors, therapists and alternative and complementary health practitioners.

Most Americans believe healing consists of manipulating the molecules in our body through the use of medications or surgery. It comes as a surprise, therefore, to discover that sophisticated, effective healing traditions exist in other cultures that are based on a different approach. Spiritism and Mental Health is a marvelous introduction to the Brazilian Spiritist tradition. It is also a look at how consciousness-based research is transforming scientific medicine in our own culture.
Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Power of Premonitions, Healing Words, and Reinventing Medicine
Emma Bragdon, PhD, has been studying Brazilian's Spiritist treatments for enhancing health for the past decade. She has brought together a very interesting collection of essays that explore these fascinating alternative views on treating mental health issues... This book is well organized. An introductory section introduces readers to concepts of Spiritist healing. The settings and procedures of Spiritist healings are described in the second section. A third section shares views and experiences of a variety of clinicians and researchers exploring how Spiritist healings are in line with current clinical practices and research in consciousness and biophysics... This includes a review of the research validating the existence of survival of consciousness after death and of spirit communications. The fourth section discusses extensions and implications of Spiritist healings in many countries around the world. The last section considers issues of research in this fascinating frontier field of treatments and explorations of these aspects of the human condition.
IJHC (The International Journal of Healing and Caring)
I recommend reading this book wholeheartedly. I think it is an important contribution to broadening our perspectives and it presents a wealth of information from other cultures. It confronts our fundamental beliefs and asks us to address the spiritual dimensions of mental health treatment. I believe it is our ethical obligation to investigate this to evaluate and revise our own mental health treatment programs.
Brian Sackett, Ph.D., Psychologist
This book is brilliant for all those interested in mental health and the role of spirit. It brings together the current scientific evidence supporting the role of the spirit in mental health and the amazing and ground-breaking experience from integrating psychiatry and Spiritism in Brazil. What an inspiration. Now we need to find a way to bring this into practice.
Dr Haraldur Erlendsson, CMC DCN MSc MRCPsych, Psychiatrist, The Dene Hospital, West Sussex, UK

Spiritism and Mental Health is a heartfelt paradigm-expanding glimpse into the future of mental health care. This book's incredibly rich assortment of articles may seem off-puttingly esoteric at first glance, but the 26 chapters provide a comprehensive and down-to-earth overview of one of humanity's most ancient healing practices - working with spirits - and how this spiritual perspective may help guide psychiatry out of its current psychopharmacological dead end.

Dr. Emma Bragdon provides a great service by building a bridge that brings these timeless ideas and their modern adaptations (ie, a description of the Department of Spiritual Assistance at a Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital in Brazil) to an American audience, with the help of an All Star line-up that has enough medical credibility to pass muster among the staunchest sceptics (Beverly Rubik, Melvin Morse, Linda Russek, Dean Radin and Stan Krippner, among others). The book contains invaluable resources - extensive references, a listing of professional associations, and a glossary of terms. Dr. Bragdon is to be commended - two thumbs up!

Eric Leskowitz, MD, is on the faculty at the Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and is the Director of the Integrative Medicine Project at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, USA.
Evidence that intuition and inner knowing has a central role in mental health care is keenly substantiated in this ground-breaking book on Spiritism. Brazilian Spiritist medical doctors contribute chapters revealing the rich 150-year old history of spiritual treatments used in Brazilian community centers and psychiatric hospitals. Modern consciousness researchers and psychiatrists expose the importance of accepting a new paradigm of the mind in order to implement healing. Together in one book they offer a model sure to bring a renewal to the practice of psychiatry and psychology.
Judith Orloff, MD, Psychiatrist and author of Second Sight
My time with Emma Bragdon in Brazil has changed my spiritual world completely and this book will have the same effect. It is not whether or not you believe in the possibility of spirits and their effect on health, it is being open to the possibility of non-;local healing and the power of the mind and spirit to influence the body. This book is an exciting entry into spiritual healing and should be on the bookshelf of any integrative or mind-body practitioner.
Cadecus Magazine
Clinicians who are open to exploring transpersonal aspects of mental health and illness will find this book absolutely fascinating. This book will also be of interest to anyone who is exploring the deeper processes and meanings of life and the human condition.
IJHC (The International Journal of Healing and Caring), Daniel Benor, MD, Editor-in-Chief, IJHC
A brilliant explanation of Spiritist practice in Brazil - a tour de force in introducing consciousness and spirituality to psychiatric treatment. I highly recommend this book for those wishing to practice truly holistic medicine.
John L. Turner, M.D., Neurosurgeon and author of Medicine, Miracles and Manifestations: A Doctor's Journey Through the Wolds of Divine Intervention, Near-Death Experiences, and Universal Energy
In Spiritism and Mental Health, psychotherapist Dr. Emma Bragdon, a renowned author and expert on Kardec's Spiritism, assesses the importance of including the spiritual aspects of human existence in mental health care. Drawing on decades of her own experience, and together with an impressive international team of professionals in the field, this scholarly book discusses numerous revealing case studies and stunning results. A must read for health care professionals; a leading-edge contribution toward the new paradigm required in our American mental health care system!
Klaus Heinemann, Ph.D., Physicist and author
The definitive guide to Spiritism and its applications in mental health. Dr. Emma Bragdon's comprehensive and well-researched book demonstrates the power and increasing application of Spiritism in this crucial field. This book has closed a huge gap in the understanding of the relationship between the spiritual world, our world and mental health. A must read for all Spiritists and health professionals.
Etel Harris, Psychologist and Spiritist - London, England