scholarly journals Demons on the Couch: Spirit Possession, Exorcisms and the DSM-5 by Michael Sersch

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-391
Author(s):  
Todd Hayen

Michael J. Sersch’s (2019) Demons on the Couch: Spirit Possession, Exorcisms and the DSM-5 is an immaculately researched and referenced treatise on possession and exorcism presented through the lens of modern psychotherapy and the DSM-5 (the diagnostic bible of the mental health field.) Sersch states in his introduction: In writing this book, I hope to answer why demonic possession has held a cultural fascination for over two millennia as well as how clinicians can successfully and ethically deal with patients who legitimately believe they are possessed by a spiritual force. There is also mounting evidence that integrating a patient/client’s worldview into clinical practice, including their spirituality and faith practices, increases their likelihood of getting better (Lund, 2014) which is a position I am overtly advocating. (p. 5) He also claims that he has no desire to attempt to prove or disprove spirit or demonic possession (p. 5). His approach is largely clinical and pedagogical: what does a clinician do with a patient who claims they are possessed? Sersch divides his thesis into three sections, each section dealing with a different aspect of possession and exorcism. The first section, appropriately enough, deals with the history of spirit possession, demon possession, and different forms of exorcism. The second section is more clinical in its approach going into detail on such topics as the different designations for diagnoses found in the various editions of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) such as Multiple Personality Disorder (an older label having been replaced with Dissociate Identity Disorder in the fourth edition of the DSM (APA, 1994)). The third section focuses on suggestions for the clinician, again: how does the clinician handle patients claiming to be possessed?

Author(s):  
Thomas A. Widiger ◽  
Whitney L. Gore

This chapter provides a discussion of the American Psychiatric Association’s classification of mental disorders (DSM-I through DSM-5), with a particular emphasis on mood disorders and their classification and diagnosis. It begins with the rationale for having an official, authoritative diagnostic manual and then traces the history of the development of the first edition through the fourth edition (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). The authors then discuss fundamental issues concerning the fifth edition (DSM-5, 2013), including the definition of mental disorder, the empirical support for proposed revisions, the shift toward a dimensional model of classification, and the shift toward a neurobiologically-based classification.


Author(s):  
Terence M. Keane ◽  
Mark W. Miller

This chapter reviews the status of modifications to the definition of PTSD and proposed changes for DSM-5. We include a brief history of the diagnosis and trace its evolution in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). We discuss some of the current controversies related to the definition of PTSD including its location among the anxiety disorders, the utility of Criterion A and its subcomponents, and the factor structure of the symptoms. We review the rationale for the addition of new symptoms and modifications to existing criteria now and conclude with comments on future directions for research on PTSD.


Author(s):  
Stephen R. L. Clark

There are people where two or more personalities seem to have independent-and sometimes mutually forgetful-control of the same bodily individual. This chapter gives a brief account of the history of the diagnosis of "Multiple Personality Disorder" or (the more recent label) "Dissociative Identity Disorder", and the conflicting judgment of therapists, lawyers, and philosophers as to whether this is a real syndrome. It is suggested that the diagnosis may be therapeutically helpful for some other disturbances, including anorexia, even if it does not carry the strong metaphysical moral that some have supposed. The cases are of interest to philosophers as they purport to represent "real -life" difficulties for standard theories of "personal identity." The chapter argues that the diagnosis (and its rejection) depend on prior assumptions about such identity, and so don't easily confirm or rebut any available theory, including more ancient theories about demonic possession.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  

The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 arose from a tradition filled with haphazard science and politically driven choices. The nosology of modern psychiatry began with the German classifiers of the late 19th century, especially Emil Kraepelin. Psychoanalysis then blotted out the classificatory vision for the next half-century, and most of this European psychopathological science failed to cross the Atlantic. The DSM series was a homegrown American product, beginning with Medical 203 in 1945, then guided by psychoanalytic insights through DSM-I in 1952 and DSM-II in 1968. In 1980, DSM-III represented a massive “turning of the page” in nosology, and it had the effect of steering psychoanalysis toward the exit in psychiatry and the beginning of a reconciliation of psychiatry with the rest of medicine. With the advent of DSM-5, however, questions are starting to be asked about whether this massive venture is on the right track.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie E. Langa ◽  
Joseph P. Gone

Recent revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) increasingly acknowledge the importance of cultural context for the diagnosis of mental illness. However, these same revisions include evolving diagnostic criteria that simultaneously decontextualize particular disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a result, the DSM reflects a contradictory role for context in psychiatric diagnosis. The case analysis presented here frames the consequences of this contradictory trend for an American Indian woman with a history of DSM-IV MDD and PTSD, whose diagnostic portrait is substantively altered in light of more recent DSM-5 criteria. Specifically, consideration of this respondent’s bereavement-related illness experience suggests that a sociocentric cultural frame of reference, which places high value on interdependent personal relationships, is not well-captured by DSM-5’s revised MDD or PTSD criteria, or the newly proposed categories of traumatic bereavement or Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. The respondent’s illness experience argues for greater recognition of this contradictory diagnostic trend, suggesting a need for future resolution of this tension toward more valid diagnosis for culturally diverse populations.


Author(s):  
Jessica W. M. Wong ◽  
Friedrich M. Wurst ◽  
Ulrich W. Preuss

Abstract. Introduction: With advances in medicine, our understanding of diseases has deepened and diagnostic criteria have evolved. Currently, the most frequently used diagnostic systems are the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) and the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to diagnose alcohol-related disorders. Results: In this narrative review, we follow the historical developments in ICD and DSM with their corresponding milestones reflecting the scientific research and medical considerations of their time. The current diagnostic concepts of DSM-5 and ICD-11 and their development are presented. Lastly, we compare these two diagnostic systems and evaluate their practicability in clinical use.


Author(s):  
Timo D. Vloet ◽  
Marcel Romanos

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Nach 12 Jahren Entwicklung wird die 11. Version der International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) von der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) im Januar 2022 in Kraft treten. Methodik: Im Rahmen eines selektiven Übersichtsartikels werden die Veränderungen im Hinblick auf die Klassifikation von Angststörungen von der ICD-10 zur ICD-11 zusammenfassend dargestellt. Ergebnis: Die diagnostischen Kriterien der generalisierten Angststörung, Agoraphobie und spezifischen Phobien werden angepasst. Die ICD-11 wird auf Basis einer Lebenszeitachse neu organisiert, sodass die kindesaltersspezifischen Kategorien der ICD-10 aufgelöst werden. Die Trennungsangststörung und der selektive Mutismus werden damit den „regulären“ Angststörungen zugeordnet und können zukünftig auch im Erwachsenenalter diagnostiziert werden. Neu ist ebenso, dass verschiedene Symptomdimensionen der Angst ohne kategoriale Diagnose verschlüsselt werden können. Diskussion: Die Veränderungen im Bereich der Angsterkrankungen umfassen verschiedene Aspekte und sind in der Gesamtschau nicht unerheblich. Positiv zu bewerten ist die Einführung einer Lebenszeitachse und Parallelisierung mit dem Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Schlussfolgerungen: Die entwicklungsbezogene Neuorganisation in der ICD-11 wird auch eine verstärkte längsschnittliche Betrachtung von Angststörungen in der Klinik sowie Forschung zur Folge haben. Damit rückt insbesondere die Präventionsforschung weiter in den Fokus.


Author(s):  
Henry Fielding

Fielding's comic masterpiece of 1749 was immediately attacked as `A motley history of bastardism, fornication, and adultery'. Indeed, his populous novel overflows with a marvellous assortment of prudes, whores, libertines, bumpkins, misanthropes, hypocrites, scoundrels, virgins, and all too fallible humanitarians. At the centre of one of the most ingenious plots in English fiction stands a hero whose actions were, in 1749, as shocking as they are funny today. Expelled from Mr Allworthy's country estate for his wild temper and sexual conquests, the good-hearted foundling Tom Jones loses his money, joins the army, and pursues his beloved across Britain to London, where he becomes a kept lover and confronts the possibility of incest. Tom Jones is rightly regarded as Fielding's greatest work, and one of the first and most influential of English novels. This carefully modernized edition is based on Fielding's emended fourth edition text and offers the most thorough notes, maps, and bibliography. The introduction uses the latest scholarship to examine how Tom Jones exemplifies the role of the novel in the emerging eighteenth-century public sphere.


Author(s):  
Thomas A. Widiger ◽  
Maryanne Edmundson

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III) is often said to have provided a significant paradigm shift in how psychopathology is diagnosed. The authors of DSM-5 have the empirical support and the opportunity to lead the field of psychiatry to a comparably bold new future in diagnosis and classification. The purpose of this chapter is to address the validity of the categorical and dimensional models for the classification and diagnosis of psychopathology. Considered in particular will be research concerning substance use disorders, mood disorders, and personality disorders. Limitations and concerns with respect to a dimensional classification of psychopathology are also considered. The chapter concludes with a recommendation for a conversion to a more quantitative, dimensional classification of psychopathology.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document