Cult Med Psychiatry. 1981 Mar; 5(1): 65-103.

Non-medical treatments and their outcomes. Part two: Focus on adherents of spiritualism.

Finkler K.

This article is the second of a two-part discussion of non-medical treatment outcomes based upon follow-ups of patients at a Spiritualist temple situated in a rural region of Mexico. The first part of the analysis focussed on two of three categories of patients seeking treatment there (i.e., habitual temple users and first comers). Unlike these two categories of patients who are not believers in spiritualism, the present concern is with the category of patients (i.e., regulars) who identify Spiritualism as their religion and believe in Spiritualist ideology. These patients require separate consideration because, unlike the others, they are exposed to several Spiritualist therapeutic modalities which influence treatment outcomes. Follow-ups of these patients reveal the dialectical relationship and the gradual nature of the healing process. Spiritualist treatment outcomes are assessed by an interplay of physiological, psychological, sociological, and cultural paradigms. The hypothesis is advanced that while Spiritualist healers frequently fail to eliminate patients' subjectively perceived symptoms, the therapies to which these patients are subject alter cognition by facilitating pain tolerance and promote response to cultural symbols employed by temple healers. Examination of treatment outcomes of these patients also calls attention to syndromes which fail to respond to Spiritualist therapy including psychotic episodes. A brief comparison is made between Spiritualist treatment outcome and psychotherapy which leads to the conclusion that Spiritualists succeed no less than the latter in eliminating the sick role, restoring the individual's capacities, and eliminating the feeling of "being sick."