Dissociation From a Cross-Cultural Perspective: Implications of Studies in Brazil

Experiências mediúnicas e dissociativas em Fernando Pessoa e C. G. Jung à luz da psicologia analítica e da psicologia anomalística

Resumo O poeta Fernando Pessoa e o psiquiatra C. G. Jung desenvolveram suas obras em consonância com suas biografias. Ambos descreveram episódios que podem ser interpretados como mediúnicos, buscando, também, compreendê-los psicologicamente. Na literatura psicológica atual, a mediunidade pode ser entendida por meio do conceito de dissociação da personalidade. Dessa maneira, este artigo buscou examinar as relações entre dissociação e mediunidade a partir de episódios biográficos de Pessoa e de Jung, à luz da psicologia analítica e da psicologia anomalística. Hipotetiza-se que eles vivenciaram experiências dissociativas criativas e não patológicas, embora algum nível de sofrimento estivesse envolvido. Em Pessoa, as experiências dissociativas são relacionadas com sua produção hetoronímica, enquanto em Jung e suas investigações, com o desenvolvimento de seu modelo psicológico, que oferece elementos para um estudo psicobiográfico e artístico do poeta.

Temporal Stability of Dissociative Symptoms in the General Population

ABSTRACT

The most widely used measure to quantify dissociative symptoms is the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). However, little information is available concerning its temporal stability. The purpose of this study was to assess the stability of DES scores after 4 years. A total of 316 respondents recruited from a general population in Brazil took part in baseline and follow-up (70.57% were men; mean age = 32.97, SD = 10.95, minimum = 22, maximum = 74). Temporal stability was assessed through test-retest correlations and mean-level stability analyses. We found that the DES total and subscale scores revealed moderate test-retest correlations, with small variations among the DES factors. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between average scores for times 1 and 2. Overall, DES scores are significantly stable over time. Future studies would benefit from an investigation of the correlates and predictors of dissociation at different time points.

Differential Diagnosis between Anomalous Experiences and Dissociation Disorder Using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS)

BACKGROUND

It is important to understand the most diverse cultural aspects related to religiosity. Scientifically, it is important to understand religious manifestations and their relation to health, and to differentiate them from psychopathological manifestations.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the mental health of a group of mediums and compare it with that of a control group from the same religious context who do not manifest mediumship, using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS).

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study, evaluating 47 mediums (Group 1) and comparing them with 22 non-medium volunteers from the same religious context (Group 2) using the DDIS questionnaire. All results were matched with historical data from patients with dissociative identity disorder (DID) who answered the DDIS.

RESULTS

Scores obtained from the DDIS were similar in both groups. The number of positive symptoms was comparable in a wide range of analyzed areas, involving but not being restricted to somatization disorder, major depressive episode, borderline personality disorder, extrasensory/paranormal experiences, physical/sexual abuse and five dissociative disorders. There were considerable differences when we compared these results with historical data from patients with DID.

CONCLUSION

In agreement with the extant literature, these results showed that mediumship can be considered a non-pathological form of dissociative phenomena.

How psychiatrists think about religious and spiritual beliefs in clinical practice: findings from a university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil

Objective:

To examine the relationship between psychiatrists’ religious/spiritual beliefs and their attitudes regarding religion and spirituality in clinical practice.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of religion/spirituality (R/S) in clinical practice was conducted with 121 psychiatrists from the largest academic hospital complex in Brazil.

Results:

When asked about their R/S beliefs, participants were more likely to consider themselves as spiritual rather than religious. A total of 64.2% considered their religious beliefs to influence their clinical practice and 50% reported that they frequently enquired about their patients’ R/S. The most common barriers to approaching patients’ religiosity were: lack of time (27.4%), fear of exceeding the role of the doctor (25%), and lack of training (19.1%). Those who were less religious or spiritual were also less likely to find difficulties in addressing a patient’s R/S.

Conclusion:

Differences in psychiatrists’ religious and spiritual beliefs are associated with different attitudes concerning their approach to R/S. The results suggest that medical practice may lead to a religious conflict among devout psychiatrists, making them question their faith. Training might be of importance for handling R/S in clinical practice and for raising awareness about potential evaluative biases in the assessment of patients’ religiosity.