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.

Foreword. James Lake, MD, Chair, International Network of Integrative Mental Health, Inc., USA. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Emma Bragdon, PhD, Director of the Foundation for Energy Therapies, Vermont, USA. Part I: The Spiritist Understanding of Mental Health. 1. A Brief History of Spiritism. Emma Bragdon, PhD. 2. A Brief Overview of the Philosophy and Development of Spiritism's Methodologies. Alexander Moreira-Almeida, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Medical School of Juiz de Fora, University of São Paulo, Brazil. 3. The Spiritist View of Mental Disorders. Alexander Moreira-Almeida, MD, PhD. 4. The Relationship of Mediumship to Mental Disorder. Marlene Nobre, MD, President, International Medical Spiritist Association; President, Brazilian Medical Spiritist Association; President, Cairbar Schutel Spiritist School, and President of "Lar do Alvorecer" Day Care Centre, São Paulo, Brazil. 5. Case Studies of Those with Serious Diagnoses. Emma Bragdon, PhD. Part II: Spiritist Treatments: Practice. 6. Three Spiritist Psychiatric Hospitals. A. The Spiritist Hospital André Luiz. Roberto Lucio Viera de Souza, MD, Director, Spiritist Hospital André Luiz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Jaider Rodrigues e Paulo, MD, Psychiatrist, Spiritist Hospital André Luiz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. B. The Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital of Porto Alegre. Emma Bragdon, PhD. C. João Evangelista Hospital. Candido Pinto Vallada, MD, Vice President, Council of Directors and General Coorindator, Spirituality and Mental Health Integration Program, Hospital João Evangelista, São Paulo, Brazil, Camilla Casaletti Braghetta, MA, Occupational Therapist, HOJE, São Paulo, Brazil, Giancarlo Lucchetti, MD, Research Executive Coordinator, Spirituality and Mental Health Integration Program, Hospital João Evangelista, São Paulo, Brazil, Frederico Camelo Leão, MD, CEO, Hospital João Evangelista, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Homero Vallada, MD, President, Council of Directors at the Hospital João Evangelista, São Paulo, Brazil and Associate Professor, the University of São Paulo Medical School. 7. Magnetic Healing, Prayer, and Energy Passes. Gilson Roberto, MD, Medical Director, Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. 8. Psychotherapy and Reincarnation: A Necessary and Fruitful Encounter. Julio Peres, PsyD, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and Researcher at the Program for Health, Spirituality and Religiosity, Psychiatry Institute, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil. 9. The Group Field. Emma Bragdon, PhD. 10. Spiritual Counseling and Fellowship in Spiritist Centers. Carlos Appel, MD, General Practitioner, Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Tania Appel, MA, medium and leader, Casa de Dom Inácio, Abadiânia, Brazil. 11. Jung, Spirits, and Madness: Lessons for Cultural Psychiatry. Joan Koss-Chioino, PhD, Professor Emerita, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, USA. 12. The Practice of Integrating Spirituality into Psychotherapy. Mario Sergio Silveira, PhD, Administrator, Hospital Bom Retiro, Curitibia, Brazil. 13. When Medical Doctors Are Mediums. Gilson Roberto, MD. Part III: Current Science, Psychotherapy, and Spiritism. 14. A Science of Understanding the Mind: The Next Great Scientific Revolution. Alan Wallace, PhD, President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, California, USA. 15. Spirit Attachment and Health. Alan Sanderson, MD, President of the Spirit Release Foundation, London, UK. 16. Soul-Centered Psychotherapy. Andrew Powell, MD, Founding Chair, Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK. 17. Current Research on Survival of Consciousness and Mediumship. Linda Russek, PhD, Director, Heart Science Foundation, Arizona, USA. 18. The Power of "Magnetized" Water. Beverly Rubik, PhD, Director, Institute for Frontier Science, California, USA. 19. The Positive Potential of Dissociative States of Consciousness. Melvin Morse, MD, pediatrician, researcher, and author. 20. Compassionate Intention as a Therapeutic Intervention by Partners of Cancer Patients: Effects of Distant Intention on the Patients' Autonomic Nervous System. Dean Radin, PhD, Senior Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Sonoma State University, California, USA, Jerome Stone, MA, RN, Ellen Levine, PhD, Shahram Eskandarnejad, MD, Marilyn Schlitz, PhD, Leila Kozak, PhD, Dorothy Mandel, PhD, and Gail Hayssen. 21. The Pineal Gland and Its Influence on Body-Mind-Soul Integration. Decio Iandoli, Jr., MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, UNIDERP, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Part IV: The International Impact of Spiritism. 22. What Spiritist Centers Offer Outside of Brazil. Janet Duncan, founding member, the International Spiritist Council, and former President of the British Union of Spiritist Societies (BUSS). 23. Contributions of Brazilian Spiritist Treatments to the Global Improvement of Mental Health Care. Stanley Krippner, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Saybrook University, San Francisco, USA, and Emma Bragdon, PhD. Part V: Education and Research. 24. Training Mediums Who Treat Psychiatric Patients. Gerald Magnan, past supervisor of the Department of Spiritual Assistance, the Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. 25. Teaching Health Professionals How to Support Personal Transformation in Patients. Gelson Roberto, Psychologist, and advisor to the Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. 26. Researching the Invisible: Entangled Minds, Psychiatry, and Psychology. William Braud, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, California, USA. The Contributors. Appendix I: Further Reading and Viewing. Appendix II: Organizations Supporting the Integration of Spirituality and Psychiatry. Appendix III: Research. Glossary. References. Index.