Spiritist views of mental disorders in Brazil

Abstract The Spiritist perspective on mental disorders exerts a great influ-ence in Brazil. Spiritist theory supports the survival of the spirit after death with an exchange of knowledge between the incarnated and disincarnated spirits. This article reviews the texts on mental disorders and Spiritism written by four leading Spiritist authors: Allan Kardec, Bezerra de Menezes, Inácio Ferreira and Joanna de Ângelis. These authors advocated a model of spiritual etiology without rejecting the biological, psychological, and social causes of mental disorders. The Spiritist etiologic model for mental disorders includes the negative influences of discarnated spirits (termed ‘obsession’) or trauma experienced in previous lives. In addition to conven-tional medical and psychological therapeutics, spiritist séances for disobses-sion are recommended, as well as ‘passes’, prayers and efforts to live according to ethical principles. The importance of Spiritist views in Brazil indicates the need for more academic research on this tradition. Key words channeling • etiology • medium/mediumship • mental disorders • Spiritism • spiritualism • treatmen