Spirit Versus Scalpel

LEONORE LOEB ADLER is Director of the Institute for Cross-Cultural & Cross-Ethnic Studies at Molloy College in New York.UWE P. GIELEN is Professor of Psychology at St. Francis College in New York.

This is a unique presentation of systems of traditional healing from around the world. It provides information about the concept of healing from many different cultural perspectives and explores the application of these cultural perspectives to modern psychotherapeutic and health care settings. The last decade has seen a literal explosion of data that support the idea that states of mind have consistent and demonstrable effects on physical health. With examples that examine traditional and modern healing systems in many different cultures around the world, this work demonstrates that most cultures perceive illness as a dislocation of the individual from his or her communal context. The healing process is effected through contextualizing the individual in community by ritual, ceremony, trance, pilgrimage, and family practices. Traditional healing systems are shown to have particular importance relating to modern medical responses to mental illness.

Foreword by Albert PepitoneForeword by Uwe P. GielenIntroduction by Leonore Loeb Adler and B. Runi MukherjiConcepts of HealingFrom Hippocrates to Psychoneuroimmunology: Medicine as Art and Science by Helmut E. Adler and Leonore Loeb AdlerCultural Perceptions of Life and Death by John BeattyUnspoken Assumptions in Communicating about Inner States: Chinese External versus Internal by Edward H. BendixHealers and Their Methods from Around the Globe; The Traditional Healer in a Multicultural Society: The South African Experience by Dap A. Louw and Engela PretoriusOracles in Ladakh: A Personal Experience by Elan GolombTraditional Healing in India by Nihar Ranjan Mrinal, Uma Singhal Mrinal, and B. Runi MukherjiA Study of Curative Options Available in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka by Suneetha S. de Silva and Willie J. EppsMesa Blanca: A Puerto Rican Healing Tradition by Angela JorgeThe Healing Practices of Mexican Spiritualism by Regina Spires-Robin and Peggy McGarrahanShamanism in Alaska by Margaret FischerTreatment and TrainingEndorsing Irrational Beliefs Cross-Culturally: Clinical Implications by Mitchell W. Robin and Raymond DiGiuseppeReligion versus Medicine versus Clinical Psychoanalysis or "Spirit" versus "Scalpel" versus "Castration" in a Case of Recovering Alcoholism by C. Edward RobinsThe Role of the Referral Agent in Treatment Selection and Treatment Efficacy: A Cultural Perspective by Charles V. CallahanCultural and Psychological Influences on Mental Health Issues for Chinese Americans by Diana ChenCulture and Health Care: A Review of the Literature and Suggestions for Curriculum Development and Implementation by Lisa WhittenIndexAbout the Contributors