Wildcroft/Religion & the Sense of Self, 6,​ Developing A Sense of Self and Other in Kardecist Mediumship Training

In Chapter 6,​ Developing A Sense of Self and Other in Kardecist Mediumship Training, HelmarKurtz delivers a detailed portrait of more under-researched practices with much to add to the​ debate on religious personhood. Brazilian Spiritism has developed collective therapeutic​ practices to manage afflictions caused by routine ‘obsession’by spirits. Such ‘disobsession’ practices play a significant role in localised mental healthcare, particularly in serving​ marginalised populations. Whilst traditional psychiatry and Spiritism both treat the afflicted​ individual as in need of therapy and cure, they are founded on mutually exclusive, if not​ mutually antagonistic conceptions of the self. The chapter thoroughly describes the​ sociocultural foundations of Spiritism, but also includes a sensitive and empathetic​ investigation into the enacted and​ interpersonal practices involved, and the shifts in self-perception that they provoke. The chapter concludes that “mediumship is a practice for​ developing agency and resolving personal issues within a given social environment”