Santeria, a religious system that blends African and Catholic beliefs, is practiced by many Cuban Americans. One aspect of this system is the belief in spirit possession. Basic santeria beliefs and rituals, including the fiesta santera (a gathering at which some participants may become possessed), are briefly described, and four cases in which the patients' belief in possession played a role in...
Twenty members of an independent urban black church who frequently attended a midweek service were interviewed to determine the nature of their experiences during the service and to assess its psychological impact. The majority were relatively young, married, and from a Northern urban or Southern rural background. Their responses differed for each of four selected aspects of the service....
The personality characteristics of the nonprofessional staff of Soteria House, an innovative residential treatment program for schizophrenics, are assessed and compared with characteristics of representative staffs from two more traditional mental health programs for schizophrenics: a university psychiatric ward and a community-based program staffed by a specially trained group of state...
For two and a half years the authors have taught Transcendental Meditation (TM) to psychiatric patients at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. They have also presented programs to hospital staff to acquaint them with the technique and practice of TM. In this paper they describe briefly the instruction program given to patients at the institute and point out some of the benefits of...