Spiritual transformation, relation and radical empathy: core components of the ritual healing process.
Joan D Koss-Chioino
Transcultural Psychiatry December 1, 2006 DOI: 10.1177/1363461506070789 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Humans Mental healing Ceremonial behavior Empathy Interpersonal relations Spirituality Psychotherapy Psychoanalytic therapy Culture |
| Key points | Proposes that ritual healing centers on spiritual transformation, relatedness, and empathy, with healers' own transformation producing a capacity for connection and 'radical empathy' that merges healer and sufferer into one field of feeling. Argues that this model parallels aspects of psychotherapeutic and analytic therapies and is widely applicable, with foundational components relevant to incorporating spirituality into psychological and medical treatment. |
Abstract
Based on studies of spirit healing, this article proposes a model of the process of ritual healing that is focused on the core components of spiritual transformation, relatedness and empathy. It describes the central role of spiritual transformation in healers from which emerges their capacity for relation and empathy. Many spirit healers, following a spiritual transformation, begin to exercise 'radical empathy,' in which individual differences between healer and sufferer are melded into one field of feeling and experience. The model is compared and contrasted with aspects of healing processes in some psychotherapeutic and analytic therapies. These comparisons are offered in the light of the growing interest in incorporating spirituality into psychological and medical treatments.A concluding section briefly explores some implications of aspects of the model of healing process that support the claim that it is widely applicable and identifies foundational components.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
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- Dang-Ki healing: An embodied relational healing practice in Singapore. Transcultural Psychiatry December 1, 2020
- Journey into healing: the transformative experience of shamanic healing on women with temporomandibular joint disorders. Explore 2010
- Family-Borne Efficacy: Shamanic Healing in Contemporary Xibo Households in Xinjiang Religions August 26, 2026
- Biographical similarities between spiritual healers and their clients in Germany - a qualitative study. Anthropology & medicine 2015
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