TY - JOUR
T1 - Evangelical religion and meditation
T2 - Psychotherapeutic effects
AU - Galanter, Marc
AU - Buckley, Peter
PY - 1978/10
Y1 - 1978/10
N2 - Members of a religious sect, the Divine Light Mission, were evaluated for psychological effects of their experience in the group, in order to study systematically the psychotherapeutic effect of evangelical religious experience. Responses given by 119 members to a multiple choice questionnaire reflected a significant decline in the incidence of neurotic symptoms and of alcohol and drug use, from the period prior to joining to that immediately after joining. This lower incidence persisted over the course of membership, an average of 21 months. Responses relating to ritual meditation indicated frequent transcendent experiences. Symptom decline was found to correlate significantly with group-related activities and attitudes, and with specific aspects of the ritual meditation. Case examples are given from a group of subjects who were given psychiatric interviews in order to clarify the nature of the psychological effects. These findings are discussed with regard to their implications for psychotherapy.
AB - Members of a religious sect, the Divine Light Mission, were evaluated for psychological effects of their experience in the group, in order to study systematically the psychotherapeutic effect of evangelical religious experience. Responses given by 119 members to a multiple choice questionnaire reflected a significant decline in the incidence of neurotic symptoms and of alcohol and drug use, from the period prior to joining to that immediately after joining. This lower incidence persisted over the course of membership, an average of 21 months. Responses relating to ritual meditation indicated frequent transcendent experiences. Symptom decline was found to correlate significantly with group-related activities and attitudes, and with specific aspects of the ritual meditation. Case examples are given from a group of subjects who were given psychiatric interviews in order to clarify the nature of the psychological effects. These findings are discussed with regard to their implications for psychotherapy.
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U2 - 10.1097/00005053-197810000-00001
DO - 10.1097/00005053-197810000-00001
M3 - Article
C2 - 359761
AN - SCOPUS:0018167065
SN - 0022-3018
VL - 166
SP - 685
EP - 691
JO - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
JF - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
IS - 10
ER -