There are psychiatric illnesses th at show symptoms associated with shamanistic folk religion even now when the power of Christianity tends to be expanded, and some patients experience emotional conflict in choosing either Christianity or shamanism that influence on their symptomatology- The purpose of this study is to understand the symbolic meaning of the symptoms of so-called possession syndrome associated with shamanistic folk religion and the psychology of possessed patients who seek for faith healing in church where traditional shamanism is regarded as satanic magical belief and rejected so that their emotional conflicts are aggravated. For this study, the author selected three cases of possession syndrome with various clinical diagnosis admitted to the department of psychiatry of Seoul National University Hospital from March-1979 to March-1980, two of whom had searched for faith healing in church, and one case treated
by faith healing in church. Psychiatric and psychological analysis was attempted about those four cases mainly from the
viewpoint of analytical psychology. In their symptoms, the author found the opposite elements such as Holy Spirit-Sat an, Christ-“Mudang” devil, and white (light) -darkness th at compete with each other, and it seemed that these symptoms are due to uncontrollable autonomy of double aspects of archetype w hat Jung called Urambivalenz. The author also understood that the ultimate concern of unconscious that produces these symptoms is to make possible the reunion of the warring halves of the personality; and this psychic tota lity is the goal of psychotherapy. Psychotherapeutic implications of both shamanistic treatments and Christian faith healing (especially exorcism) are also discussed. Each of them has somewhat different psychotherapeutic implic-ations, but at the same time both have the therapeutic limitation that is to be approved not only by faith healers, sorcerers but also by patients themselves.
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