[erric]

This is a joke right? The author is talking about evil spirits and demonic possession as being legit diagnosis as a board certified psychiatrist. He should lose his license.

>Is it possible to be a sophisticated psychiatrist and believe that evil spirits are, however seldom, assailing humans

No. No it is most certainly not.

>Fundamentalist misdiagnoses and absurd or even dangerous “treatments,” such as beating victims, have sometimes occurred, especially in developing countries. This is perhaps why exorcism has a negative connotation in some quarters.

It has negative connotations because it’s make believe and hog wash.

>One cannot force these creatures to undergo lab studies or submit to scientific manipulation; they will also hardly allow themselves to be easily recorded by video equipment, as skeptics sometimes demand.

If you can’t measure, study and quantify something, it isn’t real.