Psychiatrist: Demonic Possession a Valid Problem

After 25 years of experience in private practice and as a professor at New York Medical College and Columbia University, and evaluating hundreds of possession cases, Dr. Richard Gallagher believes possession is real. He is also the author of Demonic Foes, A Psychiatrist Investigates Demonic Possession in the Modern United States.

Atheists laugh at the suggestion of demons being real (see the comments under the above linked article). Others think evidence of demons is nonexistent and the movie The Exorcist is merely entertainment.

The overall lack of awareness of this phenomenon might be in part because many who have done enough research to understand the concept aren’t willing to go public with it out of a fear of ridicule. It’s not surprising to us; a mention of our Spiritual Detox work, which helps to remove dark energy and lost souls, sometimes provokes savage skepticism and rudeness, usually by people who know little about the subject.

Another reason the evidence for demons or lost souls isn’t obvious at first is because such entities are good at hiding and tricking people. To make matters worse, it’s difficult to disce
your thoughts from those of an attached entity. This is especially so when you aren’t even aware that entities can attach to humans, or believe the myth that it’s cosmic foo-foo.

Fortunately, the number of mental health professionals who understand that possession is real, how it can interfere with someone’s life, and even create or add to mental and emotional problems is increasing.

Dr. Gallagher is against charging for exorcisms because he claims it goes against what the Bible teaches. We disagree with this. Since depossession can be dangerous, time consuming, and mentally draining, we believe practitioners should be compensated for their time just as in any other profession.

However, we also disagree with, and view as a scam, how some “psychics” charge thousands of dollars to ”clear evil spirits” they claim are the root of a client’s problems and keeping them from gaining everything they want in life. Unfortunately, these charlatans usually don’t know how to do an effective spiritual healing even if their client was possessed.

The Vatican claims possession is increasing due to a decline in Christian faith and the increase in popularity of Satanism, black magic, and “the occult.”

While we agree that Satanism and black magic do indeed open the door to nasty entities and possession, we don’t believe all occult subjects are dangerous.

Occult means hidden knowledge, and the paranormal, and includes subjects such as astrology, numerology, tarot, and others.

These practices don’t involve spells, reciting ancient verses, or calling on questionable entities to do your bidding, all of which we strongly recommend against because they can cause possession. The only spiritual assistance we ever encourage seeking is from guides and angels of the Light and, or God, through prayer, meditation, and Spiritual Detox.

Dr. Gallagher says that possession is rare and that not all people who suspect they are possessed really are. Sometimes the problem might be schizophrenia, or from being bipolar or drug-related side effects.
We accept this, but also acknowledge some people may have those problems in addition to being possessed. Also, the problems are sometimes what opened the door to possession or attachment in the first place.

Furthermore, lost souls (whose bodies died but they didn’t go to the other side or the Light) could be causing the symptoms, and we’re not sure Dr. Gallagher looks for these potential troublemakers in addition to demons. Lost souls usually aren’t as dangerous as demons, but still can cause problems, such as addictions and depression. While demonic possession is more rare, hidden spiritual hitchhikers can be affecting up to 80% of the population.

We are grateful for the fearless work of Dr. Gallagher and others, despite the skepticism of conventional medical opinion, who are bringing this problem to light and battling the hidden dark energies that cause many problems in this world.

Copyright © Stephen Petullo, Scott Petullo