Possession States: Approaches to Clinical Evaluation and Classification

Abstract

The fields of anthropology and sociology have produced a large quantity of literature on possession states, physicians however rarely report on such phenomena. As a result clinical description of possession states has suffered, even though these states may be more common and less deviant than supposed. Both ICD-10 and DSM-IV may include specific criteria for possession disorders. The authors briefly review Western notions about possession and kindred states and present guidelines for evaluation and classification.