Description
Visionary experiences involve the activation of
the unconscious archetypal psyche which then dominates
consciousness. This is the part of the mind which produces
dreams and also myths. Anthony Wallace, PhD [1]
an anthropologist, has documented several cases where
individuals underwent what seemed to be psychotic episodes
and subsequently developed an entirely new mythology
and way of life for their social group. For example,
in late 1700, Handsome Lake created a new society among
the Iroquois Indians on the basis of the visions he
had while incapacitated for 6 months.
Visionary experiences have played a pivotal role
in the evolution of cultures, particularly when
rapid cultural change is occurring due to foreign
interventions or indigenous changes. Cultural turmoil
activates the psyches of many individuals and sometimes
creative cultural innovations emerge from this
process (See John Perry, Far
Side of Madness).
Mythologist Joseph
Campbell in The
Mythic Image has traced the process
whereby new visions (often expressed in new myths)
have guided human cultural evolution. First came
early homo sapiens' fascination with fire, then
with the animal world and the world of the planted
seed. This was followed most recently by a far-reaching
fascination with the planets and the stars. Campbell
has argued that the pursuit of these realms in
myth has directed human activity and enabled humans
to surpass themselves.
Neither reason, nor environmental contingencies
have determined our collective and individual destinies,
but as the poet Robinson Jeffers called them, 'visions
that fool him out of his limits.' (Campbell Myths
to Live by p. 249)
The psyche continues to generate myths that speak
to present situations and issues, often speaking
its myths through the voice of dreams. But another
potent source of cultural and personal mythmaking
is the psychotic mind.
In Perry's view, a visionary experience can be a
renewal process in which components of the psychotic
individual's make-up are undergoing change.. The
psychosis can serve,
as the psyche's own way of dissolving old states
of being, and of creatively bringing to birth its
new starts-its own way of forming visions of a
renewed self and of a new design of life with revivified
meanings in one's world. (John Perry, Far
Side of Madness p. 11)
Associated
Clinical Problems
When the psyche is activated to such an intense
degree during visionary experiences, the individual
can appear quite psychotic. Beliefs that meet the
DSM-IV criteria for delusions, particularly grandiose
ones, as well as hallucinations are usually present.
At Diabysis,
where people in visionary states were allowed to
go through the full cycle of their visionary state,
most resolved in 6-8 weeks without medication. For
many, the experience became a turning point in their
life toward growth. Yet during the acute phase, when
psychotic symptoms are usually present, the individual
can be seriously disabled and can benefit from residential
treatment.
Treatment
Psychotic symptoms do indicate the need for special
care. Judgment can be quite impaired and persons
in the midst of visionary experiences can act recklessly
and endanger themselves as well as others. Unlike
other forms of spiritual emergence in which people
are usually able to function in consensus reality,
persons having visionary experiences can require
round-the-clock surveillance. One of the main options
needs to be considered to provide a safe container
while the person is going through the experience.
Several model residential programs have been developed
including Kingsley
Hall, Diabysis and Soteria,
none of which, unfortunately, are open today.
In Far
Side of Madness, John Perry, MD described his
treatment of a 19-year-old male at Diabysis who
presented with a number of grandiose delusions
including that he was an "ace airman" and
a second George Washington leading the defense
of the country against the Russian communists who
were trying to capture the world. At other times,
he was Emperor of the Germans, Prince Valiant,
and Christ. Yet Perry viewed these grandiose delusions
as part of a positive transformative process in
which the psyche is engaged in a mythic process.
Even though a psychiatrist, Perry did not prescribe
any antipsychotic medication to squelch the psychotic
symptoms. Rather than suppress or ignore the expression
of the patient's psychotic experiences, Perry encouraged
it since
therapy should follow the psyche's own spontaneous
movements. . .you work with what the psyche presents.
(p. 136)
While the patient was in residential treatment at
Diabysis, he met with Perry three times a week. In
an early session, Perry had this patient draw, and
a number of images of death emerged including being
cremated, and being buried and clawing his way out
of the grave. The whole psychotic renewal process
took about 6 weeks, although the patient spent some
additional time at the residential treatment center
integrating the episode.
Case Examples
Expanded
version of the "ace-airman" case described above
The Myths
in Mental Illness case is an example of a visionary
experience as well as a mystical experience.
Wayne
Gooding
Russell Shorto's account from GQ Magazine of the visionary experiences of a
23-year-old college graduate. He went through a spiritual emergency that resulted
in hospitalization and spent several months in recovery before he was able
to return to college. Also included are his own reflections on this experience
and the many parallels he found to the experiences of mystics and spiritual
adepts throughout the ages.
WWW LIBRARY of Religion
and Spirituality
The WWW
LIBRARY of Religion and Spirituality contains interviews with John Perry,
MD and articles on visionary experiences.
References
1 Wallace, A.,
Stress and rapid personality changes. International
Record of Medicine, 1956. 169(12): p. 761-774. 
 REQUIRED
QUIZ ITEM 19
Visionary Experiences
Visionary experiences can include psychotic
symptoms.
True
False
Record your answer for later insertion
into the Quiz. |
REQUIRED
QUIZ ITEM 20
Therapy with Visionary Experiences
John Perry, MD, developed a treatment
program that
a) used high does neuroleptics to suppress
psychotic symptoms quickly b) encouraged
expression of the full range of psychotic
experiences c) focused on the spiritual
dimensions of the patient's experiences
d) b and c
Record your answer for later insertion
into the Quiz. |
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