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. 2023 Feb;62(1):228-254.
doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01697-0. Epub 2022 Dec 5.

Anton Boisen Reconsidered: Psychiatric Survivor and Mad Prophet

Glenn J McCullough  1
Affiliations

Anton Boisen Reconsidered: Psychiatric Survivor and Mad Prophet

Glenn J McCullough. J Relig Health. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Anton Boisen was a seminal figure in the psychology of religion and pastoral psychology, but scholars have remained skeptical about his theoretical contributions and have perpetuated the stigma surrounding his psychiatric diagnosis and incarceration. I argue that Boisen was a prophet, ahead of his time, and that the academy has been slow to hear his salient critiques of the psychiatric system, and his contention that "psychosis" and "mystical experience" are overlapping phenomena. Most significantly, scholars have ignored the kernel of prophetic truth in Boisen's own visionary experience, which, remarkably, in 1920, predicted the ecological crisis of our current age. Reclaiming Boisen's unique voice might help us reclaim the uniqueness of the disciplines he helped birth.

Keywords: Anti-psychiatry; Anton Boisen; Clinical pastoral education; Mad pride; Mad studies; Mystical experience; Pastoral psychology; Practical theology; Psychology of religion; Psychosis.

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References

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