Introduction: The aim of this article is to understand how the concepts of religion and spirituality operate in the Haitian psychic apparatus in a Haitian population that survived the 2010 earthquake. The notions of spirituality and religion are defined through a non-exhaustive review of the scientific literature. Method: The participants (n = 20) were interviewed in four countries (Canada, United States of America, France, and Haiti), both face-to-face and remotely, in semi-directive interviews where the experience of the earthquake, migration abroad, and the resonance of spirituality and religion were discussed. Results: The data collected show that the interview subjects do not distinguish between these two notions, which they see as polymorphous and ambiguous. However, there is a slight difference in what is sought in religion and spirituality: the social bond. The results also show that spiritual and religious practices decrease upon arrival abroad, particularly among participants residing in France, while we observe an uptick in the practice of spirituality and religion among North American residents. Discussion: At the end of the article, we propose a discussion of the confusion observed among participants between the notions of religion and spirituality. In the Haitian historical context, one must wonder whether this is really confusion, religious syncretism, or a kind of methodological "marronnage." Conclusion: Two major limitations of the study are presented: the first concerns the sample size of participants in the different sites of our research which is too small; the second, only spiritual and religious people were interviewed, whereas it would have been interesting to have the opinion of non-believers.
Objectives: This study explored the disorganizing effects that certain spiritual experiences may have during periods of psychological vulnerability and sought to identify the underlying risk factors. Methods: We used a qualitative approach based on grounded theory. We conducted 10 non-directive, open-ended interviews with French-speaking adult patients who had made a spontaneous connection between spiritual experiences and psychological distress. All the patients were receiving psychiatric treatment (first as inpatients, then as outpatients at community mental health centers [CMPs]). This inductive analysis was complemented by clinical observations, case histories, and field journal notes. Results: Three interdependent dimensions emerged. First, we observed a relation to self that was marked by pathological narcissism and difficulties in identity formation that heightened vulnerability. Second, we observed a relation to the world that was organized around existential anxieties and that fostered a split between good and evil; avoidance; self-preservation strategies; and transcendence as an investment in external spiritual agency. Third, when anomalous experiences were inscribed in the psyche, the absence of doubt rigidified spiritual interpretations and increased the risk of disorganization. Discussion: The patient's relationship with doubt shapes the quality of spiritual experiences. Spirituality can operate as a defensive externalization mechanism protecting against existential anxiety or primary intrapsychic fragility. Our findings underscore the need to approach spirituality in clinical settings using a complementary, liminal methodology and to establish a clear, safety-oriented clinical framework. Far from being a universally beneficial resource, spirituality may result in experiences of undue influence or psychic disorganization, particularly when the possibility of doubt and questioning is excluded. Conclusion: Integrating spirituality into clinical care requires adopting a transliminal stance that tolerates uncertainty and complexity so as to prevent both splitting and drift. On its own, spirituality does not furnish sufficient resilience to maintain mental health nor does it protect against decompensation.
Objective: This article focuses on the phenomenon of religious belief. It aims to shed light on the epistemology of belief from the 20th century to today. From religious belief to belief in science in the current era, particularly through the evolution of imagery, belief can also concern a subject in its psychic utility. Method: After having noted different neurocognitive experiences of belief and retaining some indications, we take up the hypothesis of the function of religious belief in the psychic economy. A link between the fragility of the symbolic in psychosis, the identification of the melancholic position, and the psychic necessity of a belief with the value of conviction, therefore delusional, is illuminated; the reading of the correspondence of Jacques Fesch attempts to clarify this hypothesis. Results: Imaging makes it possible to identify the activation of certain brain areas during moments of prayer; it makes it possible to diagnose post-ictal psychosis. However, imaging and the identification of certain brain activations cannot shed light on the function of belief for a subject. We suggest that religious belief experienced as a conviction constitutes a sufficiently solid psychological support for Jacques Fesch who is called upon to respond at a moment in his existence. Religious belief as a compass is a singular way for certain subjects to orient their existence where landmarks are not solidly subjectivized. Discussion: If belief allows one to bear existence, the subject can nevertheless feel the fragility of his position through massive anxiety. To counter this, Jacques Fesch finds a way to consolidate his delusion in a megalomaniacal, sacrificial position, where God will welcome him as a chosen one. Conclusion: The religious subject trusts in God, while the subject of science believes in the laws of the brain. In both cases, the subject does not take responsibility for his cause, which is sometimes necessary, as demonstrated by the delusional logic of Jacques Fesch. In practice, belief can therefore be welcomed as a solution, a conviction for an unmoored person suffering from a subjective malaise or as a construction that reveals the subject's desire to not know what unconsciously causes suffering. The practitioner will direct their therapeutic action according to the subjective position of the subject.
