Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Practicing Medicine Without a License: Neo-Exorcism and the Deliverance Movement in America - Anna Kitko
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Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
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The resurgence of the cult of Simon Magus has found footing in the form of "Deliverance Ministries" across the country, but particularly in the Appalachian mountain areas. These groups intertwine pseudo-psychiatric treatments popular in the 1970s, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and hypnotherapy, with existing treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Practitioners claim that these treatments exorcise demonic presences in the lives of their clients. The overlay of Christian-based loaded language, combined with the popularity of current theological movements like the charismatic movement, helps fuel and create an environment for these practitioners to attempt to practice medicine without a license and prey upon victims of religious trauma who are seeking healing in those same charismatic Christian environments.
This paper will explore the forensic theological history of deliverance movements, their predominance in Appalachian mountain culture, their usage of manipulative psychotherapy frameworks disguised as punctuated exorcisms, an analysis of the clinical outcomes for individuals caught in the lucrative financial engine that these groups have designed, and recommendations for treatment and best practices for practitioners who are treating victims of these groups.
Practicing Medicine Without a License: Neo-Exorcism and the Deliverance Movement in America - Anna Kitko
-
Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
-
The resurgence of the cult of Simon Magus has found footing in the form of "Deliverance Ministries" across the country, but particularly in the Appalachian mountain areas. These groups intertwine pseudo-psychiatric treatments popular in the 1970s, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and hypnotherapy, with existing treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Practitioners claim that these treatments exorcise demonic presences in the lives of their clients. The overlay of Christian-based loaded language, combined with the popularity of current theological movements like the charismatic movement, helps fuel and create an environment for these practitioners to attempt to practice medicine without a license and prey upon victims of religious trauma who are seeking healing in those same charismatic Christian environments.
This paper will explore the forensic theological history of deliverance movements, their predominance in Appalachian mountain culture, their usage of manipulative psychotherapy frameworks disguised as punctuated exorcisms, an analysis of the clinical outcomes for individuals caught in the lucrative financial engine that these groups have designed, and recommendations for treatment and best practices for practitioners who are treating victims of these groups.
