History of 'Spiritist madness' in Brazil.

The article provides information about the history of spiritist madness in Brazil in relation to Psychiatric practices. Spiritism is widely accepted in Brazil and influences psychiatric practice, especially through religious-oriented hospitals. The article also reviews opinions on "Spiritist madness", written by the most eminent psychiatrists of the time, and then discusses the epistemological factors that have contributed to the conflict between medicine and Spiritism. Spiritism adopts a dualistic concept of the human being. It postulates that human beings are, essentially, immortal spirits that temporarily inhabit physical bodies for several necessary incarnations to attain moral and intellectual improvement.