Hearing Spiritual Voices – Medieval Mystics, Meaning and Psychiatry.

PSYCHIATRIC research; MENTAL illness; DIAGNOSIS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; PEASANTS

"Hearing Spiritual Voices – Medieval Mystics, Meaning and Psychiatry" by Christopher C.H. Cook is a brief and insightful book that explores the experiences of three influential medieval religious women – Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Joan of Arc – and their spiritual voices and visions. The book addresses the neglect of spiritual experiences in research and clinical practice, and challenges previous psychopathographies of religious figures that were based on biased secondary sources. Cook examines primary sources and uses an interdisciplinary approach to shed light on the meaning and implications of these experiences for psychiatry today. While the book could have included discussions on the spiritual insights of these women and the alleged transcendental knowledge conveyed through their experiences, it is still a valuable contribution to psychiatric research, theory, and practice. [Extracted from the article]

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