Schizophrenia is caused by spirit possession!

[Alice Shortcake]

Yet more proof that the terms "New Age" and "Dark Age" are interchangeable. How's this for a bizarre and grossly irresponsible claim? It's from the website of Andy Porter, an English "psychic surgeon". Like his counterpart and fellow joint-founder of "The Unity of UK Psychic Surgeons" Gary Mannion (www.badpsychicsgarymannion.co.uk), Andy doesn't bother with the old chicken-guts-and-fake-blood routine. Why go to the trouble of learning the required sleight of hand and running the risk being caught when you can simply go through the motions of operating with the help of your spirit guide "Chen"?

What conditions can Psychic Surgery treat?

Psychic surgery is able to treat all conditions because the healing is performed by spirit, not the individual doing the work, and as many of today's ailments exist due to an un-balance in the spiritual body they are almost exclusively un-treatable in the western way through medicine.

This can be highlighted with Schizophrenia, this condition in my experience is normally due to spirit possession and can be resolved within 1 hour but the western approach is to condemn those afflicted to mental institutions as the existence of spirit is not widely accepted

http://www.andy-porter.co.uk/index.html

Andy Porter's treatment is presumably exorcism in all but name, for which he charges £30. Or, in his own words,

I charge a set fee of £30, this covers my time as I do not charge for the healing.
Payment can be made using paypal, cash, or cheque.

Presumably no-one will be able to ask for their money back because they paid for Porter's time, not his imaginary healing skills...

Anyone with personal experience of living with someone suffering from schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or any other severe mental illness will know only too well how desperate both patients and carers can become, and how easily they can be drawn into the world of people like Andy Porter. It worries me that given his intense disapproval of drug-based therapies Porter may be advising schizophrenics to stop taking their medication. :mad::mad:

[Ashles]

Doesn't this breach a shed load of laws? Advertising standards, medical practice etc?

Who are the standard people to contact about this (particularly the medical aspect - no-one with schizophrenia should be within 10 miles of this moron)?

[Ashles]

I have sent the following e-mail to WITNESS (http://www.popan.org.uk/index.htm).


Hi,
Apologies if you are not the correct organisation to contact.
I have come across the man on the web-site below who appears to be offering treatment for many conditions, including Schizophrenia, describing it thus:
"Psychic surgery is able to treat all conditions because the healing is performed by spirit, not the individual doing the work, and as many of today's ailments exist due to an un-balance in the spiritual body they are almost exclusively un-treatable in the western way through medicine. This can be highlighted with Schizophrenia, this condition in my experience is normally due to spirit possession and can be resolved within 1 hour but the western approach is to condemn those afflicted to mental institutions as the existence of spirit is not widely accepted."
http://www.andy-porter.co.uk/index.html
This man and the organisation he is affiliated to ( http://www.ukpsychicsurgeons.org.uk/ ) strike me as very worrying indeed.
Are there not laws preventing unlicensed practising of psychiatry, and medicine in general, especially with potentially very serious conditions such as schizophrenia?
If you are not the correct organisation to contact regarding this do you know who I should contact?
Regards,

[CFLarsen]

Just following in the footsteps of the Catholic church... (http://skepticreport.com/religion/devilwithin.htm)

This is the next logical step, when more and more New Dark Age blabber finds its way into what is acceptable by society.

When acupuncture, which is based on the idea of "energy fields" (meridians), is accepted to be able to cure diseases, how can we not allow someone else to cure schizophrenia by using "energy fields" (healing powers)? How can we not allow anyone with any of these claims to just go ahead and cure us all of all of our ailments?

If you buy into one type of woo, why don't you buy into all of them?

[Thunder]

This is very frightening stuff...considering a whole host of psychological conditions and disorders can be treated very very well with medications, surgery, and therapy.