In this episode I host a dialogue between Dr Chencho Dorji, Bhutan’s first psychiatrist and the Professor of Psychiatry at Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences, and Dr Caroline Van Damme, an adult psychiatrist and family and systemic psychotherapist specialising in chronic psychotic disorders.

Drs Dorji and Van Damme dialogue about their experiences as psychiatrists in very different countries, Bhutan and Belgium. They compare their experiences treating religious psychosis in which patients believe they are Jesus or Padmasambhava, address mental health stigma, and examine the interaction of supernatural beliefs such as spirit possession with modern psychiatry.

The Drs discuss the emerging mental health laws in Bhutan, including forced treatment laws, innovative treatment models, and pressures from pharmaceutical companies.

The Drs also consider the pros and cons of religion to both society and the individual, examine three levels of Bhutanese Buddhism, and reflect on the dire consequences of the death of Christianity in Europe.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep252-religion-psychiatry-dr-chencho-dorji-dr-caroline-van-damme

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:16 - How they met

03:44 - Dr Chencho’s visit to the Night Hospital in Belgium

05:12 - Dr Chencho’s side of the story

06:07 - Fascination with the ‘Night Hospital’ model

08:33 - Sharing models between countries

09:39 - Not trying to cure

12:36 - Mental health challenges in developed vs developing countries

15:04 - Psychiatry is a simple science

17:26 - Negligence of psychotic patients

19:01 - Stigma around mental illness

23:03 - Pressure from pharmaceutical companies

25:53 - Mental health laws in Bhutan

30:17 - Forced treatment laws in Belgium

39:15 - Complications of supernatural beliefs in Bhutan

41:28 - Getting the family on side

45:02 - Anti-psychiatry beliefs

46:57 - Psychosis or spirit possession?

49:25 - Dangers of marijuana

55:38 - Padmasambhava’s proscription against smoking

58:00 - Religion at societal and personal level

59:47 - Religious psychosis

01:01:23 - 3 levels of Buddhism

01:02:27 - Pros and cons of religious belief

01:06:25 - Treating psychotic Padmasambhavas

01:08:06 - Patients who hear God

01:11:00 - Fading of Christianity in Europe

01:13:03 - Spiritual void and fading of religion in Bhutan

01:13:55 - Today’s Buddhist monks’ failings

01:16:00 - Learning from the fall of European religion

01:21:17 - Science vs religion

01:22:05 - Spiritual void and suicide

01:24:04 - Is religion needed?

01:26:38 - Lack of priests

01:29:40 - Uniqueness of psychiatry

01:31:25 - Reflections on inter-cultural collaboration

01:33:53 - Dr Caroline praises Dr Chencho’s accomplishments

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Previous episodes with Dr Chencho Dorji:

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=chencho

Previous episode with Dr Caroline Van Damme:

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=damme

To find out more about Dr Chencho Dorji, visit:

- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057403100633

To find out more about Dr Van Damme, visit:

- https://www.sowarigpainstitute.org/dr-caroline-van-damme

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James