José Luiz Condotta (photo) is a psychiatrist in his hometown of Sorocaba, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. He is a volunteer worker at the União Espírita Sorocabana, a Spiritist speaker, a columnist and the author of two books, as he explains in the following interview.

When and how did you become a Spiritist?

My father was a Spiritist. Aged 10, I used to attend the Spiritist Centre with him. He was my first “teacher” of Spiritism. Many people thought I would abandon Spiritism when I became a doctor, but that has never happened. On the contrary, I have managed to take the Spiritist Teachings into Medicine. I have become a Spiritist doctor. A little bit of that story is told in my second book.

How did you become interested in psychiatry?

In my third year of Medicine I studied Psychiatry and began attending patients in a Psychiatric Hospital. I decided then that was I wanted. I found mental patients who, in my point of view already in 1970, needed not only medical treatment but also spiritual treatment. You must bear in mind that there was a great deal of prejudice against Spiritism at that time and I couldn’t really express my ideas. Even today I often get funny looks when I mention that connection.  

What is your view on the connection between Spiritism, your professional activities and your academic education? 

I have learned a great deal with the Spiritual Benefactor, André Luiz, who wrote through the mediumship of Chico Xavier. One of the things he has taught us was that the causes of almost every disease are in the spirit and its effects are externalised on your body as symptoms. The human body is a form of dense energy (coagulated light), which, for that reason, is under the command of a lighter form of energy that is in the soul. The Spirit commands and organises the physical body. Anxiety, for example, has its origin in the soul.  

What are the main physical causes of psychiatric disorders? 

As I said, psychiatric disorders have clear links with incarnated Spirits. The unbalance between body and Spirit will determine how serious the illness is. Science believes that the brain is responsible for all those disorders. But there is no test that can show the cause of anxiety, depression or other disorder. Even if a chemical imbalance can be detected, there is no explanation for the cause of that alteration. I believe that the brain is an organ used by the Spirit to express itself in this world. When the brain is damaged the Spirit is not able to express itself properly.  

What role do the emotions play? 

Emotions and feelings are the Spirit’s assets. When the Spirit is hit by a stimulus, it prepares a reaction to that, which shows in the physical body. That process includes all the archive of previous lives, previous experiences, the current personality, the knowledge acquired and especially the spiritual maturity the Spirit has reached so far. Many mental and emotional disorders come from previous lives. Flashes of previous existences come up in this life. When they are negative, they may cause suffering. I also believe that Spiritual obsession (or attachment), vampirism and mainly self-obsession have Spiritual causes. 

How exactly do you define a psychiatric (emotional) disorder taking into account the aspects mentioned in the previous answers? 

Emotional disorders are physical and emotional manifestations, externalised by the body in the form of symptoms. I have no doubt that they are disorders of the soul and that everything in this life is guided by the Teachings of Jesus. I recommend that men and women remain close to the Laws of God, so that they can avoid future negative surprises in their emotions.  

Of all your experiences as a psychiatrist and as a Spiritist, which one has touched you the most? 

As a Spiritist psychiatrist, I have had positive experiences when patients came to me to thank me for their progress. I must say that I don’t do anything. I only offer guidelines. The process of healing happens through the patient’s efforts. I am a doctor who doesn’t believe in healing, but in self-healing.  

I have many remarkable experiences in Spiritism. A memory that comes up now is when I finished a talk in a Spiritist Centre, on the theme “Happiness is not of this world,” and a lady came to speak to me: “I had decided to committed suicide and you have taken suicide out of my mind”. That has been so gratifying and it continues to encourage me to keep on with my work. I try to give a lot of love in every talk and I try to use simple and clear language, so that everyone can understand.  

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

I beg people to study the deep causes of the disorders mentioned above. Human beings can no longer be divided in two separate parts, body and soul. That is no longer possible, after the publication of so many studies. I insist that human beings are spirits dressed in a dense body and that the soul commands both the state of good and bad health in the body, as well as all the healing process. As Emmanuel teaches us, through Chico Xavier: Health is the perfect harmony of the soul.  

I thank your for the opportunity of giving this interview and wish everyone good wellbeing, without anxiety, panic or depression. Peace and love!