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Beatriz Paulino Losi Ferreira (photo), originally from the city of Uberlândia, is a psychologist in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. She is a volunteer worker at the Paulo de Tarso Spiritist Centre, in the Lago Norte area, where she directs a healing group once a week. In the following interview, she talks about her experience as a Spiritist, as a psychologist and she shares with us the remarkable case of a young patient that once came to her practice:
How did you become a Spiritist?
I grew up as a practising Catholic. I used to sing in the choir and read from the Gospel on Sunday Mass. I took part in youth Catholic groups and social projects to help the poor. But inside me I had many questions that remained unanswered, such as: Why does a child get ill? Why are there so many social disparities in the world? Once I became an adult, one of my maternal aunts introduced me to the Spiritist novels, which I read avidly. I became interested in the teachings and principles of Spiritism that were mentioned in the stories, which prompted me to begin attending the public meetings at a local Spiritist Centre. I then began attending their regular groups. I eventually found the answers I had been looking for when I read and studied The Spirits’ Book. Everything then fell into place and it began to make sense to me.
Where did your interest in Psychology come from?
As a teenager, I liked reading the psychology columns that were published in girls magazines at the time. I wanted to work in a profession that would allow me to help other people build a happy life for themselves. So Psychology was my only choice when I applied for university. I started the course believing that the basis for a more satisfying life lies in getting to know and to empower yourself. And still believe that.
What are the connecting points between Psychology and Spiritism?
I believe there are many links, including the stress on self-knowledge, inner reform and self-love.
Do you think it’s easier for a psychologist to work if he or she is a Spiritist? How can you apply in your practice your knowledge of Spiritism, when not all patients are Spiritists?
Being a Spiritist has helped me a great deal, especially as it widened my perspective on the world and improved my empathy. I don’t believe that the patients that come to me are there “by chance”. I think they also come as an opportunity for me to learn and progress. I don’t “apply” the principles of Spiritism in the techniques I use in the psychotherapy process. But the knowledge I carry with me, which includes my life experiences as well as my professional and Spiritist background, certainly helps me get a more comprehensive understanding of my patients.
Is it easier or more difficult to treat a Spiritist patient in your practice?
The religion professed by the patient doesn’t make any difference in psychotherapy. The biggest challenges we have regard the patient’s real desire to fully engage in the therapeutic process as well as the lack of family support and the need to work to minimise the unfavourable prognosis in some cases.
What are the most common emotional disorders nowadays and what causes them?
The most common emotional disorders are now: anxiety, depression, stress, panic syndrome and social phobia. These can happen anytime in the lives of any person. Many of them are linked to events of our childhood and others come up at later stages of life in response to various factors. Among those are: living in a society with high levels of violence, excessive family and social demands, stress in its many manifestations and, in some cases, physical dysfunctions.
Is there a particular case that you would like to share with us?
There was a special case of a patient I treated many years ago. It was a truly remarkable case. I was contacted by a family that was spending the weekend in my city. They phoned me asking me to book a psychotherapy session for their daughter, who was going through a serious depression crisis and had attempted suicide once. I explained that psychotherapy is not like magic and that a single session wouldn’t deliver any results. They said they were aware of that but insisted, explaining that their daughter had been very reluctant to seek help but had agreed to see me. I prayed asking for inspiration and booked a session with her, which went on for two hours. At the end of the session, she said she was very grateful and said she was going to think about the points we had discussed. For months I didn’t hear anything until one day I received a long email with details of her progress. In sum, she had begun a process of inner reform and had made remarkable progress. She was seeing a psychiatrist and was also doing psychotherapy. She had also passed her university entry exams. And she explained to me that what triggered her change of attitude was something I had said during that session. I had told her that she needed to forgive herself for trying to take her own life. I had, indeed, realised in that session that her guilt was causing her a huge amount of pain and suffering. In her email, she wrote something that had a big impact on me: “I understood that when I tried to kill myself I didn’t want put an end to my life. Instead, I wanted to put an end to my pain.” I learned then that we can all be a tool working for the Higher Spheres. And, also, that the little or very little that we do can mark the start of a great journey of transformation.
