The Three Christs of Ypsilanti
Milton Rokeach
Language: English
Pages: 332
ISBN: 0394703952
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The Three Christs of Ypsilanti (1964) is a book-length psychiatric case study by Milton Rokeach, concerning his experiment with a group of schizophrenic patients at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan. To study the basis for delusional belief systems, Rokeach brought together three men who each claimed to be Jesus Christ and confronted them with each other's conflicting claims, while encouraging them to interact personally as a support group. Rokeach also attempted to manipulate other aspects of their delusions by inventing messages from imaginary characters. He did not, as he had hoped, provoke any lessening of the patients' delusions, but did document a number of changes in their beliefs.
do you throw books out the window?” Leon asked. “Why did you tear down the notice of church services? Because you didn’t want other people to read it? The Ten Commandments say, Do not steal. You’re for stealing, cheating, falsehood.” “Crazy! Crazy stuff!” Joseph yelled. As this incident demonstrates, Joseph and Leon each paid attention to what the other was doing, and expressed their awareness openly. Such behavior, representing as it does an enlargement of the sphere of involvement with
went on to describe her: “Blonde, four feet ten or eleven; she has a maiden figure, but not on the curvy side; she doesn’t wear make-up; her hair is parted in the middle and she has a serene-looking face.” He also said that the first time he was conceived through the Blessed Virgin Mary, but that after resurrection she became his wife. Leon went on to say that a virgin who marries remains a virgin even though she has sexual intercourse. —Rex, there are people who say you have no wife.— “That’s
breaking through the cosmic barrier. Joseph says translocation would be too expensive. 2:00 p.m. Waiting for elevator to return to the laundry, Leon asks another patient: “What time d’you have?” “Two, Rex.” “Thank you, sir—it’s TIME TO SHAKE OFF.” His voice has the ring of a World War II fighter pilot preparing to peel off from formation to dive-bomb a battleship. Breakfast. Clyde sits down at the table and, upon seeing a patient he had scuffled with a couple of days earlier, becomes highly
the negative style cosmic fancy writing of his, I do not care for negative cosmics of neg. moral conscious unconscious infusion into writing; or things, whether gases, liquids, solids, rational, instinctive. Mr. Joseph Cassel Sir helped out in collecting of leaves, flowers; and also helped in holding of frame during assembly; and helped push the float. Respectfully; Dr. R. I. Dung Mentalis Doktor. It is now necessary to pause in our narrative in order to consider the question we asked
persecute and mistreat him. If real external, positive referents are missing in paranoid mental patients—and this seems to be the case with Clyde and Joseph and Leon—then obviously it is not possible to initiate changes in their delusions and behavior through external referents. But this does not mean that these mental patients have no positive referents whatsoever. Again and again we were struck by the fact that the three men would mention certain referents to whom they obviously looked in a