You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Ever since Freud's disparaging comments on religion and spirituality, psychoanalysis has tended not to deal with how their various expressions—including mysticism, Satanism, and the occult—impact treatment. The general tendency to minimize or marginalize the impact of the occult notwithstanding, analytic practitioners who work in psychiatric in-patient or residential settings know all too well how appealing Satanism and cultism are to adolescent patients. Aside from a few exceptions (e.g., Olsson; Cushman; Chasseguet-Smirgel), however, there is almost nothing in the psychoanalytic literature on the topic. In my experience in treating adolescents involved in Satanism, a deeper appreciation of their interest and participation in satanic activities, readings, and dress is often a vital aspect of successful treatment. It therefore behooves us to develop a better understanding of how Satanism can impact the lives of adolescents.
In this article, I attempt to bring together two worlds that are relatively unknown to each other: psychoanalysis and adolescent Satanism. I briefly review the empirical literature on the topic, as well as a few key ideas from intersubjectivity theory, which I suggest offers a clinical perspective that can enrich and deepen our understanding of adolescent Satanism. In the final section, I offer some thoughts on how adolescent Satanism acts as a foil to some of the deepest and most precious values and beliefs of Western culture with which, in many respects, we may be in danger of losing touch.
Over the last 10 or 15 years, there has been a dramatic increase in youth involvement in cults, including Satanism, street gangs, and skinhead groups. Harrowing examples of the destruction and violence these cults create have been graphically illustrated in the last couple years. Several incidents of school violence and mass murder—including Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, Thurston High School in Oregon in 1998,