Editing Exorcism (section)

===Exorcism and mental illness===
One scholar has described [[psychosurgery]] as "Neurosurgical Exorcisms", with [[trepanation]] having been widely used to release demons from the brain.<ref name="silverman">Silverman, W A. "Neurosurgical Exorcism." Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 15.2 (2001): 98–99.</ref> Meanwhile, another scholar has equated [[psychotherapy]] with exorcism.<ref>Gettis, Alan. "Psychotherapy as exorcism." Journal of Religion and Health 15.3 (1976): 188–90.</ref>

====United Kingdom====
In the UK, the numbers of exorcisms performed were increasing {{as of|2017|lc=yes}}. A [[Church of England]] think tank, [[Theos (think tank)|Theos]], stated that the exorcisms mostly took place in charismatic and Pentecostal churches, and also among communities of West African origin. Frequently, the people exorcised were people with [[mental health]] problems, who often stopped taking their medications in response to the exorcism. The report described the exorcism as a "well-meaning initiative with the potential for serious harm" with the risk of constituting "psychological abuse".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/05/christian-thinktank-warns-of-rise-in-exorcisms-mental-health  'Spiritual abuse': Christian thinktank warns of sharp rise in UK exorcisms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711105036/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/05/christian-thinktank-warns-of-rise-in-exorcisms-mental-health |date=2019-07-11 }} ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>