Healing or Stealing?

About the Book

French psychiatrist and cult expert Jean-Marie Abgrall takes a hard look at the booming world of alternative and fringe medicine, asking a simple but urgent question: when does healing become exploitation? Originally published in France as Les charlatans de la santé, this translated edition walks readers through a wide landscape of questionable practices — from homeopathy and iridology to crystal therapy, urine therapy, and Kirlian energy fields — and examines the evidence, or lack of it, behind each one.

Abgrall is not simply dismissive. He takes the time to explain why people turn to these treatments in the first place, particularly when conventional medicine fails to address the whole person. But he draws a sharp line between genuine holistic care and what he calls "patamedicine" — a shadow world where unproven cures meet cult-like belief systems. He traces connections between fringe medical groups and actual cults, including Scientology's Narconon program, Mahikari, and the Hamer Method, showing how vulnerable patients can be drawn into organizations that exploit their desperation for profit and control.

The book covers figures like Franz Mesmer, Samuel Hahnemann, Rudolf Steiner, and lesser-known operators running groups like the World Happiness Organization and IHUERI. Abgrall argues that these pseudo-medical practitioners are not just ineffective — they are actively dangerous, filling a spiritual and emotional void while delaying real treatment. For anyone curious about the alternative medicine industry, the psychology of belief, or the overlap between wellness culture and cult manipulation, this is a sobering and eye-opening read.