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Evidence-based understanding of the transcendence-spirit-soul-mind continuum: Towards a pedagogy for training psychiatrists as healers of soul and mind
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Evidence-based understanding of the transcendence-spirit-soul-mind continuum: Towards a pedagogy for training psychiatrists as healers of soul and mind

Parameswaran Ramakrishnan
Indian journal of psychiatry, v 68(Suppl 1), pp S70-S70
01 Jan 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry_58_26 (S70)
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https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry_58_26View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY-NC-SA V4.0,  Open

Abstract

Conferences and conventions Conferences, meetings and seminars Crisis intervention (Psychiatry) Evidence-based medicine Medical colleges Patient compliance Social aspects Public Health
Background: The term psyche historically encompassed both mind and soul, yet contemporary psychiatry has largely neglected the spiritual dimension. Empathic listening (EL), a phenomenological approach, may provide an evidence-based pathway to reintegrate constructs of transcendence, spirit, and soul into psychiatric care. Aims: To develop an evidence-based understanding of the €œSpiritual Structures of the Mind and propose a pedagogical framework for spiritually informed psychiatric training. Methods: Twelve case studies were inductively analyzed from two series: (1) a clinical series (N=6) by a psychiatrist trained in chaplaincy, with EEG data recorded from the provider; and (2) a classroom series (N=6) within a graduate course on Clinical Evidence-Based Theology at UC Berkeley, with EEG recordings from both providers and recipients. Analyses integrated patients’ healing experiences, providers’ transcendent states, neuroscientific literature on empathy and meditation, and EEG findings. Results and Discussion: EL encounters demonstrated two distinct healing states. The self-transcendent state, marked by gamma predominance, was described by patients in spiritual terms (God, Samadhi, Mashallah) and reflected a thought-free Divine awareness correlated with healing. Providers reported awe and nonagency, signifying parallel transcendence. The mindful-meditative state, associated with theta-delta predominance, enabled self-reflection, self-empathy, and patient identification with the soul (nafs, atman), facilitating disentanglement from passion-driven turmoil. Shifts in breathing further underscored links between breath, spirit, and recovery. Conclusion: EL enables patients’ transition from soul-state to transcendence, fostering tranquility and healing. EL training provides psychiatrists a first-person understanding of patients’ inner world, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and offering protection against burnout through their own self-transcendent experiences.

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