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Phenomenological psychiatry reimagined: Integrating spiritual insights and EEG evidence to unshackle psychiatry from biomedical constraints
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Phenomenological psychiatry reimagined: Integrating spiritual insights and EEG evidence to unshackle psychiatry from biomedical constraints

Parameswaran Ramakrishnan, Shiv Gautam-Chair, Shivanand Kattimani, Ravi Ramasamy and Rajesh Sagar
Indian journal of psychiatry, v 68(Suppl 1), pp S142-S142
01 Jan 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry_62_26 (S142)
url
https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry_62_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: Psychiatry was originally rooted in phenomenology, emphasizing empathic understanding of lived experience. With the dominance of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), phenomenological methods declined, and psychiatry became increasingly constrained by biomedical models. Recent advances suggest the need to revive phenomenological psychiatry by integrating philosophical, spiritual, and neuroscientific insights. Educational Objectives: 1) To understand phenomenological psychiatry’s historical beginnings and decline. 2) To examine the role of clinical intuition as a valid and personalized approach to psychiatric assessment. 3) To explore EEG-based evidence linking empathic listening to mindfulness-to-transcendence states. 4) To apply emerging clinical guidelines that integrate spirituality and technology in phenomenological psychiatry. Content/Presentations: 1) Historical Perspective: Dr. Shivanand Kattimani will trace the origins of phenomenological psychiatry and its decline under descriptive diagnostic frameworks. 2) Intuition and Personalization: Dr. Ravi S. Ramasamy will examine intuition as a clinical tool and highlight the need for empirical frameworks. 3) Neuroscientific Evidence: Dr. Ramakrishnan Parameshwaran will present EEG evidence showing how empathic listening induces and verifies transcendent states. 4) Guidelines for Practice: Dr. Rajesh Sagar will propose clinical practice guidelines for spiritually grounded, technologically supported phenomenological psychiatry. Conclusion: This symposium will equip participants to critically appraise psychiatry’s historical trajectory, evaluate the empirical basis of intuitive and spiritual methods, and apply emerging guidelines. Together, these perspectives aim to liberate psychiatry from narrow biomedical constraints and re-establish it as a healing science of both mind and soul.

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