Psychological Studies
December 1, 2012
Raghubir Singh Pirta
4 citations
Empathy is essential for psychotherapists, but evidence that Eastern meditational practices enhance it in trainees is not convincing. This article examines Indian traditions for alternative interventions. It first reviews the evolution of pro-social behavior and the nature of therapist-client bonds, then summarizes studies on meditation and empathy. Finding limited support for meditation, the author proposes exploring intuition (pratibha) and holistic learning (vyutpatti) as pragmatic ways to sensitize aspiring psychotherapists—intuition for inner journeys and holistic learning for community-level interventions.
Psychosocial Interventions for Health and Well-Being
January 1, 2018
Raghubir Singh Pirta
Belief in the supernatural plays a significant role in mental health, and a functional approach—examining what supernatural beliefs do for people—offers a way to reconcile believers and non-believers. Across cultures, supernatural agents have historically supported human psychological functioning. In India, where supernatural entities are pervasive, this perspective is especially relevant for psychologists. The chapter first discusses three aspects of this approach: community mental health, embedding the supernatural in collective life, and narrative forms. It then presents evidence from a case study of deity institutions in Himachal Pradesh, which are tied to physical, social, and mental well-being and foster cooperative action. Four aspects of supernatural agents are explored: diversity, order, learning, and image, the last involving memory processes like storage, organization, and retrieval of associations.