Belief and Biomedicine: Mental Health Professionals’ Perspectives on Faith Healing in Kashmir

Abstract

Faith healing remains embedded in pathways of mental healthcare in Kashmir, yet the perspectives of mental health professionals who routinely encounter faith-based explanations of distress remain underexplored. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 22 mental health professionals, including 18 psychiatrists and four clinical psychologists, this study examines how professionals understand and negotiate faith healing within clinical practice. Reflexive thematic analysis generated five interrelated themes: faith healing as meaning making and culturally legitimate care; faith healing as psycho social support; perceived benefit in milder forms of psychological distress; the Qur’an as a source of solace and religious coping; and synergy through training and referral. Professionals did not uniformly position faith healing against biomedicine. They recognised that spiritual explanations can render distress intelligible within patients’ cultural worlds and that faith may sustain hope, reassurance, and emotional expression. Collaboration is considered appropriate only where faith-based practices are supportive, non abusive, and compatible with patient wellbeing and dignity.