Symposia

Symposia I - IV took place Friday, June 5, 2026, 14:30 – 16:00

Symposia V - IX took place Saturday, June 6, 2026, 10:30 – 12:00

To watch the video recording click on the title of the presentation. For some presentations there is no video recording due to bad audio or video quality.

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Symposium I – Spirituality in Nursing

Chairs: Tove Giske & Elisabeth Haldemann

Caterina Mosetter	Spirituality in long-term nursing
Ute Latuski	Nursing in the interprofessional spiritual care team
Ülle Ernits	Heart, Brain and Spirit in Nursing: Spiritual and religion-related activities, such as those reflected in nurses’ responses (1999-2021)
Mpho Ratshikana	I don’t need a nurse, I need a prayer: Health professionals’ view on spiritual care provision for patients with cancer at tertiary institutions in South Africa

 

Symposium II – Spirituality in Pain Medicine

Chair: Kristin Kieselbach

Claudia Bozzaro	The existential dimension of chronic pain
Thomas Wabel	Chronic pain from the perspective of Christian theology
Kristin Kieselbach	The integration of spiritual interventions into interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy

 

Symposium III – Chaplaincy in Mental Health Care – Research Directions

Chair: Arjan Braam

A.B.M. Hallo - van Bekkum	Consensus on key elements of existential group chaplaincy contributing to meaning in life for people with severe mental illness
Marlous L.D. de Vries	Dialogical questions of life as a way to address and talk about existential meaning in life among young adults during recovery in long-term intensive mental health care institutions
Julia van Egmond	The practice of meaning-centered care in psychiatry: a scoping review
Sylvie de Kubber	Arts-based-participatory research in chaplaincy: Swarming in psychiatry as a ritual, embodied, inclusive practice

 

Symposium IV (German) – Spiritualität von Mitarbeitenden im Gesundheitswesen: Erfahrungen, Herausforderungen und Wege zur Unterstützung

Chairs: Eckhard Frick & Dorothee Bürgi

Theresa Meyer-Natus	Interventionsstudie zur Einführung einer Schweigeminute nach dem Tod von Patient:innen auf Intensivstationen
Franziskus Knoll	Qualitative Studie zur Schaffung einer spiritualitätssensiblen Atmosphäre in palliativen Einrichtungen
Jenny Kubitza	Rapid Review zu Spiritualität und Bewältigungsstrategien bei schwerwiegenden beruflichen Ereignissen
Arndt Büssing	Staunendes Innhalten in Ehrfurcht und Dankbarkeit als Ressource und als Methode.

 

Symposium V – Experience of Nature and wondering Awe
Awe, Gratitude, and the Experience of Nature as Encounter with the Sacred

Chair: Arndt Büssing

Arndt Büssing	Awe and gratitude in nature experiences: Links to psychological well-being
Evangelos C. Fradelos	Validation of the Awe/Gratitude Scale and the Experience of Nature Scale in Greece
Sebastian Skalski-Bednarz	Attachment to nature is associated with increases in existential life scheme over six months
Janusz Surzykiewicz	Lower aggression co-occurs with gratitude and awe: The mediating role of forgiveness dispositions and compassion

 

Symposium VI – Brain, Neuroscience and Spirituality

Chairs: Niels Hvidt & Uffe Schjødt 

Uffe Schjødt	Overview of the neuroscience of religion, pointing to current and future challenges
Bart Haverkamp	The convergent neuroscience of Christian prayer and attachment relationships in the context of mental health - a systematic review
Joni Matias Haikonen	NeuroSpiritual Pathways: Exploring and Examining the Impact of Embodied Spiritual Care on Brain Function at the End-of-Life

 

Symposium VII – Psychosocial and Spiritual Aspects in Cardiovascular Health

Chair: René Hefti

Mary Principe	Positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health
Olga Riklikiene	Spiritual needs, prayer and cardiac function in healthy young women – the interconnection of spirituality with physiology
Daniel Krüerke	Slow speech guided breathing, an ancient Indian technique, synchronizes heart period, respiration and systolic blood pressure
René Hefti	The impact of religiosity and social support on the outcome of acute cardiac events and heart surgery

 

Symposium VIII (German) – Risiken und Nebenwirkungen spiritueller Heilmethoden

Chairs: Jenny Kubitza und Franziskus Knoll

Michael Utsch	Claims and risks of holistic methods in psychotherapy and counseling
Bianca Liebrandt	Toxic spirituality in new age communities - the suffering of relatives
Liane Hofmann	Spiritual crises – empirical evidence and therapeutic approachs
Eckhard Frick	Spiritual Bypassing