NOCEI Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, May 2019 114 ISSN 2243-7053 The Official Refereed Journal of the Network of CALABARZON Educational Institutions Heart over mind: the essence of handling mentally ill patients Leomar S. Galicia 1 , Luz Remedios Q. Del Rosario College of Arts and Sciences, University of Perpetual Help System Laguna 1 leomar.galicia@yahoo.com.ph Abstract - In the field of Psychology, clinicians can be exposed to handling mentally ill patients, a job that requires more than what the books can offer. Designed with transcendental phenomenology, this paper aimed at describing the lived experiences of clinicians in handling mentally-ill patients by collecting data through in-depth interviews with six (6) clinical psychologists who were purposively chosen using these inclusion criteria 1) should be working at NCMH for a minimum of 5 years; 2) handling mentally ill patients for a minimum of 3 years; 3) registered psychologists. After exhaustive data analysis, three themes about the clinicians’ lived experiences emerged. Theme 1 described the profession with open- mindedness and a creative approach. Theme 2 highlighted that patients’ welfare is paramount while Theme 3 dwelt on continuous learning in the field. Synthetically, these themes imply the optimistic perspective which propelled these health professionals to render their best services. Meanwhile, two themes prevailed as to how clinicians adjusted with the challenges of handling mentally ill patients. Theme 4 emphasized exposure to work and emotional stability while Theme 5 underscored clinicians’ motivation which involved their interest, drive to help the patients, and competence that their patients deserve. Taken collectively, the study implicates that handling mentally ill patients require open-mindedness and creative approach, wherein patients’ welfare is paramount, and a job in which continuous learning in the field of psychology is a necessity. To be efficient and effective clinical psychologists, they should be open to experiences and be able to keep themselves motivated in displaying the stance “heart over mind.” Keywords: psychology, qualitative research, phenomenology