The Psychoneurological Approach to Self-Compassion and Its Effect on Immune Competence: An Analytical Study in Light of Contemporary Clinical Psychology

Abstract

This study used theoretical and analytical methods to examine psychoneurological pathways linking self-compassion and cellular immunity, based on a combined conceptual framework of contemporary clinical psychology and psychoneuroimmunology. The aim was to address how a regulatory psychological process like self-compassion translates into measurable physiological changes by reviewing the mechanisms of autonomic nervous system regulation, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway literature and integrating new findings related to neuro-immune plasticity and computational modeling of emotion regulation. Using a theoretical and analytical review process with stringent selective criteria from published literature from 2000-2025, the analytical review showed that the activation of neural soothing circuits associated with self-compassion has positive effects on the regulation of inflammatory responses, vagus nerve regulation, and cytokine homeostasis which ultimately support immune competence. Finally, the paper will conclude with a critical review of the current methodological and theoretical limitations in the field and suggest clinical research options for future studies that incorporate multi-level causal modelling and practical guidelines to be implemented at the local level.