Depression-Doctor.com: Depression Quiz

Treat Depression Naturally - Learn How!

Transpersonal Psychotherapy

What is it?

Transpersonal Psychotherapy is an extension of psychological studies, which involves consciousness studies, spiritual inquiries, mind-body relationships, and transformation. The term was first used when Carl Jung used the phrase “transpersonal unconscious” instead of “selective unconscious.”

Andrew Maslow’s research on self-actualizing persons was a key stimulus in establishing transpersonal psychology as a distinct field of inquiry. Maslow’s work addressed psychological wounding and personal development as well as the study of peak experiences, inspired creativity, and much more. After being refined by such scholars as Roger Walsh, Frances Vaughan, Stanislav Grof, Arthur Delkman, Ken Wilber, and Charles Tart, Transpersonal psychology now embraces the study of the full range of human experiences including abnormal behavior, healthy normal functioning, spiritually embodies, and transcendent consciousness.

Ten ways to explain Transpersonal Psychology

The psychology of health and human potential. Though it recognizes and addresses human psychopathology, transpersonal psychology does not derive its model of the human psyche from the ill or diseased.

Neither transpersonal psychology nor transpersonal psychotherapy sees the human personality as an end in itself. Personal history and the resulting personality traits are seen as the crust that is covering our transpersonal essence. In other words, the personality becomes the vessel, which enables the soul and spirit to navigate through the world.

Transpersonal psychology is seen as the psychology of human development. Developmental psychologists believe that there is a continuum of development as it relates to self and its stability. It begins with those individuals who have not achieved object constancy and a strong ego identity. We might call these people psychotic. Next we find those with borderline personality disorder where an unstable sense of self and object constancy have developed. As we continue up the ladder, we will find those with full functionally and a strong sense of ego identity and clear object relations.

It is an approach to the whole person and seeks a balanced development all of the aspects of a person’s life.

This type of psychology goes through the personal to the transpersonal. Rather than just transcending our humanity, it involves a process that works through our humanity. It does this in an inclusive way in order to reach the recognition of divinity within.

Transpersonal psychology is believed to be the future normal psychology but is yet unrecognized within the mainstream. Transpersonal psychology is largely built on the premise of the psychoanalytic, behavioral/experimental, and humanistic psychologies that were its predecessors. It provides not only an extension and a different perspective from the psychologies that preceded it, and is therefore, not a denial of the validity of those earlier theories and techniques. In transpersonal psychology, an assertion is made that religious and mystical experiences and the perspectives that derive from them are valid approaches to reality. This is the beginning attempt of science to understand the spiritual basis of the human experience.

Different stages and stations of consciousness are recognized in transpersonal psychology. It recognizes that dreaming, hypnotic trance, and waking consciousness have sub-levels within themselves and possess their own state-specific systems as well as their own realities. Not only does transpersonal psychology recognizes that there are different states of consciousness but that a person can move into and out of these states several times through the day. Additionally, there are also stages or stations of consciousness that one can come to live in permanently.

Not a recent innovation, transpersonal psychology is in many ways a return to the perennial philosophy that was identified by Aldous Huxley. In addition, the focus of transpersonal psychology is the mystical experience and shamanistic healing practices which have been central concerns of humankind of many years.

Transpersonal psychology is an in depth psychology, which is part of the therapeutic stream started by Freud and his successors. Roberto Assagioli recognized both a super conscious and a subconscious. Along with Carl Jung, he integrated transpersonal and depth psychology.

The simplest definition of transpersonal psychology is to call is spiritual psychology. It stresses the belief that humanity has both drives toward sex and aggression and drives toward wholeness. This drive toward wholeness means connecting with and experiencing the divine.

Is there a better way to definite transpersonal psychotherapy? It’s a very complex and difficult thing to do, and it appears to be one of the more complex of the psychologies in existence. These ten steps define it in the easiest way possible, so there is no need to elaborate on what has already been stated.

Learn how to treat depression immediately and naturally!