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WHAT IS TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Transpersonal Psychology as a field:

• Includes and exceeds traditional psychology - it brings together/integrates concepts, theories and practices of traditional psychology with the knowledge of the world's spiritual traditions.
• Accepts all possibilities - it explores how spirituality is expressed in and through the self as well as through the transcendence of the self. It incorporates spiritual seeking as an important aspect of human behavior and approaches psychology from a more holistic perspective.

Primary principles of Transpersonal Psychology include:

1. The basic goodness of each individual as well as the universe as a whole.
2. Human beings are both psychological and spiritual in nature,
3. Consciousness is multidimensional,
4. Human beings have a natural urge for spiritual seeking and spiritual orientation promotes health,
5. Assessing inner wisdom is both possible and necessary for growth,
6. Altered states of consciousness can cause transpersonal experiences and result in healing and growth,
7. Human life and experiences are not random events but have significance to overall development,
8. The recognition that each person is essentially part of a larger whole (the universe),
9. The interconnectedness of the natural world and as a multicultural dimension and

Earlier schools in psychology include, behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology with concentration on the self and a surface exploration of consciousness. Transpersonal psychology (known as the fourth force) continues a natural evolution in psychology as it places the self within the larger cosmic context and acknowledges a drive for spiritual realization that is the foundation and origin of consciousness.

Transpersonal psychology does not view any of the earlier forces as incorrect, just limited, and thus integrates them with the perennial wisdom of spirituality.

HISTORY OF THE FIELD

Transpersonal psychology emerged in the West in the late 1960's as many people began to view themselves and the world from a different perspective. The moral dilemmas of the Viet Nam War, civil rights, the emergence of meditation in the East coupled with the understanding of quantum physics, consciousness awakening through psychedelic drugs, ecological concerns, etc. brought to light parts of the human experience which had previously been neglected by western psychology.

Stanislav Grof, Abraham Maslow, Victor Frankl and others named the field in the late 1960's and brought a sense of actualization, credibility and permanence to it.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Context, content and process are the key elements that define transpersonal psychotherapy. Context relates to the values, beliefs and intentions of the therapist which is critical in establishing a transpersonal orientation. Content includes actual transpersonal experiences. Process refers to the client's movement through stages until transpersonal awakening is realized.

A transpersonal therapist views seeing and being with what is as an important factor in change. The therapist's consciousness and own personal spiritual journey are important in the process and provide the atmosphere to support the client's journey. The therapist's presence is a key factor and the therapist's own work is what facilitates the client's work and the overall transpersonal orientation. Techniques are limitless and varied and include methods from traditional psychotherapy as well as transpersonal psychotherapy. Techniques are determined by the situation and fit within the overall transpersonal context.

Transpersonal psychotherapy views both spiritual awareness and cohesive psychological development as necessary for optimal health and self-realization. Its orientation is inclusive, valuing and integrating both the personal and the transpersonal, ordinary and non-ordinary states of consciousness, modern Western perspectives and Eastern wisdom and analytical intellect and contemplative ways of knowing.