Transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology is a comprehensive approach that merges traditional clinical psychology with the exploration of transcendent human experiences, such as spirituality, mystical occurrences, and the pursuit of deeper meaning in life. This field recognizes these elements as valid subjects for empirical investigation and incorporates various methods from established psychological practices while drawing from diverse religious and philosophical traditions. The term "transpersonal" suggests a focus on experiences beyond the personal level, aiming for a broader understanding of human nature.
Developed in the late 1960s, transpersonal psychology was significantly influenced by the ideas of Abraham Maslow, particularly his hierarchy of needs, which culminates in self-actualization. This approach seeks to understand profound experiences and altered states of consciousness, viewing them as integral to personal growth and the human experience. Clinicians in this field typically act as facilitators rather than experts, guiding clients towards personal insights while emphasizing the importance of meaningful relationships and interconnectedness with others and the world. Although transpersonal psychology does not have universally accepted methodologies, it represents an alternative lens through which to explore human psychology, highlighting the potential for deeper developmental pathways beyond traditional clinical outcomes.
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Transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology is an approach to personal psychology and psychiatry that integrates traditional clinical practices with the transcendent aspects of human experience. It recognizes spirituality, mystical and religious experience, the quest to find higher meaning in life, and the desire to explore the untapped potential of the human mind as valid. The practice regards these elements as legitimate subjects of empirically focused inquiry.
In so doing, transpersonal psychology incorporates a range of established clinical psychology methods while importing interdisciplinary elements from various religions, philosophical traditions, and spiritualist and mystical practices. In the field, the term transpersonal is understood as meaning something akin to "beyond the personal," "more than personal," or "personal plus," where personal refers to an individual's everyday life experience and surface-level psychological functioning.
Background
The prominent American psychologist Abraham Maslow is widely recognized as a groundbreaking force in the development of transpersonal psychology. Maslow is best known for his hierarchy of needs theory, which classifies and ranks human needs and motivations on a graded scale with five tiers. According to Maslow's theory, a person seeks to move successively up the hierarchy as the needs associated with each separate level are met. The lowest level covers basic physical requirements—such as food, water, clothing, and shelter—then moves up to include safety, love and belonging, and esteem (status or recognition). The uppermost tier in the scale is what Maslow termed "self-actualization," which he understood as the drive to fulfill one's potential, push the limits of one's capabilities, and achieve deeply meaningful levels of personal growth. It is at this fifth and highest level that transpersonal psychology functions.
Transpersonal psychology began to emerge as a distinct school of psychology during the late 1960s—a time when countercultural philosophies and the consciousness-altering practices associated with them had begun to penetrate mainstream thinking. A group of prominent psychologists, including Maslow, sought to create a framework to facilitate the integration of insights and experiences gained during these altered states of consciousness with established clinical practices. Transpersonal psychology was also inspired by traditional Eastern spiritual and philosophical customs—such as yoga, Buddhism, and Vedanta Hinduism—which had achieved increased prominence in Western culture. Maslow later described transpersonal psychology as an effort to engage with the "farther reaches of human nature."
In building its principles, the discipline's founders were making a conscious effort to create a fourth branch of psychology to join the established domains of behavioral psychology, psychoanalysis, and humanistic psychology. In many ways, transpersonal psychology is an extension of the humanistic approach, which emphasizes the psychological uniqueness of each individual. Humanistic psychology largely developed as a response to the psychoanalytic approaches pioneered by Sigmund Freud, which tend to view human behavior as a function of powerful and widely applicable or universal psychological forces that dominate individuals on a subconscious level.
Overview
There is no single, universally accepted definition of transpersonal psychology, nor does the branch have any specific methodologies associated with it. Instead, transpersonal psychology serves as an underlying philosophical position, which is used to inform the clinician's approach to his or her psychological or psychiatric practice. It draws on principles found in various branches of psychology, including behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic psychology, which focus on the individual as the central element of psychological inquiry. In addition, transpersonal psychology also incorporates mystical, philosophical, religious, and spiritual principles and practices that offer insights beyond the level of ego, or self, and delve into deeper levels of experience that are held to exist beyond both the conscious and physical worlds.
Transpersonal psychology is concerned with the nature and significance of profound mystical and spiritual experiences. It also explores aspects of the human mind such as creativity, the accumulation and application of wisdom, the harnessing of potential, the realization of genius and the capacity for exceptional achievement, and the psychology of altered or unusual states of consciousness. These qualities are always framed as important parts of an individual's experience, yet are simultaneously considered essential to the human condition as a whole.
In transpersonal psychology, the clinician does not generally consider him or herself an expert with an advanced perspective. Rather, he or she acts as a catalyst for helping clients and patients reach conclusions that resonate with them on a personal level. The role of the clinician is to filter explorations of the client or patient's psychological makeup through a philosophical framework that acknowledges the legitimacy of profound religious, mystical, and spiritual experiences.
Transpersonal psychology is not limited to achieving clinical outcomes, such as providing relief from troublesome symptoms or breaking from problematic thought patterns or behaviors, which most other disciplines would consider favorable. Instead, transpersonal psychology allows for the possibility that the human mind is capable of deeper levels of development. It seeks to guide clients and patients to stronger and more meaningful connections with other people and the world at large. It also places a great deal of emphasis on interpersonal relationships. Transpersonal psychology aims to strengthen the bonds among individuals, the other people in their lives, and nature. Positive and meaningful relationships are considered key sources of therapeutic benefits. Transpersonal psychology also views the world as a diverse and interconnected place that includes elusive, abstract, unseen, and ethereal elements that suggest the existence of higher levels of being and understanding. The practice considers the individual as a kind of window into these higher states of being.
The extent to which accepted empirical methods are used in transpersonal psychology varies from practitioner to practitioner. As such, transpersonal psychology is not universally recognized as a scientific field. It is instead considered an alternative approach to established clinical schools of psychology and psychiatry.
Bibliography
Daniels, Michael. Shadow, Self, Spirit: Essays in Transpersonal Psychology. Andrews UK Ltd., 2016.
Friedman, Harris L., and Glenn Hartelius. The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Grof, Stanislav. "A Brief History of Transpersonal Psychology." Stanislav Grof, M.D., 2017, www.stanislavgrof.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/A‗Brief‗History‗of‗Transpersonal‗Psychology‗Grof.pdf. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
"Integral and Transpersonal Psychology." California Institute of Integral Studies, www.ciis.edu/academics/graduate-programs/integral-and-transpersonal-psychology. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
McLeod, Saul. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Simply Psychology, 2017, www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
Tartakovsky, Margarita. "6 Aspects of Transpersonal Psychology." Psych Central, 10 June 2016, psychcentral.com/blog/6-facts-about-transpersonal-psychology/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
Taylor, Steve. "Transpersonal Psychology." Psychology Today, 25 Sept. 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201509/transpersonal-psychology. Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
Washburn, Michael. Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective. State University of New York Press, 1994.