What is Transpersonal Therapy?
Learn about the field of transpersonal psychology...
Many individuals are stuck between mere survival and the feeling inside that there is a greater person trying to get out. This is the healthy, albeit uncomfortable, impulse to grow - an impulse that is only resolved by exploring the physical, mental, and spiritual territories between where you are and where you want to be.
What is transpersonal therapy?
Transpersonal therapy focuses on the full developmental potential of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. The defining feature is the premise that human life is characterized by the compulsion to continually grow in each of the six human areas of potentiality: the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social, and creative. Individuals naturally develop in these areas, although not always uniformly.
The point of transpersonal therapy is to guide the patient through an exploration of these six areas, nurturing them to reignite and deepen growth, leading to greater self-understanding and unlimited possibilities. It is a type of therapy that initiates transpersonal experiences, using them to inform patients' conscious lives.
Understanding the transpersonal world
The primary assumption of transpersonal therapy is that all humans have a part that exists beyond what is perceptible. It has been termed the soul, the higher consciousness, and the higher self, among other names. Psychologists refer to it as the transpersonal or “beyond the person,” and experiences in the transpersonal or soul realms are called transcendent, meaning beyond the limits of ordinary experience.
Although the soul or transpersonal realm exists outside space and time, the experience is one of inner space, often termed “the divinity within.” Exploring the soul expands the self to include new understandings of personal potential. This exploration also gives patients a better understanding of why some of their issues exist and how to resolve them.
Since humans are spiritual beings, or elements of the divine, transpersonal therapy uses a framework to understand patients that differs from other forms of therapy. The dynamics of therapeutic sessions are drastically different if therapists feel that when looking into the eyes of patients, they are looking into the eyes of God. This reverential approach causes patients to feel valued rather than broken.
Within a context where both patient and therapist are aspects of the divine, the therapy is more of a journey than a process, a journey expanding individuals rather than pathologizing them. Virtually all other therapeutic approaches have historically viewed transcendent experiences, such as feelings of oneness with nature, the spiritual experience of seeing Jesus, or the blissful sensations of meditation, as mental aberrations – hysterical or psychotic states.
Transpersonal psychology was founded to provide empirical evidence on the validity of these transpersonal experiences. Thousands report these experiences each year, and numerous scientific studies now contribute important insights and interpretations of their plausibility. The transpersonal therapist is always watchful for serious mental illness, yet patients' transcendent experiences are now viewed as normal transpersonal investigations rather than symptoms of mental illness.
Experiencing the soul - the inner space
Researchers have observed that patients seem to have three dominant types of experiences in this transpersonal or soul exploration.
The first type of transcendence relates to space. Patients experience a sense of becoming one with the earth, nature, or humankind. This unitive experience often happens in beautiful settings or spiritual atmospheres, and includes peak or transcendent experiences where patients have a greater sense of themselves as part of the whole universe rather than as isolated beings. This experience imparts feelings of greater fulfillment, peace, contentment, or love.
The second type of transcendence relates to time. Patients experience a sense of themselves in other times - perhaps a forgotten childhood experience or a previous incarnation. This is also typified by the instantaneous awareness of information, such as through clairvoyance, telepathy, or similar psychic experiences.
The third type of transcendence relates to the encountering of angels, spirit guides, gods and goddesses, and archetypal concepts, or symbols. These concepts exist in what psychologist and philosopher Carl Jung referred to as the collective unconscious. In simple terms, the collective unconscious describes the shared experiences of all humans, collective experiences that influence behaviors, attitudes, and belief systems. Jung believed that all individuals have a unique personal unconscious, and a shared collective unconscious.
The contents of the collective unconscious are concepts that Jung called archetypes. Archetypes include events, such as birth, death, and marriage, symbols, such as crosses. They also include figures, such as the great mother, God, and victim – among many others. Jung and other psychologists maintain that symbolic archetypes play out in personality traits and over-arching issues in individuals’ lives.
Transpersonal psychology draws its methodology from the spiritual traditions of the world, including eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, the Yogic traditions of India, shamanistic practices from indigenous people, and Western contemplative traditions. Depending on patients' beliefs, therapists might use a variety of contemplative practices to help patients with their inner work.
States of non-ordinary consciousness are doorways to transcendent experiences. Patients' transpersonal or soul realms are often accessed through induced states of non-ordinary consciousness - such as hypnosis - with the help of therapists. Through talk therapy, therapists then help patients explore their transpersonal realms and discuss the information they discover. Learning more about who they are often brings about transformation and healing.
These states of consciousness will vary in depth and intensity depending on the methods used. Typically, therapists begin with light alterations of consciousness such as guided imagery or meditation. As patients progress in their transpersonal work, therapists will determine if deeper levels of consciousness need to be accessed.
Meditation has become one of the primary therapeutic modalities of transpersonal therapy. Quieting the mind has the diagnostic value of helping patients see their habitual mental processes. This Buddhist mindfulness practice allows patients the time and mental space to learn how to be attentive and present in each moment.
Meditation has several other advantages. It alters brainwave states to frequencies that allow greater access to different aspects of non-ordinary consciousness, and it is a good tool for decreasing stress. Certain meditative exercises aid patients in contemplating compassion, love, and forgiveness.
Shadow work is a process of exploring those aspects of self that aren't fully acknowledged. These aspects can be positive or negative, but they are repressed – that is, they are invisible to patients even though they are issues, attitudes, and behaviors that are part of their active personalities. Jung termed it an “unconscious snag thwarting our most well-meant intentions.”
A common example is the excessive control issues of a mother whose intense fears for her child's safety are phobic reactions to her own frightening childhood. Therapeutic shadow work might reveal that although she was intellectually aware of the dangers of her home and showed maturity beyond her years in extricating herself from the situation, she might harbor deep emotional wounds because she was only a child and no one was there to help or protect her.
Belief work seeks to resolve old beliefs that stand in the way of an individual's progress. Beliefs such as 'life is hard' or 'nothing is true for me' are imbedded in the unconscious, determining an individual's expectations.
Guided imagery is a process that depends on the imagination. It's an exploratory tool as well as an actualizing tool for the patient. A therapist asks a patient to imagine a particular situation, such as the death of a parent, and then guides the patient through various reactions. During this exercise, the therapist asks the patient to voice what he or she is thinking or feeling with the goal of helping resolve issues of abandonment.
Professional and Olympic athletes have used guided imagery as a training tool for many years. Skiers imagine their runs, how it feels to turn at different flags, and how they feel as they win. Imagery is said to be the language of the body. Visualization of goals or outcomes create changes in biochemistry, behavior, and helps individuals address challenges.
Affirmations are similar to the use of guided imagery in that they evoke an outcome or change. Affirmations are verbal declarations that describe the conditions of change. A good affirmation is positive and expressed in the present tense. It's personal, visual, and emotional.
Dreamwork uses the language of the unconscious. Dreams contain archetypes that affect how patients react to their worlds. While only the dreamer knows the true meaning, certain images are universal and a therapist trained in dreamwork guides patients in exploring the different meanings.
Art therapy uses different forms of artistic expression to allow patients to explore mental, emotional, and spiritual issues. It is an especially powerful format for the expression of nonverbal, pre-verbal, and archetypal impressions. Therapists read the various results and make determinations about a patient's well-being. (For more information, see the article Art Therapy http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/art-therapy.html)
Transpersonal therapy doesn't treat sick people, but people in transition who are looking for ways to explore their inner-realms of potentiality. Patients understand that these are essential levels of development that, if nurtured, will lead to greater self-understanding, the consequent resolution of problems, and the revitalization of their beings.
Science has proven that the body, mind, and soul are inextricably connected. Thought has a direct influence on the biochemistry of the body, movement has profound effects on both physical and mental health, and spirit provides tenacity, courage and vision. Transpersonal therapy is a synergistic effort and draws upon a diverse offering of therapies that provide many different approaches to healing.
Aikido is a Japanese martial arts form that blends movement with breathing 0in an effort to achieve harmony. Roughly translated as “the way of combining forces,” Aikido seeks to integrate philosophy, spirit, and the body in a way that increases the strength of all three.
Tai Chi and chi quong (Qigong) are Chinese movement forms that focus on working with the energy of the body and moving it around to increase health and counteract the effects of stress. These movements also help the balance of the body/mind/spirit energy.
Traditionally chi quong was the primary form with advanced students moving on to learn Tai Chi. However Tai Chi - foundational to Chinese medicine and considered to be very healing - has become the more practiced form, especially in the U.S.
Yoga is a Hindu movement-based meditation that can take many different forms. While all forms unite the various aspects of the body, mind, and spirit, some forms are more physical, emphasizing various postures, and others are more meditative. Yoga is widely accepted as a method of alleviating stress, calming the mind, building strength, and increasing flexibility.
NLP – Neuro linguistic programming is based on the highly complex and individualized process of how the brain sequences and uses environmental sensory inputs, such as words, movements, and sounds. For example, eyes see words on a page. Some people hear the words one at a time as they read, some see and recognize individual words, some see clusters of words, and some see the images the words represent. Still others use combinations of these processing strategies depending on the situation.
Every person has unconscious strategies or programs for organizing information that directly affect behaviors and styles of communication. By observing eye movements, skilled NLP therapists know how to identify individual sequences and strategies for all types of sensory inputs.
Overcoming phobias and harmful habits both exemplify the types of problems well suited for NLP. A trained therapist treats these problems by identifying and replacing less desirable processing strategies with more healthy ones.
Holotrophic breathing helps patients achieve trance and transcendent states that are similar to those achieved with psychedelic chemicals. The difference is that this technique doesn't use any chemicals instead relying on lengthy sessions of breathing, music, and relaxation to achieve different levels of awareness. It is considered to be a powerful experience that should only be undertaken with an experienced therapist.
Hypnosis is defined as a trance state in which patients respond to suggestion and demonstrate increased imagination. Experts believe the hypnotic trance state bypasses consciousness, connecting directly with the subconscious..
Shamanism is a form of healing mediated by a shaman invoking the energy of spirit-beings in other dimensions. As the original form of healing, shamanism is present in every civilization. Shamanism has been shown to be effective despite scientific explanation.
Treatments and therapies
Transpersonal therapy employs the full range of standard psychological evaluative methodologies and treatments. The success of the transpersonal approach, however, depends on the patient's interaction with the transpersonal realm. Supporting the psychological work of a spiritually active patient requires a therapist to believe - without judgment - that what the patient is experiencing is possible.
The transpersonal therapist also understands and is prepared to work with a variety of spiritual concepts from shamanism and indigenous beliefs to less common constructs such as eco-feminism, paganism, belief systems based in quantum physics, and even atheism. Many of these traditions have their own methods of transcendence that the therapist may induce and use to help the patient gain personal insight.
The following are a few of the therapeutic tools with which the therapist helps patients heal the rifts within themselves, deal with mental and spiritual crises, and proceed with a process of self-actualization.
Ordinary and non-ordinary states of consciousness
The value of states of non-ordinary consciousness is in the therapeutic release they provide from the confines of personality. Taking patients beyond their personal, self-limiting beliefs and egos often opens up new dimensions in their minds. The process allows them to gain insights, new perspectives, a greater sense of potential, or attain heightened states of spirituality.
The transpersonal therapist understands that individuals access this alternative realm through meditation, prayer, hypnosis, guided imagery, dance, chanting, drumming, sweat lodges, shamanic journeying, martial arts, or other rituals. Patients often find it helpful to study or practice methods of mindfulness that lead to these states so they can regularly access their transpersonal consciousness in order to work on particular issues.
Transcendent experiences often provide the patient with a great sense of joy or profound peace. The ability to access these states is a life-changing tool that often becomes part of the patient's daily regimen. The regular use of meditation, a martial art form such as Tai Chi or a spiritual ritual such as drumming - or any of the other methods used to access heightened consciousness - often reduces neurosis, bringing greater calmness and stability.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the goal of many of these meditative techniques for accessing non-ordinary states of consciousness. It is the process of self-observation that allows patients to gently stop their minds from processing distractions and brings them back into the present moment. The ability of patients to self-observe is diagnostically helpful, allowing them to discover their own cognitive habits and traps - or disruptive thoughts that contribute to unconscious and dysfunctional motivations.
Meditation & Prayer
Meditation and prayer are mindfulness spiritual practices. For over 2000 years, Eastern philosophies and religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Zen have used meditative techniques to control the mind and reach transcendent states. In the West, meditation is becoming a more accepted method of therapy. The process of sitting quietly for an extended period of uninterrupted time - focused on clearing and quieting the mind - distances the patient from the pressures of life, providing a new perspective, and diminishing stress.
Prayer connotes Western practices - although it is certainly present in Eastern religions as well. As a general methodology in both the East and West, it is more active – chanting or a perceived communication - with intentions that vary from changing vibrational states to speaking with divine beings.
Mind-body therapy
Mind-body healing is foundational to a sense of wholeness. Creating a harmonious connection between the calmness of the mind and the activity of the body has had remarkable results on human physical performance. As a process, mind-body therapy has been widely adopted by professional and Olympic athletes.
The blending of a calm, focused mind with the movement of the body helps to create an optimal experience and is foundational to most martial arts. Visualization of the activity in a meditative state has been shown to initiate the same neural activity as the actual experience, reinforcing neural pathways as if the activity had been actually practiced. This technique is regularly used before each game by the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
Peak Experiences
Many people report having peak experiences. These are elevated states of consciousness achieved when a person is so absorbed in an activity that he or she looses track of time. It doesn't seem to matter what the activity is - writing, running, working a crossword puzzle, playing a musical instrument, working at a hobby, staring through a telescope, or even figuring out a physics problem.
Typically during peak experiences, the sense of self is expanded beyond ordinary definitions and the person has insights or episodes of increased awareness. While the experience is typically not
”other worldly,” it is a non-ordinary state of consciousness that gives the patient clues about fulfilling experiences. The pleasing sensation – the feeling of connectedness or the sense of being in “the flow” - is encouraging and sustaining. And while peak experiences are fairly common and help psychologists as they counsel patients toward new careers, they are also positive mental health indicators that the patient is moving toward self-actualization.
The goal of transpersonal psychology is self-actualization
Transpersonal therapy considers self-actualization as an ongoing process of self-fulfillment. Renown consciousness researcher and Psychologist Abraham Maslow said, “what a man can be, he must be...it is the desire to become more than one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.” Each person's capability is different.
The characteristics of a self-actualized person, according to Maslow, seem simple but are elusive. Self-actualized people have realistic perceptions of who they are. They understand the dynamics of the world they live in, but are not reactive. Because their survival needs are met, they are able to focus their efforts on helping to solve problems in their communities. They are respectful of convention, but are often positively unconventional in their behavior and attitudes.
Self-actualized people find joy in the simplest experiences. They view the world with continual awe and appreciation. They enjoy people but need great amounts of time to themselves for self-balancing. Maslow also tells us that these people often experience peak moments, finding intense satisfaction, joy or peace that gives them the strength and inspiration they need to continue growing.
Carl Rogers, one of the most eminent forces in humanistic and transpersonal psychology, and a Nobel nominee, described self-actualization as the primary “curative force in psychology.” The human organism's urge to self-actualize – that is – become a better “self” was defined by Rogers in his “19 Propositions“ and provided a way to scientifically assess the progress of a patient's therapy, confirming the viability of therapeutic work in the transpersonal realm.
To define transpersonal psychology as the study of humanity's highest potential implies the conscious integration of all of man's various aspects – body, mind, and soul – with the unrelenting challenges of everyday life. In real terms, it means that by learning how to function everyday as an increasingly integrated being, a person becomes an empowered participant in forming his or her world – rather than just someone to whom the world is happening. On one one level, this is the epicenter of self-actualization. On another - a reasonable definition of good mental health.
If you desire to help individuals with many of life’s challenges, including workplace stressors, family life, career decisions, relationship issues, and especially personal growth concerns, consider a career as transpersonal psychologist.
The transpersonal realm - a source of healing
For transpersonal therapists, the transpersonal self is very real and accessible. It is sometimes called the higher self or the soul. The methodical exploration of the transpersonal self results in the expansion of personal consciousness – an increased self-realization that therapists believe holds the key to greater self-understanding and self-appreciation.
Under the guidance of a therapist using talk therapy, patients sometimes discover reasons for, or clues about, life‘s problems. Therapists direct patients in learning to be aware of their inner wisdom, helping them gain new perspectives on health, compassionate social interaction, and love.
For many, these inner journeys are profound, inspiring creativity and awakening potential. Therapists watch for signs that patients are finding new energy in their transpersonal realms. They want to help patients get in touch with passions that bring long-forgotten dreams and goals back into focus. Through this process, therapists help patients self-realize, becoming happier, self-fulfilled individuals.
Tools of the transpersonal therapist
One of therapist’s most important techniques is the ability to induce transpersonal experiences in patients. Individuals commonly encounter this transpersonal aspect of themselves when they have experiences that stretch their normal sense of reality. These experiences are spontaneous and spiritual in nature resulting from a religious ritual or belief, or they are simply inspired by the sound of a rippling stream.
When induced by a therapist, a transpersonal experience occurs in a more controlled manner. Therapists must be experienced in recognizing patients' states of consciousness. They must also be adept at using talk therapy to guide patients through the process of accessing these different states. Even while entranced, patients are still aware and coherent – able to make observations and draw conclusions as they explore.
Many of the therapist's tools come from other spiritual cultures. For instance, the Eastern practice of meditation is often a primary methodology used by therapists to help patients calm their minds. Many transpersonal therapists are advanced meditators themselves, and patients who are also advanced meditators benefit from focused practice as well as the opportunity to discuss their meditative experiences.
Learning to interact with the transpersonal self through meditation is a lifelong commitment to spiritual growth. Patience, living life in the present moment, and the ability to disconnect from stimuli not only bring peace of mind, but lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and induce a host of other physiological benefits.
Therapists also often prescribe yoga and martial art forms for patients who regularly enjoy a strong exercise regimen. Tai Chi and Akeido, for example, also induce transpersonal states of consciousness but also include a physical component.
As the body moves, and the mind visualizes energy moving through the limbs, a state of calmness comes over the individual, bringing greater perception, quicker reflexes, greater insight, and a sense of harmony. Therapists discuss these experiences with patients, making suggestions and helping patients analyze their body-mind-spirit experiences.
Chanting, drumming and other shamanistic rituals are time-tested methods for changing states of consciousness, having been used for thousands of years by indigenous people in every corner of the world. Although many transpersonal therapists have shamanistic skills, these therapies typically take place in a group context, such as a seminar or a retreat, and are facilitated by specialized therapists.
Hypnosis, Holotropic breath work, and other methods of inducing more powerful transpersonal experiences often require that therapists have special training and possibly certification. This is because these modalities induce trance states directed by therapists. These trance states help patients go deep, enabling inner work that bypasses conscious minds The therapists are responsible for choosing the most appropriate method, and for assessing the nature, value, and safety of patient's transpersonal experiences.
Beyond culture and religions
Transpersonal therapists are not spiritual advocates for any specific tradition but must be knowledgeable in many different spiritual paths. In all therapeutic sessions, the patient sets the spiritual or religious tone, and the therapist shapes the dialog, suggesting therapeutic practices that are appropriate to patients' beliefs.
Because transpersonal work is directed at the level of the self (higher self or the soul), patients begin to learn who they truly are and to understand the purposes of their lives – often outside of religious or cultural contexts. This process of self-realization clarifies values and priorities at the soul level, rippling through attitudes and perspectives that redefine patients' lives, sometimes initiating big external changes, sometimes quiet, internal ones.
Giving patients the tools and the understanding they need to manage their growth is the job of the transpersonal therapist. Transpersonal work won't stop life's difficulties because difficulties stimulate growth, but transpersonal knowledge makes growing an adventure.
