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.
