What is Transpersonal Pyschology?

Transpersonal Psychology – An overview

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.”

Carl Gustav Jung

The term “transpersonal” was first used in the year 1905 by Williams James and means to experience beyond (trans) the sense of Ego.



Transpersonal Psychology has its roots in the humanistic psychology movement of the 1950s and 60s and was first popularized by the American psychologists Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl R. Rogers (1902-1987), both of them influenced by the extraordinary work done by the Swiss analyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). In this century Freudian Psychoanalysis and Behaviourism were dominating the scientific and therapeutic field, in which the focus of therapy was mainly on observable and rational aspects of human mind. The leaders of the humanistic movement criticized that the current school of psychology left out some unique human qualities such as spirituality, creativity and art. Therefore, they integrated alternative methods such as extreme non-ordinary (trance) states of consciousness and art into therapy.

As a subfield of psychology, Transpersonal Psychology integrates the transcendent and spiritual aspects of human experience and draws a more holistic perspective of Self - development. The integrative approach goes beyond conventional methods with the central aim of supporting the individual development of each person such as understanding the Self beyond the Ego mind identity. In the transpersonal therapeutic process, a variety of different techniques such as meditation, visualisation, and imaging, systemic trance, art- therapy and dream analysis, among others, are used. During this journey the therapist leads the person-patient to get to know the unconscious parts of the Self, until they are conscious and available to be acknowledged.

Aspects of human consciousness according to Ken Wilber include dimensions of the Body, the Mind, the Soul and the Spirit as integrative aspects of the Human Self.

Going through this transformative development of the personality, the patient learns to understand his/her beliefs and sense of self, and create a healthy relationship with his/her self.... therefore with his/her social environment. In contrast to other therapies, Transpersonal therapy does not make use of clinical diagnostics but tries to understand personal crises as part of life, which can help us learn and find new meanings to our Life/Soul Journey.