What is Transpersonal Psychology?
What does transpersonal mean?
Simply put, transpersonal means beyond the boundaries of the ego. By ego here we mean the conventional secular idea of self or ego that is so prevalent in current society, where we conceive of our ‘self’ as being that which is contained within the boundaries of our physical body, and everything outside of that being thought of as ‘other’. Transpersonal psychology takes a much broader and more flexible approach to the self, considering it not just from the point of view of our physical body and emotional/mental conditioning, but also from the view of who we are as a soul or spiritual being. When we use the term ‘soul’ or ‘spiritual being’ here, we are doing so not to imply a particular religious context, but rather to refer to the deeper and most meaningful aspects of the human spirit that lies within all of us.
What is transpersonal psychology?
Transpersonal psychology can be thought of as holistic or integral psychology. Many types of psycholgy approach the solving of our psychological problems from a very limited and specific point of view. For example:
Some try deal with issues by altering the body’s chemistry through drugs – for example psychiatry
Others view the problem from the point of view of the emotions – for example humanistic psychology
Others look at the issues from the point of view of our thinking – for example cognitive psychology
Some view psychology from the point of view of our family history – for example family systems psychology
Freudian psychology tends to view psychology mainly through a sexual lens, father and mother issues, and both birth and pre-birth expereinces.
The emerging field of positive psychology tries to build health through focusing on our strengths and building upon them, rather than dwelling upon our weaknesses.
The list could go on…The main point here is that transpersonal psychology integrates multiple points of view into a holism, and tackles the challenges that the client is faced with from multiple angles, rather than just a single limited lens. In essence transpersonal psychology looks at the whole of the person, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, and develops long term solutions based around multiple perspectives.
What is the difference between transpersonal and spiritual?
Firstly, as mentioned above, transpersonal psychology makes a definite, conscious effort to integrate all four levels of our being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) into a holism, rather than just considering things from a spiritual (trans-physical) point of view.
Secondly, for most people, the idea of being spiritual is usually bound up in some way with a spiritual path and/or a quest for some form of enlightenment. The aim of the transpersonal advice is more along the lines of the integration of the spiritual, psychological and physical in such a way that we are able to experience ourselves as whole, healed and integrated beings. Enlightenment or transcendental spiritual experiences may happen along the way, but they are things to be integrated and experienced within the context of our daily lives, rather than as ends in and of themselves.
Click HERE to return to transpersonal coaching page
© Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission
