What is Transpersonal Psychology?
Transpersonal psychology, also called spiritual psychology, is a school of psychology that combines the spiritual and the transcendent elements of human experience within the structure of modern psychology.
The ‘transpersonal’ part in transpersonal psychology is understood as the experiences in which the sense of self or identity goes beyond or ‘trans’ the individual or personal to circumscribe the broader aspects of life, psyche, humankind, or the cosmos.
Concepts like spiritual self-development, peak and mystical experiences, self beyond the ego, spiritual crises, systemic trance, spiritual evolution, altered states of consciousness, religious conversion, and sublime and expanded experiences of living are studied under the subfield of transpersonal psychology.
Transpersonal psychology is also defined as the development of a person beyond the conventional, individual, or personal levels. Transpersonal Psychology Day is celebrated on February 27 every year.
Brief History of the Development of the Field of Transpersonal Psychology
The foundation for the study of transpersonal psychology was laid by thinkers like William James, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Roberto Assagioli, and Stanislav Grof. Jean Piaget has done more recent work in his psychological research.
The earliest use of the term ‘transpersonal’ was one by William James in his lecture notes at Harvard University in 1905-06 and was used very differently from its present understanding.
Traces of the psychedelic movement, the psychological study of religion and parapsychology, and interest in Eastern spiritual practices have also influenced and shaped the nascent field of transpersonal psychology.
Abraham Maslow is another seminal figure in the field of transpersonal psychology. Maslow presented the outline for fourth-force psychology called transhumanistic psychology in 1967 in his lecture ‘The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.’ In 1968, along with a few other psychologists, he announced transpersonal psychology as the fourth force in psychology to separate the field from humanistic psychology.
Both transpersonal and humanistic psychology has been associated with the Human Potential Movement, a growth center for alternative philosophies and therapies that arose during the counterculture movements of the 1960s in California.
The Formative Period of Transpersonal Psychology
The 1960s and 70s introduced the group of individuals considered to be the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology. Some of the founders of this group are – Ram Dass, James Fadiman, Stanislav Grof, Ralph Metzner, Claudio Naranjo, Charles Tart, Miles Vich, Roger Walsh, and Ken Wilber.
In 1969, a leading academic journal called the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology began its first publication. During the next decade, international associations of transpersonal psychology were established, and a graduate training center was founded in 1975 called the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology by Robert Frager and James Fadiman.
In the 1980s, Stanislav and Christina Grof developed the concepts of spiritual emergence and spiritual emergencies. The 1980s saw a significant contribution to the field of transpersonal psychology.
Clinical writers like David Lukoff, Robert P. Turner, and Francis Lu submitted a proposal for a new category of ‘psycho religious or psychospiritual problem’ to be added to the DSM-manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The proposal was approved in 1993.
Branches of Transpersonal Psychology and Other Related Fields
Several schools or subfields of psychology have influenced transpersonal psychology, such as the analytical psychology of Carl Jung, the psychosynthesis of Roberto Assagioli, and the humanistic school of Abraham Maslow. The primary models of transpersonal psychotherapy are given by C. G. Jung, Michael Washburn, Stanislav Grof, Hameed Ali, and Ken Wilber.
Transpersonal psychology has been adopted into areas of business studies and management. Transpersonal psychology is also used in transpersonal anthropology and transpersonal art disciplines.
Some other fields of study associated with transpersonal psychology are parapsychology, near-death studies, and humanistic psychology. Although transpersonal psychology is said to have developed out of humanistic psychology, many of its areas of study, like modes of consciousness and spirituality, extend beyond those discussed under humanistic theory.
Transpersonal psychology advocates for a more expanded and spiritual outlook of physical and mental health compared to humanistic psychology. Transpersonal psychology has sometimes also been associated with pop psychology and New Age beliefs, although there is criticism against it.
Transpersonal Psychotherapy
Roger Walsh and Frances Vaughan emphasized that the goals of transpersonal psychology include both – regular results like symptom relief and behavior change and working at the transpersonal level, which may even go beyond the limits of psychotherapy.
Practices like Karma Yoga and altered states of consciousness are included in the transpersonal approach to therapy. This is sometimes aided by a process where the psychological growth of the therapist helps to provide a support framework for the client’s psychological growth.
Some practitioners have also presented an integrated approach where elements of western psychotherapy are combined with spiritual psychology.
Another transpersonal approach to psychotherapy is outlined by the psychoanalyst Robin S. Brown who borrows from analytical psychology, relational psychoanalysis, and participatory theory.
Criticism Against Transpersonal Psychology
Criticism against transpersonal psychology has been made by the fields of humanistic and existential psychology and the scientific community.
Criticism Made by Humanistic and Existential Psychology
One of the earliest criticisms made against transpersonal psychology was by the humanistic psychologist Rollo May who raised a question regarding the conceptual foundations of transpersonal psychology. May criticized that transpersonal psychology neglected the personal dimension of the psyche by aggrandizing it for the pursuit of the transcendental.
Other criticisms from this field include doubt regarding whether it is even possible to achieve true transpersonal awareness or divine consciousness.
Criticism by the Scientific Community
Transpersonal psychology has been criticized for lacking evidentiary, conceptual, and scientific rigor. Additionally, the multiplicity of definitions and the lack of operationalization leading to confusion regarding the field of study have also been questioned.
Biologists have especially criticized transpersonal psychology for its lack of attention to the biological basis of human behavior and experience. Physicists have also criticized it for incorrectly applying physics concepts to explain consciousness.
Other Criticism
Skepticism has been raised in psychiatry towards the ideas of spiritual emergencies and transpersonal dimensions. Some critics have also noted the emphasis on holism and oneness in transpersonal psychology at the expense of diversity.