Foundations

What is transpersonal psychology?

“In short, transpersonal psychology stands for the re-enchantment of psychology and a broadening of spiritual practices. It advocates freedom and full self-realization for all beings. It sees the meaning and, even, sacredness of the life journey. Without discounting suffering — psychological, social, political, environmental—transpersonal psychology finds delight, comfort, and a sense of home in the primal and profound interconnection of all existence.”

— John Davis, PhD
Director, MA Transpersonal Psychology

Transpersonal psychology integrates spiritual wisdom and practices with the insights and methods of psychology. Its interests include optimal mental health, transformation and self-transcendence, mindfulness and meditative practices, ritual, mystical and shamanic states of consciousness, and the applications of spirituality in the helping professions, healing, the arts, community-building, business settings and environmental work. Transpersonal psychology is also interested in the difficulties, suffering and obstacles related to these states and practices.

Transpersonal psychology draws from world wisdom traditions and indigenous knowledge as well as modern psychological theory and research. It is not, itself, a religion, but it seeks to provide understanding and orientation to support the direct experience of the spiritual core of religions as well as secular expressions of spirituality. Overlaps between psychology and spirituality have been present in both psychology (for example, in the work of William James, Carl Jung, Roberto Assagioli and Abraham Maslow) and in the world wisdom traditions (which have their own sophisticated views of human development, psychological processes and healing). Ken Wilber, Frances Vaughan and Stanislav Grof, among others, are at the forefront of transpersonal psychology today.

Its stance toward human nature is inclusive and optimistic. Transpersonal psychology offers both a fuller and richer understanding of human psychology and a more psychologically sophisticated approach to spiritual development.