Articles on Transpersonal Psychology

The Fourth Wave of Psychology

Transpersonal Psychology is a relatively new branch of the tree of academic psychology. Viewed as a wayward step-child by most mainstream psychologists, this dynamic fourth wave of psychology has spawned a variety of novel approaches to psychotherapy and new definitions of what is germane to the discipline of psychology.

 

It is called the fourth wave of psychology because it was the fourth major movement to appear historically.

 

The first wave, Psychodynamic, began with Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalysis, which has been expanded through the insights of Ego Psychology, Interpersonal Psychology, Object Relations, and Self Psychology.

The second wave, Behavioral, was championed by B. F. Skinner and others. It has been augmented by Cognitive Psychology theory and methodology during the last four decades.

The third wave, Humanistic, spearheaded by Carl Rogers, has been amplified by innovotions such as Focusing.

The fourth wave, Transpersonal Psychology, drew upon the seminal writings of Karl Jung, Roberto Assagioli, Ken Wilbur, Charles Tart, Stan Grof, Kenneth Pelletier, and Charles Garfield, among others, to describe a new vision of psychology.

George's Study of Transpersonal Psychology

George was first exposed to the teachings of Transpersonal Psychology in 1977 when he read Roberto Assagioli's book, Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and Techniques. George further explored this fascinating field by reading Consciousness East and West, by Kenneth Pelletier and Charles Garfield; Ken Wilbur's book, The Spectrum of Consciousness; and Charles Tart's anthology, Altered States of Consciousness.

 

To delve deeper into this subject, in 1979 George took a one year course in Psychosynthesis. He additionally took a course in 1984 called "Vedanta and Consciousness" with Dr. Rollo May and a Psychosynthesis therapist from Italy, Dr. Boggio-Gilot.

 

George's first writing on Transpersonal Psychology appeared in 1982. As a senior at UCLA, he wrote a scholarly paper entitled, "Psychosynthesis: the Psychotherapy of Roberto Assagioli."

 

Since that time, George has continued to reflect upon the deep insights of Transpersonal Psychology. We sample from his subsequent writings on this topic. Click on the links to your left to read them.

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