Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is an area of psychology that seeks to integrate the spiritual and transcendent human experiences within the framework of modern psychology.
Evolving from the humanistic psychology movement, transpersonal psychology emerged in the late 1960s, integrating spirituality and consciousness studies into psychological theory, as a response to perceived limitations of mainstream psychological approaches.
The empirical validity and recognition of transpersonal psychology remains contentious in modern psychology. Early critics such as Ernest Hilgard have viewed it as a fringe movement that attracted extreme followers of humanistic psychology, while scholars such as Eugene Taylor have acknowledged the field's interdisciplinary approach, at the same time noting its epistemological and practical challenges. The field's connections to psychedelic substances, religious ideas, and the new age movement have also further fueled controversy.
Transpersonal psychology has influenced various related and transpersonal disciplines, including transpersonal anthropology, business studies, near-death studies, and parapsychology. The field has a strong institutional presence in California, where the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and Journal of Transpersonal Psychology were developed.
History
Origins Early use of the term "transpersonal" can also be credited to Stanislav Grof and Anthony Sutich, who were dissatisfied with the humanistic psychology movement and included spirituality in their new framework. In 1967 to 1968, Abraham Maslow was in close dialogue with both Grof and Sutich regarding the name and orientation of the new field, later describing transpersonal psychology as a "fourth force" in psychology.
According to Powers, the term "transpersonal" starts to show up in academic journals from 1970 onwards. Humanistic and transpersonal psychology are often associated with the Human Potential Movement, a movement in the 1960s that explored various therapies and philosophies at institutions like Esalen in Big Sur, California. Transpersonal psychology was heavily influenced by Western culture, and had not been regarded as a “hard science”.
Formative period Gradually, during the 1960s, the term "transpersonal" became associated with a distinct school of psychology within the humanistic psychology movement. This branch of psychology was introduced to a time when the majority of schools were teaching Freudian Psychology.
In 1969, Maslow, Grof and Sutich were among the initiators behind the publication of the first issue of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.Judy, Dwight. "Transpersonal psychology: Coming of age." ReVision. Winter 94, Vol. 16 Issue 3, p99. 2p.Taylor, Eugene. Transpersonal Psychology: Its several Virtues. The Humanistic Psychologist, Vol. 20, Nos. 2 and 3, pp. 285-300, 1992. The Association for Transpersonal Psychology was established in 1972, the International Transpersonal Psychology Association in 1973, and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in 1975 . The institute was founded by Robert Frager and James Fadiman in response to an academic climate that they felt was hostile to such ideas.
Soon, other institutions began offering curricula in transpersonal psychology including Saybrook Graduate School, the California Institute of Asian Studies (now California Institute of Integral Studies), JFK University, and Naropa.Lukoff, David; Lu, Francis. A transpersonal-integrative approach to spiritually oriented psychotherapy. In Sperry, Len (Ed); Shafranske, Edward P. (Ed), (2005). Spiritually oriented psychotherapy., (pp. 177-205). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, ix, 368 pp. Other proponents of transpersonal psychology included Ram Dass; Elmer and Alyce Green who were affiliated with the Menninger Foundation; and Ken Wilber.Miller, John J. "Book review: Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology." Psychiatric Services April 01, 1998
Transpersonal psychology has been influenced by various Eastern spiritual traditions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, which emphasize practices like meditation, mindfulness, and the dissolution of the ego. In 1969, Anthony Sutich, along with Maslow and other humanistic psychologists, founded the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, formally establishing the field. The creation of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology in 1972 further solidified its identity. Transpersonal psychology focuses on exploring spiritual experiences, mystical states, self-transcendence, and the holistic development of human potential.
An interest group was later re-formed as the Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group (TPIG), which continued to promote transpersonal issues in collaboration with Division 32. Ken Wilber and Michael Washburn delivered the main transpersonal models of development of this period, Wilber in 1977 and Washburn in 1988.Smith, Elizabeth D. Addressing the Psychospiritual Distress of Death as Reality: A Transpersonal Approach. Social Work. May95, Vol. 40 Issue 3, p402-413. Ken Wilber has since distanced himself from the label "transpersonal", being in favour of the label of "integral" since the mid-1990s. In 1998 he formed the Integral Institute.
In 1998, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the holistic studies program at the John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, which included a transpersonal psychology department. The program was considered to be unique at the time, but also controversial. Commentators presented their skepticism towards the program.McManis, Sam. University with a Vision. JFK's holistic studies program attracts devoted students - and strong critics. San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, October 9, 1998
Later developments
Proponents of transpersonal psychology were behind the proposal for a new diagnostic category to be included in the DSM-manual of the American Psychiatric Association called "Psychoreligious or psychospiritual problem", which was approved by the Task Force on DSM-IV in 1993, after changing its name to Religious or spiritual problem.Lukoff D, Lu F, Turner R. Toward a more culturally sensitive DSM-IV. Psychoreligious and psychospiritual problems. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1992;180(11):673–682.Steinfels, P. "Psychiatrists' Manual Shifts Stance On Religious and Spiritual Problems". New York Times, February 10, 1994.Turner, Robert P.; Lukoff, David; Barnhouse, Ruth Tiffany & Lu Francis G. "Religious or spiritual problem. A culturally sensitive diagnostic category in the DSM-IV". Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Jul;183(7):435-44, 1995Lukoff D, Lu FG, Turner R. Cultural considerations in the assessment and treatment of religious and spiritual problems. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 1995 Sep;18(3):467-85.Fadiman, James; Judy, Dwight; Lukoff, David and Sovatsky, Stuart. 50TH Anniversary Reflections From (a few) of the Past Presidents of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2018, Vol. 50, No. 1 Concurrently, there was an increase in membership for the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, stabilizing at approximately 3000 members in the early nineties. In 1996, the British Psychological Society established a Transpersonal Psychology Section.Fontana, David; Slack, Ingrid & Treacy, Martin, Eds. (2005) Transpersonal Psychology: Meaning and Developments. Transpersonal Psychology Review (Special Issue). Leicester: British Psychological SocietyDaniels, Michael & McNutt, Brendan. "Questioning the Role of Transpersonal Psychology". Transpersonal Psychology Review, Vol. 1, No. 4, 4-9. (1997) [Preprint Version]
In 2007 the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies were accepted for indexing in PsycINFO, the journal database of the American Psychological Association. That same year, Ruzek, noted that the "American Psychological Association (APA) and most academic institutions have not yet recognized transpersonal psychology as an approved area of study; transpersonal psychology is rarely mentioned in mainstream academic journals or textbooks; and relatively few American academicians identify themselves as practitioners of transpersonal psychology. Furthermore, transpersonal psychology is scarcely mentioned, if at all, in history or introductory psychology texts".Ruzek, Nicole. Transpersonal Psychology in Context: Perspectives from its founders and Historians of American Psychology. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2007, Vol. 39, No. 2
Reception, recognition and criticism
Although transpersonal psychology has received some support from both psychologists and non-psychologists, it remains highly controversial and has not been widely accepted by mainstream academic psychology.Zdenek, Marilee. "Transformations of Consciousness" (Book review). L.A Times, September 14, 1986Friedman, Harris (2000) Toward Developing Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field. Paper presented at Old Saybrook 2 conference, May 11–14, 2000, State University of West GeorgiaParsons, William B. Book Reviews: Revisioning Transpersonal Theory. A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality (Book). Journal of Religion, 00224189, Oct. 2003, Vol.83, Issue 4.
Transpersonal psychology has been criticized for lacking conceptual, evidentiary, and scientific rigor. In a review of criticisms of the field, Paul F Cunningham writes, "philosophers have criticized transpersonal psychology because its metaphysics is naive and epistemology is undeveloped. Multiplicity of definitions and lack of operationalization of many of its concepts has led to a conceptual confusion about the nature of transpersonal psychology itself... Biologists have criticized transpersonal psychology for its lack of attention to biological foundations of behavior and experience. Physicists have criticized transpersonal psychology for inappropriately accommodating physic concepts as explanations of consciousness."
Albert Ellis, a cognitive and humanistic psychologist, has questioned the results of transpersonal psychotherapy. In 1989, he worked with Raymond Yeager for the release of Why some therapies don't work: The dangers of transpersonal psychology, where the authors compared the results of transpersonal psychology with the effects of rational-emotive therapy and noted the dangers of the transpersonal approach.Ellis, Albert; Yeager, Raymond J. (1989) Why some therapies don't work: The dangers of transpersonal psychology. Amherst, NY, US: Prometheus Books. Ellis has also questioned the scientific status of transpersonal psychology, and its relationship to religion, mysticism and authoritarian belief systems.Ellis, Albert. "Fanaticism that may lead to a nuclear holocaust: The contributions of scientific counseling and psychotherapy". Journal of Counseling & Development, Nov 1986, Vol. 65, pp. 146-151Ellis, Albert. "Dangers of Transpersonal Psychology: A Reply To Ken Wilber". Journal of Counseling & Development, Feb89, Vol. 67 Issue 6, p336, 2p;
Ernest Hilgard, a psychologist at Stanford University, regarded transpersonal psychology as a fringe movement that attracted the more extreme followers of humanistic psychology.Hilgard, Ernest R. Consciousness in Contemporary Psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 1980, 31:1-26