Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis is a method of psychotherapy and self-development that teaches how we can become healthy, well-functioning people in harmony with ourselves and the world. It draws from Eastern and Western traditions, While Eastern disciplines often have tended to emphasize the spiritual side of being, Western approaches usually have focused on the personality level. Psychosynthesis expands beyond Freud's analysis and focuses on the broader use of human abilities such as will, imagination, and intuition, including our spiritual side, higher aspirations, and the center of our being, known as the Self or "I". Psychosynthesis provides helpful maps and principles to enhance the full range of human experience and support our journey toward self-realization. A prime example is Assagioli’s “Oval” diagram - a map of the psyche.

Disidentification refers to the capacity to distinguish between the contents of consciousness, on the one hand, and the inner observer on the other. The psychosynthesis coach understands the core practice of dis-identification and can facilitate this process with clients so they can “step back” from limiting thoughts, beliefs, patterns, sub-personalities, and other identifications that diminish the client’s sense of self and free will.

The will is an essential aspect of the self, and the psychosynthesis coach supports clients in knowing themselves as “willers” who can make choices in service of meaningful goals. The coach understands the basic structure of the six stages of the Act of Will, from purpose through manifestation, and can guide the client effectively through these stages. 

The psychosynthesis coach recognizes that people contain within themselves a complex array of sub-personalities, along with a wide range of feelings, needs, thoughts, desires, and aims. These various elements can sometimes lead to inner conflicts and tensions that leave the client feeling fragmented or even immobilized. By working with the principle of synthesis, the coach supports the recognition and integration of these elements into a more complete and cohesive sense of self.

Psychosynthesis supports an ongoing soulful process or movement towards greater spiritual maturity through which clients might begin to glimpse the deep nature of their being and connect with it as a source of direction, guidance, aliveness, and wisdom. The psychosynthesis coach recognizes there is no single method or technique to access this transpersonal Self, and yet is ever attending to its emergence so that the client may hear its call.

The essence of Psychosynthesis is captured in the following seven concepts:

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1. Disidentification - a way to freedom

2. Personal self - a way to presence

3. Will - a way to strength

4. Ideal model -  a way to focus

5. Synthesis - a way to wholeness

6. Superconscious - a way to abundance.

7. Transpersonal Self - a way to love.

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The process of psychosynthesis naturally progresses in a way that leads to greater self-awareness, authenticity, and a sense of personal empowerment. This process is made possible by an internal unifying center, the personal self, which exists within each person as a source of awareness and will (or choice). The psychosynthesis coach seeks to contact, reveal, engage with, and encourage this personal self to manifest more fully and powerfully in the client’s life. 

The Ideal Model- The Ideal Model in psychosynthesis is not a model of perfection but rather a realistic way of living and being in the world that feels good to you. It is a future vision of self that the client wishes and reasonably believes is possible to become. The psychosynthesis coach works with clients to:

1) identify any limiting and distorted models that do not serve the client, and then, 

2) support the client in articulating an appropriate Ideal Model that becomes a working vision of the emerging self.

The framework of psychosynthesis recognizes that there exists within each person a higher or “superconscious” realm beyond the ordinary levels of human experience. This dimension speaks to the natural drive in all life to reach full maturity, to become fully who we are meant to be. The psychosynthesis coach references this superconscious realm with clients and actively orients them towards their higher aspirations and deeply felt sense of purpose.

The father of Psychosynthesis is the Italian physician and psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974). He was himself very reluctant to give interviews about his life, as he thought it irrelevant to focus on him as a person. The focus had to be on psychosynthesis instead. I will honor his request and focus on his gifts. Assagioli contributed to three psychological revolutions of the twentieth century: psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, and also transpersonal psychology.

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Assagioli agreed with Freud that healing childhood traumas and the development of a healthy ego were necessary goals. But in broad outline, his work tried to show that human development does not stop there and that the healthy person has a growth potential, which Maslow later named “self-actualization”. Assagioli went further and tried to show that human potential also holds a possibility of experiences with spiritual and transpersonal dimensions.