PSYCHOSYNTHESIS: A WITH A SOUL by Diana Whitmore

Published in Counselling: The BACP Counselling Reader Volume Two: August 2001

PSYCHOSYNTHESIS : A PSYCHOLOGY WITH A SOUL Diana Whitmore

Initial motivation : freedom from pain progressive context within which the “It hurts” “ I want to feel better” “ I want client can experience herself and make to know what is happening to me”. “I choices rather than merely mend want to be free.” Every good therapist brokenness. A client will report many will want to respond sensitively to what experiences which will prompt the is motivating a client in the moment. Psychosynthesis therapist to speculate as Nearly always our initial motivation follows : What is trying to emerge involves a deep pain we are experiencing through these difficulties and what which usually reflects a much deeper potential growth is contained within need contained within the pain and the them ? If the client was unconsciously problem. People seek therapy because seeking a step forward, what might it be they are in pain. Pain in this context is ? What old behaviour pattern is dying in one of the most powerful motivating order for something new to be born ? forces for change. The good news is that, This attitude provides a way of although seemingly negative, this step “reframing” experience, enabling the provides a healthy, energizing and life- creative potential within a problem to be affirming force for the beginning of the actualized. therapeutic work. Psychosynthesis maintains that when an The existential crisis individual seeks to enter therapy, there is Also among those who seek therapy are invariably more lying beneath the many who are basically healthy and able immediately obvious. We could question to function well but who experience a whether our problems in life are sense of dissatisfaction with the quality “distractions to be got rid of” – the result of life and long for greater fulfillment. of inadequacy – or psychological There may be a need conscious or wounding from childhood experiences. unconscious to expand individual Alternatively, we could entertain the identity beyond personal existence. The hypothesis that problems and obstacles choice to enter counselling can reflect a at their deepest level are inherently life-affirming impulse which transcends meaningful, evolutionary, coherent and the confines of conventional life – a potentially transformative. Perhaps it is search for meaning, for purpose and a no accident that various conflicts deeper identity leads to this choice. become foreground issues at particular Although a person may appear to be times in our lives. Old psychological integrated and to live a more or less forms die in order for new ones to be successful life with many goals born. The energy of conflict is the achieved, her life can lose its lustre and energy of transformation. become somewhat grey and meaningless. The things in life that were Reframing pathology : the creative once rewarding may become no longer use of pain and crisis so. This is not neurosis, for often the Psychosynthesis hypothesizes a model of individual can stand on her own two “emerging purpose” which provides a feet. What does she do then ? just stand

there ? She may ask herself questions neurotic elements must be brought into like : “What am I here for ? What is the and transformed. meaning of my life ? What is my place Psychosynthesis counselling begins by in the world ? There must be more to life assessing the client’s blocks and than this !” These pertinent questions potentials to allow for a purposeful may drive a person to seek therapy. exploration of the unconscious. In order to reach the roots of psychological The process of therapy complexes, childhood experiences are un Assagioli likens the three principal covered with particular regard to the stages of Psychosynthesis therapy to impact they currently have on the Dante’s Divine Comedy : first there is client’s life. Our past, our history, our the descent into the Inferno which childhood experiences do not sit quietly represents the psychodynamic phase of in the basement of our psyche. descent into the lower unconscious : then Repression, suppression or denial of the journey through Purgatory which feelings creates emotional stress. resembles working with the client’s Psychosynthesis works extensively to existential reality : and finally the ascent release the grip of the past and to learn to paradise which symbolise exploring to express real but buried feelings in the the transpersonal dimension of the present. When a natural capacity for psyche. expression of feelings is redeemed, emotional health can be re-established. Our perception is also conditioned and The past : assessment of the coloured by our history. From past unconscious experiences, defense mechanisms are Psychosynthesis has its roots in formed which preserve the stability of . Before founding the personality but do so at the expense Psychosynthesis, Dr Roberto of distorting reality. They lower anxiety Assagioli(1888-1974) was a member of in order to maintain a stable level of the Freud Society in Zurich in 1910 and functioning. Initially these defenses together with various other pioneers of serve us well but later they may restrict the psychoanalytic movement was our quality of life. These “loyal soldiers” among the first to bring psychoanalysis must be acknowledged for how they to Italy. have served us in the past but then The first step in Psychosynthesis is the released as obsolete. attainment of a certain level of self- Psychosynthesis contends that the past knowledge, the ability to move within may have an even deeper function in one’s inner world with some degree of determining the quality of our life as awareness. The influence of our adults. Our inner life and world may be childhood is multi-dimensional, often incongruent with our outer life which indirect and pervasive. It profoundly contributes to a sense of inauthenticity. affects our capacity for love and As a result, the integrity of feeling at intimacy, for assertion and self- home in the world may be lacking. affirmation : it determines our Mentally too, our history influences our perception of life and colours our attitudes, beliefs and philosophies about deepest attitudes and values. Unless we life. We may, for example, are to remain puppets to the past, our unconsciously believe that people cannot

be trusted or that we will never get our psychological system and it will colour needs met. These basic attitudes will in vividly her attitudes and expectations. turn condition our image of reality. The memories belonging to such a life The main difference between pattern will have a similar basic theme psychodynamic work with the and carry a strong emotional charge of unconscious and psychosynthetic work the same quality. For example a pattern is that Psychosynthesis delves into the of low self-esteem will contain the past in a focused way on particular life client’s memories of past experiences of issues. Indiscriminate delving into the the humiliating and degrading situations unconscious is not encouraged. The that damaged it. These life experiences client’s presenting problem will evoke a will form identities which form further exploration into the roots and autonomous configurations within the historical background. The principle in personality. They are discrete Psychosynthesis is for awareness to be psychological identities, co-existing as a expanded into the unconscious regarding multitude of lives within one person : an issue in the client’s life and then for each with its own specific behaviour that awareness to be integrated in a pattern and corresponding self-image, controlled manner. This work with the feelings and beliefs. Their unique unconscious will include attention to characteristics form a relatively unified dynamics of transference and counter- whole. transference. The transferred childhood Each of our identities has an exclusive pattern which clients unconsciously “live way of experiencing and responding to again” in their relationship with the life. We are often different when we are therapist, needs also to be addressed. with our children compared to when we are in our workplace or in certain The present : exploration of challenging situations we quickly lose and identity the calm, self-assured demeanour that Experiences which are familiar and we display most of the time. When we repetitious are often to be found in the shift our identifications in this way it is client’s presenting problems. It is as if often in reaction to the demands of the some uncontrollable force is situation and in response to the conditioning both inner and outer unconscious feelings evoked. We are experience. Recurring situations, unaware of the expectations from the seemingly out of the client’s control, environment and the demands of our result in predictable and limited inner world that control us. We are behavioural responses. Every chronic caught in ambivalence, confusion or life pattern has its historical base, its conflict. biography, often traumatic around which These identifications are usually many other painful experiences unconscious and largely beyond our accumulate. Whether positive or control. Our identifications will change negative, the core experience tends to in response to the demands of both inner repeat itself again and again, forming a and outer conditions much more than our generalized behaviour pattern which in desire and will. If we identify too closely similar situations evokes similar with one aspect of our personality, we responses. Eventually the client will lose accessibility to the rest of our perceive her whole world through this personality. We need to free ourselves

from the limited and dominating increasing dissatisfaction with behaviour of any one particular identity. competitive materialism, the pursuit of immediate gratification, as well as by a Self-identification and psychological conscious or unconscious search for freedom different and higher values an activities, A longer-term goal of Psychosynthesis a longing for what is sometimes termed therapy is the fostering of a stable sense “spiritual”. of identity. Exploring the unconscious, Few would deny that people are hungry working with chronic life patterns and for truth, goodness, beauty, but in our specific identities foster the recognition culture and in psychology, it is difficult that our true identity is beyond the to talk about this transpersonal contents of our consciousness. We all dimension. Our spiritual lives have have within us an element which is become as embarrassing to us as our permanent, consistent and unchanging. sexual lives were to the Victorians. Until Little by little we can acquire an internal recently our scientific bias has limited us point of reference, a centre of identity to quantitative and statistical which is psychologically free, exploration. In spite of accounts of uncluttered and available at will. A goal experience of a higher reality found on of Psychosynthesis is to detach and free all ages, we are reluctant to admit the ourselves in order to access more of our existence or experience of spiritual personality, resolve conflicts and values. become more self-determining and Freud saw the desire for something autonomous. This will provide access to beyond the personal as neurotic – a a wider range of experience and choice. regressive tendency to return to the The above, longer-term work of undifferentiated primal untiy of our Psychosynthesis therapy is not the same mother’s womb : or as a sublimation of as “distancing” or suppression. We too drives and instincts. Assagioli criticized often live submerged in aparticular Freud for labeling our higher values and identity, role or behaviour. We are lost achievements as adaptations of these in an unconscious way of being. lower instincts and drives. Assagioli Liberating ourselves from or abandoning maintained that these higher impulses, it. On the contrary, to be conscious desires and motives exit in their own brings more aliveness. right, develop whether or not the aggressive and sexual drives are satisfied The future : the transpersonal and have their own source – a spiritual dimension of therapy centre of identity. As previously mentioned, establishing a Transpersonal work in therapy is not a stable centre of identity and a degree of substitute for psychological work but inner mastery is an aim of rather a vivifying and practical Psychosynthesis therapy. A balanced complement. A therapist working in a emphasis on the development of self- transpersonal context will be committed identity provides the psychological to a particular set of assumptions which stability for an awakening and are not absolute but are useful as exploration of the transpersonal domain, “working hypotheses”. A few commonly the revival of interest in the adopted contexts are : transpersonal today is triggered by an

 In each of us there exists a the superconscious emerge into spiritual centre of identity. The consciousness : through intuitive insight Self, which includes the personal into one’s problems, through the dimension but goes beyond it and imagination and images which carry a both the experience and positive charge, through inspiration and expression of this Self fosters its subsequent creative expression or growth and wellbeing through illumination which reveals the  Pain, crisis and pathology are essential nature of life and its true unity. opportunities and challenges for The therapist who holds a transpersonal growth and creative steps context will use these moments to forward and are intimately further the client’s work on herself by connected with our self- responding to them and encouraging realisation. their elaboration.  We can benefit from identifying a purpose in life which is The Self meaningful and potentially The Self can be described as a person’s fulfilling. most authentic identity, the deepest  Spiritual drives are as real, experience of Being. It can be a fundamental and indispensable as conscious experience for some, while for the basic psychological ones and others it may be latent until these needs must be met for superconscious experiences stimulate optimum health. A goal of awareness of its existence. Experiences Psychosynthesis is to enable the of beauty, of creative intelligence, of client to meet physical, illumination can awaken the individual emotional, mental and spiritual to this deeper identity. needs appropriately in The yearning for unity or the lack of accordance with individual connection to Self/Soul can underlie temperament. Hence no one many psychological symptoms : a principle, method or technique is chronic feeling of isolation : self- correct for everyone. destructive behaviours such as alcohol or  It is therapeutically valuable to drug consumption which dull reality and explore experiences of create a false sense of unity : suicidal superconscious content with impulses which may suggest an those descending into the client’s unconscious desire to return to security field of consciousness of those and the primal unity of the womb : found in the process of existential despair and hopelessness. transcendent levels – creativity, It is also worth noting that the intuitive insights, spiritual awakening of the Self may also be revelation, mythical and stimulated by crisis and negative archetypal realms and altruistic experiences. For one client the death of a imperatives. loved one stimulated a search for meaning which led her to the experience Transpersonal experiences can arise at of the Self : another, overwhelmed by a any time, often spontaneously and when mid-life crisis, found relief through deep least expected. There are various acceptance of her Being which altered modalities through which the contents of her priorities and life direction. For an

overstressed businessman, the loss of his therapy. Without a “bifocal vision” – valued career shocked him into a one which sees both the light and the transcendent experience of his true in clients – and without a identity far beyond his role as a context which sees the client as more businessman work in therapy. In times than her pathology, the therapist reduces of stress or trauma, people in therapy greatly the effectiveness of the work. tend to be more open to move towards a Assagioli spoke of the relationship being wider perspective and a greater sense of the very heart of the therapeutic process. proportion. He believed that without authentic human relating, trust would not be A transpersonal context established between therapist and client A therapist working in a transpersonal and without this essential ingredient context recognizes the pivotal role of little growth was possible. He further consciousness in determining the elaborated the dangers of both outcome of therapy. Consciousness is dependency and projection of the both the instrument and the object of sublime without a genuine relationship. change and the therapist will be less The client might remain dependent upon concerned with “problem-solving” than the authority figure of the therapist for with enhancing the conditions in which answers to her problems and guidance the client can address the challenge towards normative psychological health. creatively. The emphasis is upon Autonomy and a healthy separation from learning how to deal effectively with the therapist then become immensely problems as they arise rather than difficult. Projection of the sublime resolving a particular situation in the occurs when the client perceives the client’s life. therapist as more intelligent, more Most essentially, working from a creative, more in possession of all the transpersonal means that, regardless of positive qualities for which she yearns. method or technique, the therapist has taken a firm stand for basic human Transference and counter-transference goodness, placed her trust in the client’s Assagioli did not see transference as the fundamental “allrightness” and is willing centre of gravity around which the to accompany her on her journey to therapy revolves in the way that Freud wholeness. did. However, he did acknowledge transference and counter transference as The therapeutic relationship tremendously important factors to be Working from a transpersonal context conscious of. A Psychosynthesis also creates a transpersonal element in psychotherapist aims to dissolve the the therapist and client’s relationship – transference as it emerges, rather than so essential for sincere and successful encourage it to build into a full work. the ground on which they stand transference. A full transference neurosis together is rich with the necessary is not encouraged or discouraged, nor is components for the client to both heal it seen as the core of the therapeutic herself and move progressively forward. process. There is no doubt that the quality of the The Psychosynthesis attitude towards human relationship has a profound transference is to treat it as it arises as influence on determining the outcome of one of many ways to help the client

confront her issues.. Much of the “intra- transference, counter-transference is not psychic” work in Psychosynthesis which always pathological, but can be an actively and experientially engages the authentic human response to the client. client, attains the same goal as On the other hand, it can also be a sign transference work – to deal with of the unconscious dynamics that are unconscious neurotic conflict and to being played out and are pulling the strengthen the ego. therapist into a repetitive response. Erich Fromm said that, after all, it is the Analysing counter-transference helps to child in the client who is transferring. detect and evaluate the transference. Hence, any work done with the inner child of the client will address the same Our interface with society basic level as working with transference. Finally, just as treating the symptoms of Psychosynthesis uses “active disease brings relief but does not heal techniques” like work the whole person, therapy without and guided imagery to access “inner exploring the client’s relationship with child levels” in therapeutic work. the larger whole would be limited and Working experientially with parental unreal. We do not exist in isolation but relationships can also address within the context of the larger whole of transference issues. Re-living and re- society and of an intricate network of experiencing parental relationships can relationship. With its emphasis on release past trauma and profoundly purpose and meaning, Psychosynthesis affect transference intra-psychically by therapy places a high value on this area. work with the inner child and parental Individual identity is not the end-result work as well as inter-personally in more but leads to a recognition of traditional work. interdependence and to a more creative Assagioli also stressed that the therapist response to life. must not lump all client responses into At any time the client may naturally the transference construct but must use begin to question and want to explore discrimination to examine and assess the nature of values and how she their validity. The therapist is wise to chooses to relate to her world. This idea work within herself for her own affective is congruent with Maslow’ (1954) response to the client. For instance, if the “hierarchy of needs” which proposes client feels judged, the therapist must that, as personal survival, safety and look within herself for these feelings self-esteem needs are fulfilled, the towards the client. In the safety of the individual will move towards a more therapeutic situation, the client may also universal orientation, a natural be “trying out” new behaviours that are expansion of ego boundaries and a desire being learned. For example if she has to make life choices that are consistent previously conformed in order to win with this large identity. approval, the first place where she may Diana Whitmore is Chair of the begin to be assertive is in her Psychosynthesis and Education Trust, relationship with the therapist (as a Senior trainer and Supervisor in prelude to doing so in life). Psychosynthesis. She is on the UKCP Some but not all of the counter- National register, is a BACP Accredited transference may belong to an earlier Supervisor. She is author of two books : part of the therapist’s life. As with Psychosynthesis and Education : A

guide to the joy of learning and Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action.

References :

Assagioli, Roberto (1993) Psychosynthesis : a Manual of Principles and Techniques. London : Harper Collins Assagioli, Roberto (1994) The Act of Will. London : HarperCollins Assagioli, Roberto (1991) Transpersonal Development. London : HarperCollins Ferrucci, Piero (1990) What We May Be London : HarperCollins Ferrucci ,Piero (1990) Inevitable Grace. Weelingborough : Thornsons Hardy, Jean (1989) : Psychology With a Soul. London : Penguin Books Parfitt, Will (1994) The Elements of Psychosynthesis. Shaftesbury : Element Books Whitmore, Diana (1994) Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action London : Sage