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Transpersonal Approaches to the Treatment of Chemical Dependency

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Transpersonal Approaches to the Treatment of Chemical Dependency Complimentary Approaches to the Treatment of Chemical Dependency Brack Jefferys, Ph.D., LPC, CCS, LCAS, RN, LMBT(#44) Disclaimer “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Siddhartha Wellness Model “The significance of the lotus is not to be found by analyzing the secrets of the mud from which it grows here; its secret is to be found in the heavenly archetype of the lotus that blooms forever in the Light above.” Aurobindo Complementary Principle The concept that two contrasted theories, such as the wave and particle theories of light, may be able to explain a set of phenomena, although each separately only accounts for some aspects. Critical for understanding addiction and treatment Pribram: The brain does not produce consciousness like the kidneys produce urine, the brain modifies and experiences consciousness According to Max Planck, Nobel Prize in Physics 1918 , "Consciousness is primary. Matter is derivative of consciousness.” Particle/wave, Hylotropic/holotropic, involution/evolution Brain and Mind “When scientists muster the courage to face this evidence unflinchingly, the greatest superstition of our age – the notion that the brain generates consciousness or is identical with it – will topple. In its place will arise a nonlocal picture of the mind…. My conclusion is that consciousness is not a thing or substance, but is a nonlocal phenomenon. Nonlocal is merely a fancy word for infinite. If something is nonlocal, it is not localized to specific points in space, such as brains or bodies, or to specific points in time, such as the present.” Larry Dossey MD Implications of the Work with Holotropic States for Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy Grof 2016 Vast expansion of the cartography of the human psyche Architecture of emotional and psychosomatic disorders Therapeutic mechanisms - biographical, perinatal, and transpersonal Strategy of psychotherapy and self-healing intelligence of the psyche The role of spirituality in the human psyche and in the cosmos Insights into rites of passage, religion, and mysticism Insights into the psychology of wars, bloody revolutions, and genocide The nature of consciousness and its relation to matter Addiction: A Transpersonal Definition A disease or disorder characterized by the compulsive search for satisfaction from the use of mind or mood altering drugs (including alcohol) that has damaging consequences in any area of a person’s life. An additional important feature of addiction is the experience of oneself as disconnected from existence, life or one’s Source of Awareness. Differences Disease vs. Disorder: Brain Disease or Risk Behavior NCSAPPB Scope of Practice: Addictive disorder or disease Disease Disorder Models Medical/biological Models Neurobiological Pleasure Reward Neuropsychological Dysphoria Genetics Predisposition and Protective factor Trauma model Affects brain functioning/neurochemistry May activate genetic predisposition Others Pert Pribram: Professor at Georgetown Brain does not produce Mind Models continued Psychological/Sociological The empty self/false self Object relations Micro-social Macro-social Emphasis on the external/consumer society Psychological/Sociological catalyst for genetics Trauma Wesley Clark & William White See perinatal trauma below Perinatal Psychology: Gateway between the personal and transpersonal Grof 2016 BPM I BPM II BPM III BPM IV Perinatal/Surrender Regressive aspects Anesthesia and maternal imprinting Perinatal trauma, self destruction and death Surrender models Biological basis of surrender and change Psycho-spiritual change and perinatal matrices Maternal Imprinting > 1 hour but < 10 hours crossing the placental barrier Myelination of nervous system Role of imprinting (somehow pre natal and post natal are accepted as important systematic exclusion of the perinatal) Specific mechanical interventions associated with specific approaches to suicide Self Destruction and Trauma Trauma (Clark, White 2009) Suicide /Violence Gestalt Psychological surrender as movement toward wholeness Opening to psycho-spiritual process of change and surrender – challenges in tradition therapy Biological Basis of Surrender False self anchored in the sensorimotor preverbal/precognitive perinatal trauma Surrender of the false self “Ego death” as death of a “false self” and current therapeutic strategies Somatic basis of surrender BPMs, developmental psychology and transpersonal themes of surrender Bill Wilson, the co-founder of AA described an experience of surrender in 1939 that freed him from the compulsion to drink and laid the foundation for twelve step recovery (Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc., 1984, p. 120-121). “ The terrifying darkness had become complete." Bill said "In agony of spirit, I again thought of the cancer of alcoholism which had now consumed me in mind and spirit, and soon the body." The abyss gaped before him. In his helplessness and desperation, Bill cried out, "I'll do anything, anything at all!" He had reached a point of total, utter deflation—a state of complete, absolute surrender. With neither faith nor hope, he cried, "If there be a God, let Him show Himself!" What happened next was electric. "Suddenly, my room blazed with an indescribably white light. I was seized with an ecstasy beyond description. Every joy I had known was pale by comparison. The light, the ecstasy—I was conscious of nothing else for a time... I know not at all how long I remained in this state, but finally the light and ecstasy subsided. I again saw the wall of my room. As I became more quiet, a great peace stole over me, and this was accompanied by a sensation difficult to describe..."I seemed to be possessed by the absolute, and the curious conviction deepened that no matter how wrong things seemed to be, there could be no question of ultimate Rightness in God's universe. For the first time, I felt that I really belonged. I knew that I was loved and could love in return." Grof found that a very similar process occurs when clients experienced the transition from BPM III to BPMIV. (1985. p.123). This experience of "ego death" seems to entail an instant merciless destruction of all previous reference points in the life of the individual... and involves a sense of annihilation on all imaginable levels- physical destruction, emotional debacle, intellectual defeat, ultimate moral failure and absolute damnation of transcendental proportions. This experience of "hitting the cosmic bottom" is immediately followed by visions of blinding white or golden light of supernatural radiance and beauty. The subject experiences a deep sense of spiritual liberation, redemption and salvation. He or she typically feels freed from anxiety, depression and guilt, purged and unburdened. This is associated with a flood of positive emotions toward oneself, other people and existence in general. Approaches to Surrender The educational approach Awakening-day at a time Mindfulness Wilber Radical rearrangement Experience-may be a part of the day at a time approach or set the stage for new perspective on recovery Jung “spiritus contra spiritum” Grof Transpersonal Models (“Looking for God/Self/Source in all the wrong places; you can never get enough of what you don’t really want”) Addiction as spiritual emergency: compelling value of experience + devastating effects of behavior=existential crisis of transcendent significance Maslow Needs Meta-needs (B needs)? Grof Consuming need for transcendence Innate healing intelligence** Jung “Low level….union with divine” Therapy and/or spiritual quest Recovery: Life style change and/or Spiritual Quest Types of Spiritual Experiences True Self/True Nature Recovery related to the world’s great traditions Types of Spiritual Experiences Grof 2016 . Experiences of the “immanent divine:” . Discovery of our basic identity with all of creation in transpersonal experiences . Individual psyche is a microcosm that contains the macrocosm (“as above, so below,” “as without, so within”) . Experiences of the “transcendent divine:” . archetypal world universal and not culture-bound . (C .G. Jung’s “collective unconscious”) . Visions of archetypal figures are endowed with enormous energy and evoke powerful emotions, but healthy observers realize that these are not the supreme principle in the universe. They represent a bridge to the Absolute, but should not be confused with it; that leads to idolatry . Identification with archetypal figures brings the danger of “ego inflation” Spirituality Versus Idolatry Grof 2016 Graf von Durkheim: “Deities should be transparent to the transcendent” Joseph Campbell: " If a deity blocks off transcendence, it cuts you short of it by stopping at itself; it turns you into a worshipper and a devotee, it has not opened you to the mystery of your own being” Narcotics Anonymous “When we come to a final definition of God we stop growing spiritually.” The Supreme Spiritual Principles Grof 2016 The deepest philosophical questions appear to be answered or else appear
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