Integrative Psychotherapy and Transpersonal Psychology
Integrative Psychotherapy is defined in three ways: (1) a blend of psycho-therapeutic approaches based on each client’s uniqueness; (2) an approach that considers the best of both Eastern and Western models of mental health; and, (3) a combination of psychological and somato-energetic therapies for the goal of mental and emotional well-being. Further, the whole person is considered, not only mental and emotional aspects but also physical, spiritual, and social components plus the transpersonal realm. This model is well supported by evidence-based healthcare practices and brings together therapeutic models and methodologies from both ends of the mind-body continuum in order to assist in the restoration of a state of balance.
Integrative Psychotherapy indeed represents the very balance that it’s meant to facilitate. Western psychology is in union with the Eastern Taoist principles of mental health as evidenced in classical Chinese medicine. Meditative and breathing practices – mindfulness – are drawn from Buddhism, and cognitive-behavioral methods from science. Health psychology and its focus on mental-emotional aspects of physical health and illness are combined with transpersonal psychology and an emphasis on consciousness beyond the individual. “Power therapies” are used to treat trauma response, with nutritional approaches and therapeutic exercise to support them.
Physical…mental…emotional…spiritual…metaphysical. Logical-analytical thinking out of ancient Greece coupled with abstract-holistic cognition of ancient China. Yin-within-Yang-within-Yin-within…. And, ‘psyche’ interprets as ’soul’ and relates to ‘pneuma’, meaning ‘breath’.
One of the least understood areas of medical science is that of the human mind, and in particular, emotions. We know that there is cellular memory, that tissue can reflect and even contain emotional content, that fluid levels can fluctuate according to mood, that one can control certain bodily processes by mental focus, and that the celiac (solar) plexus represents a ‘body-brain’. And more. We are not people who have bodies; we are our bodies, every bit as much as the mind that we call ‘Self’. We can’t separate the two. Western philosophy and science made a terrible mistake in doing so, and recently some measure of reintegration has been attempted; in the East, this distinction was never made. Western scientific thinking has also brought great progress to our understanding of human behavior, while the contribution of Eastern philosophies is unquestionable.
Transpersonal Psychology, which emerged 40 years ago, focuses on health and human potential. Spiritual and metaphysical aspects are reintroduced into the study of the mind, and the physical body is equally considered. It integrates the philosophies of Carl Jung and analytical psychology, Abraham Maslow and humanistic psychology, and Eastern philosophies and practices. In so doing, it includes pre-personal, personal, and transpersonal [transcendent] realms of human cognition and experience.
The disease model of Western medicine and psychology is not utilized. Rather, a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual approach is taken, and frameworks such as harmony / disharmony, balance / imbalance, disintegration / reintegration, and fragmentation / wholeness serve to define the human condition. Human development is pursued equally in intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social realms as well as creative expression. It posits a ’superconscious’ in addition to a subconscious, and the study and exploration of multiple states of consciousness is prioritized. Mystical experience and shamanic healing methods are also considered.
It’s easy to see how this approach to Western psychology is respectful of and strives to include Eastern philosophies, and its premise of balance as the interpretation of health is closely aligned with that of classical Chinese medicine. Practices such as Mindfulness and Breathwork, meditation, and somatic and energetic therapies are included, and the psychology of the body is honored. The primary focus of transpersonal psychology is the realization of our ultimate potential.
It’s time to put the pieces back together. Psyche and Soma… East and West. This is Integrative Psychotherapy.
Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.