What is Psychosynthesis?

Some Basic Principles Of Theory And Practice

Psychosynthesis postulates the presence in man of a transpersonal essence, it maintains that man’s purpose in life is to “embody” and manifest this Self or essence as completely as possible in the world of daily life.

By Roberto Assagioli, MD, This lecture by Dr. Assagioli was given at the Futurology Biennial in Crans, Switzerland. (Undated), Original Title: Che cos’è la psicosintesi? Alcuni fondamentali principi di teoria e prassi, From the Assagioli Archive in Florence, Translated by Jan Kuniholm

Introduction: A Synthesis of Many Traditions

Psychosynthesis, as developed by contemporary Italian psychiatrist Dr. Roberto Assagioli, is a psychological and educational approach to the development of the whole person. It can be used in psychotherapy or personal growth for healthy people who wish to develop their potentials more fully. With roots in East and West, Europe and North America, it is a true synthesis, as the name suggests, of many traditions. While many Eastern approaches have tended to emphasize the “spiritual” side of being, neglecting the personality level, and most Western approaches have focused on the “personality” side of being, giving insufficient attention to the spiritual dimensions, psychosynthesis has sought to consider the whole individual as a whole, and to give each level its due importance. Although it postulates the presence in man of a transpersonal essence, it maintains that man’s purpose in life is to “embody” and manifest this Self or essence as completely as possible in the world of daily life.

The Superconscious

The concept of the higher unconscious or superconscious is one of the key points of psychosynthesis. Like classical psychoanalysis, psychosynthesis recognizes the existence of a primitive or “lower” unconscious — the origin of our atavistic and biological impulses. But it also postulates the existence of a superconscious — an autonomous region from which the more evolved human impulses originate: the altruistic forms of love and will, humanitarian action, artistic and scientific inspiration, philosophical and religious enlightenments, and the need for purpose and meaning in life. The lower unconscious could be seen as that which represents the “past” of the individual and the species, while the higher unconscious, with an invitation to become, points to future possibilities. It manifests what Jung called the “prospective,” or “forward-looking ” aspect of the unconscious.

Psychosynthesis argues that man suffers not only from the repression of his basic biological impulses, as Freud pointed out, but that he is similarly handicapped by the “repression of the sublime” — by not living up to his highest possibilities. Psychosynthesis is therefore concerned not only with the integration of the contents of the lower unconscious, but also with the unlocking and actualization of contents that are superconscious, or “above” our ordinary level of awareness. To this end, it has developed a wide range of techniques to awaken the psyche and to establish a bridge, through intuition, with that part of our being where true wisdom can be found. This region is accessible to the seeker to varying degrees, and can provide a great source of energy, inspiration and direction.

The Self

One of the central assumptions in psychosynthesis is the conception of the Self as an entity that is superordinate to the various aspects of personality (body, emotions and mind), which nevertheless expresses itself through them. As in Jungian analytic psychology, the Self is seen as an active center within the person through which integration takes place. A distinction is made between the “personal self” — the “I” or center of awareness — and the “transpersonal Self,” which is a deeper and more inclusive center of identity.

Stages of Psychosynthesis

The psychosynthetic process can be conceived in two stages (although these may be overlapping to some extent). First, personal psychosynthesis: in which the integration of the personality around the personal self takes place, and in which the person achieves a level of functioning, in his or her work and relationships, that would be considered generally healthy according to current mental health standards. Second, transpersonal psychosynthesis, in which the personality learns to align with the transpersonal Self and channel its energies.

The Self as an Objective Observer

The Self can be experienced in a receptive or active mode. In the former, one perceives reality without distortion or defense, from what has been called the position of the “impartial witness” or “objective observer.” To the extent that one is able to place oneself at this vantage point, the ego’s claims and its tendency toward self-justification stop getting in the way of clear vision. In psychosynthesis there is a whole variety of techniques to help people transcend the ego level and place themselves in this privileged position from which the most effective work on themselves can be done.

The Self as Internal Guide

The other facet of the Self is active, directive and guiding. It is as if the Self is always trying to show us the way, showing us the direction in which our destiny and growth lies, and providing corrective feedback when we go off course. People who have experienced this aspect of the Self often speak of the “inner voice” or “inner guidance.” Many of the techniques in psychosynthesis are intended to help people get in touch with their inner guidance and learn how to experience it. In this way, a person frees himself from blind reaction to the expectations of others and to his own lower impulses, and learns to choose a path in accordance with what is best in him. This involves the development of a sense of values and good functioning of the will, both of which are goals of psychosynthesis.

False Identifications.

One of the greatest difficulties in acting from the “center” is the large number of false identifications that we develop with partial aspects of ourselves. Thus, we may identify with a momentary feeling such as fear, anger or depression, and lose our control and perspective. Or we may be identified with one of our “subpersonalities” — those semi-autonomous and often contradictory aspects of ourselves that follow a predictable, programmed routine in response to a given order of circumstances. Much of the work in psychosynthesis aims to help people become aware of their subpersonalities so that they are no longer supinely controlled by them, but can learn to bring them progressively under the direct control of the Self. The freedom to choose what we want to be comes largely from 1) disidentification from everything other than the essential Self, and 2) self-identification in the Self; that is, experiencing our identity in the deepest center of our being. Many of the techniques in Psychosynthesis work with this pair of principles.

Methods Used in Psychosynthesis

There is a wide variety of methods used in psychosynthesis to address the different needs that arise in different situations and for different people. Each of them is treated on an individual basis, and efforts are made to find the methods that are best suited to a person’s specific existential situation, psychological type, and developmental needs. If there are underdeveloped psychological functions, a program is devised to help the person develop them in a way that is harmonious and balanced in relation to other psychological functions or other aspects of personality. In addition to the traditional Jungian functions of thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition, psychosynthesis also includes the will and imagination, and teaches active methods to develop all of them.

The methods currently used in psychosynthesis practice draw from many traditions. On the one hand, there are methods drawn from depth psychology — and “analysis” of psychic structure is considered a first step in the process of psychosynthesis, which is then followed by, and mixed with, various aspects of synthesis or “putting things together.” The methods of dream work and free association are used when appropriate, such as in the Jungian technique of “active imagination” or semi-guided fantasies. The latter technique is part of a large body of methods using mental imagery that generally play an important role in the psychosynthetic process (although there are people who have difficulty imagining, and who must use other channels to reach these contents).

Mental imagery methods provide very rapid and powerful access to the contents of the unconscious that the person is ready to process, and can be used in both the analytic and synthetic phases. There are a number of other techniques that are also used to reach unconscious contents and process them. These include free movement and drawing, psychodrama methods, and body awareness techniques similar to those used in Gestalt therapy. Meditative and inner dialogue techniques can also be used to handle superconscious content.

In group sessions, psychosynthesis seeks to achieve a balance between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication. Learning to communicate with oneself in a deep way is considered to be the basis for meaningful communication with others. The group process aims to help people communicate with each other in a way that is authentic, constructive and a harbinger of inspiration and enlightenment for those involved.