{"id":4455,"date":"2017-05-22T20:53:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T19:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?page_id=4455"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:56:20","slug":"psychosynthesis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/psychosynthesis\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Psychosynthesis?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An introduction to psychosynthesis as developed by Roberto Assagioli, integrating psychological, philosophical, and spiritual dimensions of human development.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roberto<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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By Kenneth S\u00f8rensen, MA Psychosynthesis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychosynthesis definition:<\/strong> Psychosynthesis is an integrative psychology developed by the Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli<\/a> (1888\u20131974) that combines Eastern wisdom about the Self with Western knowledge of the unconscious. It is a method of psychotherapy and self-development that aims to synthesize all aspects of the human personality \u2014 body, emotions, mind, and spirit \u2014 into a coherent, functioning whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychosynthesis is not merely a therapy. It is a comprehensive vision of the human being and its potential, one that places the development of self-awareness, will, and spiritual identity at the centre of psychological growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Origins of Psychosynthesis \u2014 Roberto Assagioli<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Assagioli was one of the first Italians to qualify as a psychoanalyst, writing his doctoral thesis on psychoanalysis in 1910. However, he quickly recognized that Freud’s model of the psyche was incomplete. Where Freud explored the basement of the human being, Assagioli was drawn to the upper floors: the higher unconscious, the superconscious, and the transpersonal Self. As Assagioli himself explained:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We pay far more attention to the higher unconscious and to the development of the transpersonal self. In one of his letters, Freud said, ‘I am interested only in the basement of the human being.’ Psychosynthesis is interested in the whole building. We try to build an elevator that will allow a person access to every level of their personality. After all, a building with only a basement is very limited. We want to open up the terrace where you can sunbathe or look at the stars.”<\/em> (Sam Keen<\/a>, 1974)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Assagioli contributed to three psychological revolutions of the twentieth century: psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, and transpersonal psychology. Psychosynthesis is the synthesis of all three \u2014 going beyond Freud’s analysis of what is broken, Maslow’s focus on self-actualization, and into the transpersonal dimension that connects the individual to something larger than themselves. For a full account of Assagioli’s life and work, see the Roberto Assagioli biography<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Egg Diagram \u2014 Assagioli’s Map of the Psyche<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Central to Psychosynthesis is Assagioli’s egg diagram \u2014 a model of the human psyche that maps the full range of conscious and unconscious experience. It is one of the most comprehensive models of the human being in modern psychology, integrating the insights of psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, and the world’s contemplative traditions. It was first presented in 1930 and later incorporated into his famous article, “Dynamic Psychology and Psychosynthesis.<\/a>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Egg-diagram<\/a>
Roberto Assagioli’s Egg-diagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The diagram has seven distinct regions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lower Unconscious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This corresponds to Freud’s concept of the id and contains our basic drives, survival instincts, security needs, repressed material, and unresolved trauma. Psychosynthesis does not ignore this region \u2014 it addresses it through depth psychological work, disidentification<\/a>, and the integration of subpersonalities. “Assagioli also included parapsychology within Psychosynthesis without reservation, and the lower parapsychological processes he relegated to this region \u2014 see Roberto Assagioli on Parapsychology<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Middle Unconscious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is the zone adjacent to waking consciousness \u2014 the level at which memories, habits, skills, and psychological patterns reside. It is here that we become self-conscious, develop self-esteem, and pursue recognition and self-actualisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Superconscious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What distinguishes Psychosynthesis from most other Western psychologies is its recognition of the superconscious<\/a> \u2014 a higher region of the unconscious that is the source of inspiration, creativity, ethical aspiration, compassion, altruism, and peak experiences. Where Freud confined his exploration to the lower unconscious, Assagioli insisted that the upper reaches of the psyche are equally real and equally important for understanding the human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The superconscious is not supernatural or inaccessible. It is a dimension of our own psychological nature \u2014 one that manifests in moments of artistic inspiration, sudden insight, deep compassion, the experience of beauty, and what Abraham Maslow called peak experiences. As Assagioli wrote, the superconscious is “a realm or dimension that is ordinarily above the reach of the personal consciousness.”<\/em> Yet its energies and qualities flow downward into ordinary awareness. One aim of psychosynthesis is to make more consistent and deliberate contact with this dimension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Field of Consciousness and the Conscious ‘I’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the centre of the diagram sits the conscious ‘I’ \u2014 the point of pure self-awareness and will. This is not the ego as Freud understood it, nor is it the Self of Jungian psychology. It is the observer: the place from which we can step back, witness our inner life, and choose consciously rather than react automatically. It is a projection or reflection of the Transpersonal Self within the realm of personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assagioli’s definition of the ‘I’ \u2014 a centre of pure consciousness and will \u2014 is not identical with our thoughts, emotions, sensations, or roles. It is the one who can observe and act upon all of these, when it has been developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transpersonal Self<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Above the superconscious, at the apex of the egg, sits the Transpersonal Self \u2014 what Assagioli also called the Higher Self or Soul. It is close to the Eastern concept of Atman. This is our deepest spiritual essence, the part of us that connects us to the universal ground of being. The Transpersonal Self is the source of our conscience, our deepest values, our calling in life, and our capacity for unconditional love. The relationship between the conscious ‘I’ and the Transpersonal Self is the central axis of psychosynthesis. For Assagioli’s own account of the distinction between the superconscious and the Transpersonal Self, see his article The Superconscious and the Self<\/a>. The star, symbolizing the Self, is partly directed downward toward its reflection, the “I”, and upwards toward its identification with the Universal, symbolizing its individual and universal nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Collective Unconscious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Surrounding the entire egg is the collective unconscious \u2014 the shared psychological heritage of humanity. Assagioli acknowledged Jung’s discovery here, though he noted that the collective unconscious ranges across multiple levels, from the biological to the spiritual, and that distinctions of quality and value between those levels must be maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal and Transpersonal Psychosynthesis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Personal Psychosynthesis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Personal psychosynthesis is concerned with the integration of the personality \u2014 healing the wounds of the past, working through the subpersonalities that fragment our experience, developing a strong and centred ‘I’, and building a life grounded in authenticity, will, and genuine relationship. This is the ground floor of the building. It must be solid before the upper levels can be safely explored. Assagioli was clear: most people \u2014 and he observed this particularly in spiritual seekers \u2014 rush too quickly toward the heights without first stabilising the foundation. The work of personal psychosynthesis involves disidentification<\/a>, subpersonality work, will development, and the gradual emergence of the authentic self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transpersonal Psychosynthesis \u2014 Spiritual Development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Transpersonal psychosynthesis begins when the personality is sufficiently integrated. At this point the individual starts to experience the influence of the Transpersonal Self \u2014 through intuition, peak experiences, and a deepening sense of meaning and calling. Assagioli called this turning point the existential crisis: a sense that ordinary life is no longer sufficient, that something more is pressing from within. For a deeper exploration of the stages of spiritual development and the crises that accompany them, see Conflicts, Crises and Synthesis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seven Core Experiences of Psychosynthesis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Assagioli’s vision is unique in a Western context because it integrates the wisdom of the East. Shortly before his death, he dictated what has become one of the most important documents in the history of Psychosynthesis: Training \u2014 A Statement by Roberto Assagioli<\/a>, recorded by Piero Ferrucci on 19 May 1974. In it, Assagioli was clear that Psychosynthesis possesses its own original and central essence \u2014 and that any practitioner who loses sight of this risks presenting a watered-down or distorted version of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described seven foundational areas that every psychosynthesis practitioner must not merely understand intellectually, but experience directly \u2014 from the inside. He called them experiences<\/em>, not concepts, because intellectual knowledge alone is never sufficient. As he wrote: “Every single technique must be tried out at length on oneself. Only thus shall we be in a position to communicate it with authority.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These seven experiences, in his own words, constitute “the sine qua non of Psychosynthesis training”<\/em> \u2014 the non-negotiable core without which a genuine psychosynthesis cannot exist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n