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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Roberto Assagioli<\/strong> Editorial Note:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The abstract, subtitle, and cross-sections have been added by the editor for clarity and navigational purposes. The original wording of the text has been preserved.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In this 1923 interview for the Italian magazine Ultra, Roberto Assagioli outlines his early psychotherapeutic framework with remarkable clarity and scope. Drawing on the emerging field of psychotherapy \u2014 encompassing hypnosis, suggestion, autosuggestion, Cou\u00e9’s method, Dubois’s persuasion technique, and Freudian psychoanalysis \u2014 Assagioli describes his distinctive ‘integral method,’ a three-phase approach comprising psychoanalytic uncovering, reconstructive re-education, and what he terms the ‘epigenetic’ awakening of higher spiritual energies. The interview offers a rare early formulation of ideas that would later become the foundation of psychosynthesis: the recognition of spiritual dimensions in mental disorder, the significance of the superconscious, the psychopathology of spiritual awakening, and the aspiration toward a medicine of the whole person. Of particular interest is Assagioli’s discussion of patients he identifies as psychic mediums, his account of the ‘dark night of the soul’ as a clinical phenomenon, and his vision of therapeutic institutes built on principles integrating psychology and spirit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our colleague and friend Dr. Roberto Assagioli has agreed to answer some of our questions regarding his psychotherapeutic methods. We took the liberty of contacting him directly after a British newspaper, Lloyd\u2019s Sunday News of London, published on March 18 of this year an interesting series of articles about the successes he has achieved in the treatment of nervous disorders.<\/span><\/p>\n For our part, we sincerely hope that a breath of fresh air will also enter the field of medicine in our country, and that people will begin to understand that man is first and foremost mind; that is to say, that his essence is thought and that his body is, in the final analysis, the result of mental processes, both of the individual and of the race. We share our friend Assagioli\u2019s hope that special institutes for the treatment of diseases, founded on these principles, will arise in Italy as they have in other countries of Europe and America.<\/span><\/p>\n That said, here are the questions we asked and the answers we received.<\/span><\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>Can you tell us something about recent discoveries regarding nervous and mental disorders?<\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> According to the new fundamental concept that is increasingly asserting itself triumphantly in the field of medicine after a period of controversy and opposition, the vast majority of nervous disorders (the so-called \u201cfunctional\u201d ones) do not stem from physical disturbances, but rather have psychological causes. Among these \u201cfunctional\u201d disorders, there are many that mimic organic diseases, sometimes in surprising and hard-to-recognize ways. This is the case, for example, with certain nervous dyspepsias, various cardiac disorders (nervous palpitations, pseudo-angina pectoris, etc.), nervous asthma, functional paralysis, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>What are the psychological causes that lead to nervous disorders?<\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> These are mostly disturbances in the emotional sphere: violent impressions, and <\/span>above all conflicts<\/i> between opposing tendencies, or between inner life and outer life. Many discoveries have recently been made regarding the nature, course, and consequences of such conflicts. Among other things, the great importance of unconscious psychological activities has been recognized, and their various relationships \u2014 both normal and pathological \u2014 with waking consciousness have been studied.<\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>Could you tell us something about the new treatment methods being used for nervous disorders?<\/span><\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> Since the causes of these disorders are predominantly psychological, it is evident that the corresponding treatment methods must also be primarily psychological. Medications can alleviate the <\/span>effects<\/span><\/i>, but they cannot eliminate the true <\/span>causes<\/span><\/i>. A psychological cause can be effectively combated only with psychological means. Thus, an entirely new branch of medicine has developed: <\/span>psychotherapy<\/span><\/i>. The first method used was hypnotism; later, <\/span>suggestion <\/span><\/i>in the waking state was generally preferred; and more recently, the <\/span>New School of Nancy<\/span><\/i>, represented by Cou\u00e9, tends to replace suggestion as much as possible with the use of <\/span>autosuggestion <\/span><\/i>by the patient themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n Another method of psychotherapy is that of <\/span>persuasion<\/span><\/i>, used successfully by Dubois and his disciples. Particularly important and rich in applications and developments is Freud\u2019s <\/span>psychoanalytic method<\/span><\/i>, through which one is able to probe the dark depths of the unconscious and eliminate the deep-seated and unknown causes of many ailments.<\/span><\/p>\n Other methods, used primarily in Anglo-Saxon countries and often outside of conventional medicine, tend to focus on\u00a0 healing through the awakening of the soul\u2019s energies, and through direct psychic and spiritual action.<\/span><\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>Can you tell us something about your specific contributions to this scientific and therapeutic movement?<\/span><\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> My interest in spiritualism, as well as the problems that arose in certain patients I have treated, led me to explore two fields in particular that are still very little known: the influence of supernormal psychic faculties and forces on the genesis of nervous disorders; and the relationship between spiritual development, mystical states, and neuropsychiatric disorders.<\/span><\/p>\n Thus I have been able to observe some very interesting phenomena. For example, many nervous individuals are actually psychic mediums without realizing it: that is, they possess a supernormal sensitivity that makes them receptive to numerous disruptive psychic currents and enables them to <\/span>foretell<\/span><\/i> \u2014 often with extreme vividness and emotional involvement, both personal and collective events that are unfolding in the mystery of the invisible.<\/span><\/p>\n I have also been able to gather extensive data on the nervous and psychic disorders that often precede and sometimes accompany the awakening of the soul, the blossoming of spiritual consciousness.<\/span><\/p>\n Before the awakening, there is usually a period of varying length during which a dark and <\/span>\u201cunderground\u201d<\/span><\/i> struggle \u2014 unnoticed or misunderstood by the individual themselves \u2014 unfolds between the spiritual forces stirring and pressing within the unconscious, and the ordinary personality, which remains closed off, skeptical, or even rebellious. This struggle, with its varied, complex, and sometimes dramatic events, can give rise to the most diverse and serious nervous symptoms. In some cases (indeed, fortunately, in the vast majority of them), the awakening of the soul brings healing: conflicts resolve into a broader harmony, and the new spiritual forces that burst forth heal the psychological and physical symptoms that tormented the sufferer \u2014 sometimes instantly.<\/span><\/p>\n In other, more complicated and disharmonious cases, the spiritual awakening, while resolving some conflicts, nevertheless gives rise to new ones. That is, it leads to adjustment crises and arduous processes of elaboration; at times it produces temporary exaltations and imbalances. All these phenomena have strong repercussions on health and cause strange disorders that do not fit into the patterns of ordinary illnesses and cannot be properly understood or treated by those who lack the \u201ckey\u201d to their interpretation.<\/span><\/p>\n There are also illnesses with even deeper and more obscure causes, connected to further stages of spiritual development and to special mystical experiences, such as the tormenting \u201cdark night of the soul.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another field I have had the opportunity to study in particular is that of the relationship between \u201ctemperament,\u201d sensitivity, artistic activity, and nervous disorders. These connections are particularly strong in musicians, given the power of sound and the intense impact that music has on emotional life.<\/span><\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>What therapeutic applications have you derived from these studies? What treatment methods do you prefer?<\/span><\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> I have endeavored to develop and utilize a method that is as comprehensive as possible, that is, one that brings together everything that is useful and effective in the various specific methods used to date. This <\/span>integral method <\/span><\/i>consists of three main parts or phases. In the first, which may be called \u201c<\/span>psychoanalytic<\/span><\/i>,\u201d the deep-seated causes of the illness are uncovered and revealed to the patient, and the energies repressed in the unconscious are released. In the second, \u201c<\/span>reconstructive<\/span><\/i>\u201d phase, through suggestion, persuasion, and other re-educational procedures, conflicts are resolved, various tendencies are disciplined, deficient aspects are strengthened, and the patient is gradually taught to help themselves. The third phase \u2014 which I call \u201c<\/span>epigenetic<\/span><\/i>,\u201d since it is a true regeneration \u201cfrom above\u201d \u2014 consists in the awakening, through appropriate methods, of higher spiritual energies, which help resolve conflicts, overcome obstacles, and heal disorders against which the normal energies of the personality prove inadequate and insufficient.<\/span><\/p>\n Thus, a broader and more solid synthesis is achieved, and the patient is not only cured of their pathological symptoms but is also aided in their development, being led to attain a higher and truer <\/span>state of health <\/span><\/i>than that possessed by the ordinary person.<\/span><\/p>\n Question:<\/strong>\u00a0This integral method does indeed seem comprehensive and effective, and it is easy to see how it can yield excellent results. But can it be applied to every patient?<\/span><\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> The doubt you expressed is valid. In reality, while the method is the same in its broad outlines, its applications and adaptations to individual cases are varied. In a certain sense, one might even say that every single case constitutes a new problem and requires almost a new method \u2014 that is, a new selection and combination of the various procedures that make up the integral method. There are also numerous difficulties and limitations: some inherent in the patient themselves (lack of understanding, lack of goodwill and cooperation), others in the environment (misunderstanding and opposition from families, which is unfortunately frequent), and in various external and practical circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n Thus, in many cases effective treatment can be provided without the patient changing their lifestyle or giving up their usual activities. But in other more serious and complex cases, it is necessary to remove the patient from the family. In these cases, the work would be greatly facilitated if it could be carried out in a health center organized according to the new guidelines now outlined. In such a health center, \u201cnatural\u201d psychiatric treatments \u2014 which are now deservedly regaining much favor \u2014 could also be very appropriately combined with psychotherapy; and other therapeutic aids, generally neglected but from which I would expect highly effective results, could be tested under the best conditions. For example, the use of colors and sounds, rhythmic gymnastics, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n Question:<\/strong> What are your current work projects?<\/p>\n Answer:<\/strong> While waiting to be able to organize an ideal and comprehensive treatment facility such as I have mentioned, there is a great deal of preparatory and educational work to be done. We must enlighten the public, keep them informed of new discoveries and methods, dispel prejudices, and help them prevent or combat nervous disorders <\/span>at the onset <\/span><\/i>(when they are much more easily curable).<\/span><\/p>\n In the healthcare field, moreover, we must ensure that new concepts prevail over the materialistic and narrow-minded ones still upheld by many \u2014 far too many \u2014 doctors and professors. We must educate and train young doctors and students in the use of the best psychotherapeutic methods.<\/span><\/p>\n We must also train a new kind of \u201cnurse of the soul\u201d who can assist in psychological care.<\/span><\/p>\n This work transcends the strength and capabilities of a single individual. To carry it out comprehensively and intensively, it would be necessary to establish a special institute where courses could be held, publications produced, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n As I prepare to expand my work in this way \u2014 gradually and in collaboration with others \u2014 I continue my individual work with great enthusiasm. I have so much confirmation of the soundness of the path I follow, and such practical results, that I am certain these principles and methods will ultimately prevail, through the irresistible force of <\/span>truth<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Assagioli on Psychotherapy, Spiritual Awakening, and the Integral Method \u2014 Ultra Magazine, 1923 By Roberto Assagioli Interview in the Italian Magazine Ultra 1923 Doc. #236936 \u2013 Assagioli Archive, Florence Translated and Edited With Notes by Jan Kuniholm Editorial Note: The abstract, subtitle, and cross-sections have been added by the editor for clarity and navigational purposes. 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\nInterview in the Italian Magazine Ultra
\n1923
\nDoc. #236936 \u2013 Assagioli Archive, Florence
\nTranslated and Edited With Notes by Jan Kuniholm<\/p>\n
\nAbstract<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nPsychological Causes of Nervous Disorders<\/h3>\n
Early Psychotherapeutic Methods<\/h3>\n
Psychic Sensitivity and Spiritual Awakening<\/h3>\n
Stages of Spiritual Development and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms<\/h3>\n
Assagioli’s Three-Phase Integral Method<\/h3>\n
Adapting Treatment to the Individual<\/h3>\n
Vision for Psychotherapeutic Education and Reform<\/h3>\n