What is Transpersonal Psychotherapy? A Conceptual Template
Alef Trust, Gabriel Fernandez-borsot
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies December 31, 2024 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2024.43.1-2.41 via OpenAlex
Summary
Transpersonal psychotherapy (TPT) currently lacks a cohesive model, leading to fragmentation and hindering its theoretical development and recognition. To address this, a new model is proposed that includes five key components: purposeful use of states of consciousness, a transpersonal therapeutic framework, transpersonal techniques, a focus on spirituality or existential meaning, and suitable phenomenology and therapeutic goals. This model aims to systematize TPT while accommodating its diverse practices.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | A new model with five components is proposed to systematize transpersonal psychotherapy. |
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Abstract
Transpersonal psychotherapy (TPT) lacks systematization, as it lacks a model that characterizes what qualifies a psychotherapy as transpersonal. Due to this situation, TPT has been developed in a state of fragmentation, through a multiplicity of idiosyncratic approaches. This idiosyncratic fragmentation jeopardizes the theoretical development of the field, undermines the possibilities of obtaining a wider recognition, and hinders the training and the research. To remedy this, this paper proposes a model of five components which characterize TPT: (1) purposeful use of states of consciousness, (2) transpersonal therapeutic framework, (3) transpersonal techniques, (4) focus on spirituality and/or existential meaning, and (5) suitable phenomenology and therapeutic demands/goals. Given that each component admits varied implementations, the model serves as a conceptual template able to cover the rich variety of transpersonal psychotherapies while providing the much-needed systematization.