International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
October 5, 2017
178 citations
Transpersonal psychology is a transformative psychology of the whole person, embedded in a diverse, interconnected, and evolving world, focusing on states of consciousness and developmental stages that expand beyond conventional notions of self. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies (IJTS) is a semi-annual peer-reviewed journal dedicated to second wave transpersonal psychology, addressing transpersonal approaches to sociology, anthropology, medicine, psychiatry, psychotherapy, education, leadership, feminism, culturally-situated psychologies, world religions, and spirituality.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2002
89 citations
The paper argues that transpersonal psychology can and should develop as a science. It counters objections from romanticism, scientism, and constructionism, and distinguishes transpersonal psychology as a science from the broader field of transpersonal studies, which may use nonscientific methods. The author delineates transpersonal phenomena (suitable for scientific study) from transcendent noumena (outside science's purview). Embracing a scientific approach is presented as beneficial compared to epistemological alternatives, potentially providing a unifying paradigm for psychology and helping solve critical world problems. The presentation challenges readers to examine science's role in transpersonal psychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2008
74 citations
The International Transpersonal Association (ITA) was founded in 1978 to advance education and research in transpersonal topics and to host global conferences. After dissolving in 2004, the ITA is now being reactivated and revitalized. This paper reviews the organization's history, including its international conferences and notable presenters, its definition, strategies, and specific goals, and provides details of its contemporary revival.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
July 1, 2014
Eli Kolp, Harris L. Friedman, Evgeny Krupitsky et al.
53 citations
Ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy (KPP) is a treatment approach that combines the dissociative anesthetic ketamine with psychotherapy. Ketamine produces a range of effects including analgesic, sedative, anxiolytic, antidepressant, and hallucinogenic properties. The paper reviews clinical applications of KPP, offers practical guidance, and examines the pharmacology and phenomenology of ketamine-induced experiences, including their potential for transpersonal healing and risks of misuse. It aims to serve as an authoritative resource for psychiatrists and others interested in understanding and applying KPP.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2008
Jorge N. Ferrer
46 citations
Embodied spirituality integrates all human attributes, including the body and sexuality, in contrast to the disembodied spirituality based on dissociation or sublimation that has prevailed in religious history. Approaching the body as a living partner with which to co-create one's spiritual life is described. Ten features of a fully embodied spirituality are outlined, followed by reflections on the past, present, and potential future of embodied spirituality.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2007
Eli Kolp, M. Scott Young, Harris L. Friedman et al.
44 citations
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, has antidepressant effects and can induce transformative transpersonal experiences. Although only approved as an anesthetic in the US, it is prescribed off-label for psychological problems and used similarly in Argentina, Iran, Mexico, Russia, and the UK. The literature on ketamine-enhanced psychotherapy (KEP) is reviewed, and two case studies treating death anxiety in terminally-ill people are reported. The authors emphasize the need for formal research on KEP for end-of-life death anxiety.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2007
Adam J. Rock, Stanley Krippner
37 citations
The authors argue that many disagreements about consciousness stem from confusing consciousness itself with the contents of consciousness. They build on Block's distinction among phenomenal, access, self, and monitoring consciousness, noting that all share an implicit separation between consciousness and its content. The term "altered state of consciousness" commits a fallacy by treating changes in the content of experience as changes in consciousness itself. To avoid this confusion, the authors propose replacing "altered state of consciousness" with "altered pattern of phenomenal properties," an extension of the concept of a phenomenal field. They discuss implications of this fallacy for theory and research.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2003
Roger Walsh
36 citations
After four decades of debate, the question of whether psychedelics can produce genuine mystical experiences remains unresolved. This paper reviews objections to that possibility and finds them all flawed. A major reason for the ongoing disagreement is the lack of an adequate theory linking mystical states to their causes. The author proposes a theory based on Charles Tart’s systems model of consciousness, explaining how identical states can arise from different methods—such as meditation or chemicals—yet lead to different after-effects. The cautious conclusion is that some psychedelics can sometimes induce genuine mystical experiences in some people, making the term entheogens possibly appropriate.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2012
David Luke
35 citations
This review examines the relationship between psychoactive substances and paranormal phenomena studied in parapsychology, focusing on extrasensory perception (telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance), out-of-body experiences, and near-death experiences. It draws from parapsychology, transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany, psychiatry, and neurobiology. The paper is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience, field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena, surveys of belief and experience, experimental research, and a methodological critique with recommendations. Psychokinesis, aura vision, encounter experiences, and sleep paralysis are minimally covered due to limited connections with psychoactive drugs in the literature.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2000
Stanley Krippner, Joseph Sulla
29 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian brew, shows promise in enhancing psychological well-being. In a study involving 200 participants, 70% reported significant improvements in mental health after ayahuasca ceremonies. The findings suggest that these experiences can foster personal growth and emotional healing, linking insights from psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Additionally, the analysis utilized content measure theory to evaluate outcomes across diverse cultural contexts. With a growing interest in psychedelics, such studies provide valuable insights for psychotherapists and inform cross-cultural understandings of mental health practices.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2010
Gregg Lahood
21 citations
A spiritual revolution in American religious culture, driven by the hybridization of Eastern and Western traditions (a process called Creolization), peaked after WWII and during the Vietnam War, making transcendence a central orientation. This led to a non-relational transpersonal psychology where Americanized nondualism dominates. The author argues that popular New Age transpersonalism traps the spirit, breeding a self-serving, Self-as-everything form of spiritual narcissism. Given that some call the New Age the religion of global capitalism, a more relational spirituality is proposed as a vital intervention into this self-centeredness and a salve for a world in Creolization.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
July 1, 2014
Philip E. Wolfson
20 citations
Richard Yensen, a research fellow at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center from 1972 to 1976, studied psychedelic psychotherapy with Stanislav Grof and treated patients with substance abuse disorders, cancer, neurosis, and health professionals seeking training. His Ph.D. dissertation examined MDA use in psychotherapy with neurotic outpatients. After years of government-sanctioned psychedelic research, he developed a non-drug shamanistic psychotherapy called Perceptual Affective Therapy. He held an FDA investigational new drug permit for LSD and psychotherapy until 2006. Yensen is now a licensed psychologist, director of the Orenda Institute, and president of the Salvador Roquet Psychosynthesis Association.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2005
Steve Taylor
18 citations
Higher states of consciousness, or mystical experiences, arise from two distinct sources: disruption of the body's normal homeostasis (HD states) and intensification of the consciousness-energy that constitutes human being (ICE states). The author examines examples of both types, comparing and contrasting their characteristics. Only ICE states are concluded to be truly positive and capable of becoming fully integrated, permanent higher states of consciousness.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2017
Steve Taylor
16 citations
Perennialist perspectives remain relevant in transpersonal psychology. Metaphysical issues can be addressed as long as they are secondary to phenomenological issues and grounded in evidence rather than speculation. Attempts to exclude non-scientific phenomena from the field rely on invalid arguments, including an outdated emphasis on falsifiability. Explanations for commonalities in spiritual or mystical experiences across traditions—such as radical diffusionism, contextualism, or neuroscientific reductionism—are inadequate. These commonalities also appear in near-death experiences and accounts of intense post-traumatic growth. Historical cases of natural wakefulness in individuals unfamiliar with spiritual traditions further support this view. Pluralism is important for recent debates in transpersonal psychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2009
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ilana Seltzer Goldstein, Campinas State Univesity
15 citations
Brazilian ayahuasca religious groups sought recognition as part of the nation's immaterial cultural heritage in 2008. Anthropology professor Antonio A. Arantes discusses the challenges of Brazil's immaterial cultural policy, using examples like candomblé and samba to explore issues of authenticity and tradition. He then examines the ayahuasca case, linking the heritage request to legal questions, the difficulty of defining which aspects should be recognized, and the likelihood that these groups will become a national symbol.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2017
Kevin O. St. Arnaud, Damien C. Cormier
13 citations
This paper compares two ways of classifying psychological conditions: the traditional medical model and a developmental approach that considers growth and wellbeing. The authors argue that a developmental model is better at telling apart experiences that look similar on the surface. As an example, they contrast spiritual emergencies—crises that can accompany spiritual growth—with psychotic disorders, which also involve unusual experiences but stem from different origins. The review explains that psychotic disorders develop gradually rather than appearing suddenly, and it discusses spirituality's role in mental health. The paper concludes that a holistic, developmental understanding helps clinicians distinguish between psychotic symptoms that indicate mental illness and spiritual emergencies that may be part of healthy development.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2013
Michael Winkelman
11 citations
A shamanic epistemology has a biological foundation, supported by the cross-cultural distribution of a cosmology derived from knowledge gained during altered states of consciousness. These states involve integrative brain conditions that access ancient ways of knowing, rooted in evolutionary communicative and social processes seen in animal displays. Over hominid evolution, these were augmented into expressive and mimetic activities, enabling epistemological expansions such as out-of-body experiences. Such manifestations reflect selection for expanded symbolic brain processes, enhancing psychological and cognitive integration. Shamanic alterations activated innate brain operators involving self-structures, contributing to experiences of spirits, power animals, and gods, illustrating shamanism as a neuroepistemology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2009
Mark A. Schroll, Stanley Krippner, Miles A. Vich et al.
9 citations
A conversation traces the origins of humanistic and transpersonal psychology, weighing the advantages and drawbacks of developing APA-accredited clinical programs within these orientations. It considers whether the Association for Transpersonal Psychology might become an APA division and suggests an alternative career path as a spiritual coach. The discussion addresses psychedelic therapy and the Supreme Court's decision allowing ayahuasca as a sacrament by the Uniao Do Vegetal Church, highlighting the need for humanistic and transpersonal psychology to clearly map the territories of science and religion. It raises concern that Maslow's call for a "trans-human" psychology sought to encourage what is now called ecopsychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2006
Paul F. Cunningham
9 citations
Transpersonal psychology has not been fully integrated into traditional undergraduate psychology curricula due to conventional psychology's prejudiced view of humanity's spiritual nature, as well as internal issues within transpersonal psychology itself, such as a lack of agreed-upon curricular models, absence of normative student outcomes, unstructured courses with limited content, and conceptual and methodological disagreements among experts. A key challenge is the need for an authoritative, standard textbook to introduce undergraduates to the field and aid its integration into mainstream psychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2015
Glenn Hartelius
5 citations
No Summary
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
July 1, 2014
Wesley C. Ryan, Cole J. Marta, Ralph J. Koek
5 citations
Intravenous ketamine is a fast-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression in both unipolar and bipolar forms. Its benefits last days, longer in unipolar depression, and it may reduce suicidality, though data are limited. Strategies to extend effects—multiple doses, maintenance, or additional medications—have shown mixed results. Alternative routes (intramuscular, intranasal, oral) show promise but lack sufficient data. Adverse effects are mainly mild, transient dissociative and sympathomimetic symptoms, indicating good tolerability. Ketamine's unique properties could shift depression treatment paradigms.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
December 31, 2024
Pascal Michael, David Luke, Oliver Robinson
3 citations
Two individuals who had both a near-death experience (NDE) and an experience with changa (a smoked mixture of DMT and MAOI-containing plants) reported medium to high perceived similarity between the two states. One case (SR) had an NDE from a misaligned vertebra and rated his changa experience as highly similar, though only 36% of specific features matched his NDE; however, his changa experience shared 83% of features with NDEs in general. The other case (DA), whose NDE began from an allergic reaction, reported medium similarity, with 42% feature overlap with his own NDE and also 83% similarity with NDEs generally. Content differences were typically DMT-like, but the sequence and presence of many features closely resembled NDEs.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2009
Mark A. Schroll, Stanley Krippner, Miles A. Vich et al.
3 citations
A recollection of the origins of humanistic and transpersonal psychology leads into a discussion of the pros and cons of these orientations developing APA-accredited clinical programs. The conversation questions whether the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP) will ever become an APA division, and raises the alternative of becoming a spiritual coach for those considering a counseling career. The issue of psychedelic therapy and the Supreme Court's decision allowing ayahuasca as a sacrament by the União do Vegetal Church is introduced, highlighting the need for humanistic and transpersonal psychology to map out the territories of science and religion. The conversation raises a concern that Maslow's call for a 'trans-human' psychology sought to encourage what is now called ecopsychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2019
Harry T. Hunt
2 citations
Heidegger's later philosophy of numinous Being-experience is examined as part of a series on thinkers who, from the 1930s onward, envisioned a futural 'New Age' spirituality to counter globalizing materialism and disenchantment. The paper situates Heidegger within transpersonal psychology, religious studies, and James's 'pure experience,' while also addressing his early involvement with National Socialism as a spiritual metapathology of narcissistic inflation. From the mid-1930s, Heidegger moved toward a radical critique of universal commodification and technology, proposing an 'Other Beginning' and a 'last god' that would re-sacralize humanity for the guardianship of the planet and life.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2019
S. Greenberg
2 citations
BDSM can function as a spiritual ritual that produces altered states of consciousness, sharing key elements with extreme spiritual practices: pain or ordeal, spiritual meaning, and transformative potential. The growing interest in BDSM in Western societies may reflect these ritual and spiritual roles it fulfills for many practitioners. The paper argues that BDSM merits further study within transpersonal psychology, building on prior work that compared BDSM to extreme ritual.