Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is an area of psychology that seeks to integrate the spiritual and transcendent human experiences within the framework of modern psychology. Evolving from the humanistic psychology movement, transpersonal psychology emerged in the late 1960s, integrating spirituality and consciousness studies into psychological theory, as a response to perceived limitations of mainstream psychological approaches. The empirical validity and recognition of transpersonal psychology remains contentious in modern psychology. Early critics such as Ernest Hilgard have viewed it as a fringe movement that attracted extreme followers of humanistic psychology, while scholars such as Eugene Taylor have acknowledged the field's interdisciplinary approach, at the same time noting its epistemological and practical challenges. The field's connections to psychedelic substances, religious ideas, and the new age movement have also further fueled controversy. Transpersonal psychology has influenced various related and transpersonal disciplines, including transpersonal anthropology, business studies, near-death studies, and parapsychology. The field has a strong institutional presence in California, where the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and Journal of Transpersonal Psychology were developed.
History
Origins Early use of the term "transpersonal" can also be credited to Stanislav Grof and Anthony Sutich, who were dissatisfied with the humanistic psychology movement and included spirituality in their new framework. In 1967 to 1968, Abraham Maslow was in close dialogue with both Grof and Sutich regarding the name and orientation of the new field, later describing transpersonal psychology as a "fourth force" in psychology. According to Powers, the term "transpersonal" starts to show up in academic journals from 1970 onwards. Humanistic and transpersonal psychology are often associated with the Human Potential Movement, a movement in the 1960s that explored various therapies and philosophies at institutions like Esalen in Big Sur, California. Transpersonal psychology was heavily influenced by Western culture, and had not been regarded as a “hard science”.
Formative period Gradually, during the 1960s, the term "transpersonal" became associated with a distinct school of psychology within the humanistic psychology movement. This branch of psychology was introduced to a time when the majority of schools were teaching Freudian Psychology. In 1969, Maslow, Grof and Sutich were among the initiators behind the publication of the first issue of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. The Association for Transpersonal Psychology was established in 1972, the International Transpersonal Psychology Association in 1973, and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in 1975 . The institute was founded by Robert Frager and James Fadiman in response to an academic climate that they felt was hostile to such ideas. Soon, other institutions began offering curricula in transpersonal psychology including Saybrook Graduate School, the California Institute of Asian Studies (now California Institute of Integral Studies), JFK University, and Naropa. Other proponents of transpersonal psychology included Ram Dass; Elmer and Alyce Green who were affiliated with the Menninger Foundation; and Ken Wilber. Transpersonal psychology has been influenced by various Eastern spiritual traditions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, which emphasize practices like meditation, mindfulness, and the dissolution of the ego. In 1969, Anthony Sutich, along with Maslow and other humanistic psychologists, founded the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, formally establishing the field. The creation of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology in 1972 further solidified its identity. Transpersonal psychology focuses on exploring spiritual experiences, mystical states, self-transcendence, and the holistic development of human potential. An interest group was later re-formed as the Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group (TPIG), which continued to promote transpersonal issues in collaboration with Division 32. Ken Wilber and Michael Washburn delivered the main transpersonal models of development of this period, Wilber in 1977 and Washburn in 1988. Ken Wilber has since distanced himself from the label "transpersonal", being in favour of the label of "integral" since the mid-1990s. In 1998 he formed the Integral Institute. In 1998, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the holistic studies program at the John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, which included a transpersonal psychology department. The program was considered to be unique at the time, but also controversial. Commentators presented their skepticism towards the program.
Later developments Proponents of transpersonal psychology were behind the proposal for a new diagnostic category to be included in the DSM-manual of the American Psychiatric Association called "Psychoreligious or psychospiritual problem", which was approved by the Task Force on DSM-IV in 1993, after changing its name to Religious or spiritual problem. Concurrently, there was an increase in membership for the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, stabilizing at approximately 3000 members in the early nineties. In 1996, the British Psychological Society established a Transpersonal Psychology Section. In 2007 the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies were accepted for indexing in PsycINFO, the journal database of the American Psychological Association. That same year, Ruzek, noted that the "American Psychological Association (APA) and most academic institutions have not yet recognized transpersonal psychology as an approved area of study; transpersonal psychology is rarely mentioned in mainstream academic journals or textbooks; and relatively few American academicians identify themselves as practitioners of transpersonal psychology. Furthermore, transpersonal psychology is scarcely mentioned, if at all, in history or introductory psychology texts".
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