A Meeting of Souls:

1. A Meeting of Souls: A heuristic inquiry into transpersonal experience in therapeutic relationships • Anissa Chung

2. What led me to this study?

3. Three Key Themes

4. Hierarchy of Emotional Engagement Self-transcendent Transpersonal Self I-Thou Authentic Self Intrapersonal & Interpersonal I-It Instrumental Self

5. Spirituality • Common themes: • Meaning and purpose of life • beliefs, truths and ultimate values • connection – with self, others, God/higher power and nature • transcendence – expanding self-boundaries • becoming who one is. • (Swinton: 2001, p.25; West 2000; West 2011, p.16-17)

6. Spirituality 3 dimensions: (Hurding 1992; Johnson 2013; Jones and Butman 1991; Lines 2006; Pargament et al 2006; Swinton 2001)

7. Spirituality and the Transpersonal Beyond self-actualisation, there is a need for transcendence, for ‘we need something bigger than we are to be awed by and to commit ourselves to’. (Maslow 1976)

8. Spirituality and the Transpersonal • What is the transpersonal? It ‘puts us in touch with the sacred, the numinous, the holy – the soul, the spirit, the divine’. (Rowan 2005, p.1) Grof (1975) succinctly defines transpersonal experience as an expansion or extension of consciousness beyond ego boundaries and beyond the limitation of time and/or space.

9. Definition of Transpersonal in this Research Spiritual Realm (religious/secular) Therapeutic Relationship Transpersonal peak experience client’s profound & transformational moments of connection with self (intrapersonal) an other (interpersonal) the Great Other (transpersonal)

10. RESEARCH

11. Participants Ella Ada Carol Doug Betty

12. Therapeutic Relationship Research Findings Relational Experience Awareness of Spirituality Client Presentation • in a state of turmoil • self-reliant • hard to trust others to meet their needs. • trust & safety • loved unconditionally • everything a good mother should be • implicit unconscious trust from day one • responsiveness, care, deeply held. • spiritually attuned • openness • freedom ‘to go there’.

13. Therapist’s use of self(Rowan & Jacobs 2002) Relational Essence Presence (Rogers 1980) Relational Depth (Mearns & Cooper 2005) I-Thou (Buber 1970)

14. I-Thou Authentic Self Intrapersonal & Interpersonal I-It Instrumental Self

15. Transpersonal Experiences • What are the triggers? • The triggers (Keutzer 1978) were often natural events: • a dialogue • a dream • a drawing • physical exercise • body gestures. • One was supernatural – in this case a religious vision.

16. Therapist’s use of self(Rowan & Jacobs 2002) A meeting of souls Wilber (1980) sees the transpersonal as the fine line between psychotherapy and the spiritual. For him, it functions like a springboard for individuals to move from psychotherapy into the spiritual realm.

17. Transpersonal Experiences Phenomena:

18. From Transpersonal to Transformation joy & wonder (ecstasy) transpersonal experience profound growth & healing turmoil transcendence surrender (Thorne 2012; West 2004) resolution Transpersonal Experience Existential Shift (Noble 1987) Self-transformation (Owens 1972)

19. Therapeutic Change • ‘trust…everything…to be OK’ • ‘starting the journey into forgiveness’ • ‘I was believed…understood’ • ‘[her] acceptance meant my experience was allowed to be normal’ • ‘I…let go and…float’. It is heartening that each participant found resolution:

20. Implications to Clinical Practice • As a therapist: • ‘I am a secure base for my clients’ • ‘able to give out…because [I] have received’ • ‘something that could…be held and contained…that…couldn’t be done…in other ways’ • ‘equipped to take client to those places’ • ‘I feel I’ve got the capacity…’ The participants have described a full circle: they now offer to their clients a depth of experience that they themselves have received.

21. Caveats • In my experience, not all therapeutic work needs to include a transpersonal experience in order to be effective. • Transpersonal experiences happen unexpectedly: they cannot be manufactured, manipulated or brought about at will. • Therapists need to be aware of the temptation to overemphasise the occurrence of transpersonal experiences and run the risk of searching for any trigger, which may derail the therapeutic work.

22. Hierarchy of Emotional Engagement Self-transcendent Transpersonal Self I-Thou Authentic Self Intrapersonal & Interpersonal I-It Instrumental Self

23. References BUBER, M. (1970) I and Thou (trans. W. Kaufmann). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. GROF, S. (1975) Realms of the Human Unconscious. New York: The Viking Press. HURDING, R. (1992) The Bible and Counselling. London: Hodder and Stoughton. JOHNSON, R. (2013) Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy: An Integrative Approach that Empowers Clients. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. JONES, S. & BUTMAN, R. (1991) Modern Psychotherapies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal. Illinois: Intervarsity Press. KEUTZER, C. (1978) Whatever turns you on: Triggers to transcendent experiences. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. (18). p. 77-80. LINES, D. (2006) Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. LINES, D. (2006) Spirituality in Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. MASLOW, A.H. (1976) Religions, Values and Peak-Experiences. New York: Penguin Books. MEARNS, D. & COOPER, M. (2005) Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. MOUSTAKAS, C. (1990) Heuristic Research: design, methodology, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. NOBLE, K.D. (1987) ‘Psychological Health and the Experience of Transcendence’. The Counselling Psychologist 15(4), 601-614. NOLAN, S. (2012) ‘Being fully present’. Thresholds spring, 6-9.

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