Psychosynthesis is a comprehensive approach to self-realization and the development of human potential. The essential aim of Psychosynthesis is to help people discover their true spiritual nature, then to effectively utilize this discovery in everyday life. Psychosynthesis helps us to realize our creative potential, increase our ability to function harmoniously in the modern world, and improve the quality of all our relationships.

Psychosynthesis is a particular kind of psychotherapy, yet it is more than just psychotherapy. It is a collection of techniques and exercises designed to help us move away from what we don’t want in our lives and towards what we do. It is not just a theory, but is a practical, working method that integrates principles and techniques from many approaches to personal growth. Unlike some other therapies, however, it has no fixed idea of what someone ‘should’ be like – indeed, with Psychosynthesis, it is quite the contrary. It is only successful when we have become more what we want to be like. This is not in the sense of gratifying unbalanced or partial desires, but when we have become more able to be ourselves in whatever situation we find ourselves, and to do what we want to do when we tune into our innermost sense of self and purpose. So Psychosynthesis is a kind of therapy, and it is a method of self improvement, but more than this, it is also a process that co-operates with the unfolding evolution of all nature. It aims to bring awareness, wholeness and connection to the process of evolution as it happens in each of us.

Psychosynthesis has been described as ‘a psychology with a soul’, and this is what distinguishes it from many other forms of psychotherapy. Emphasizing the value of intuition, inspiration and creative insight, it is a form of ‘transpersonal psychology’. Whilst it concentrates on the personality, it also includes the realms usually ascribed to more mystical or esoteric doctrines. Yet, whilst it explores these areas that we could call spiritual, it in no way imposes any form of doctrine or belief system upon the person using it. Psychosynthesis is not a religion, nor would it ever want to be. Although once you start doing Psychosynthesis it becomes a way of life, one of its greatest qualities is that it allows you to be and do whatever you want. So it is equally suitable for Christians, Buddhists, Pagans, Moslems, atheists, agnostics – indeed, anyone at all.

Psychosynthesis is a way of understanding our lives, of helping us to know ourselves and trust in our own processes of growth and unfoldment. But Psychosynthesis does not deal only with the individual, for each of us is part of many different groups of people, including our families, our friends, our work mates, and so on. We are also members of a society and of the one human family that covers the whole planet. Psychosynthesis honors both the individual and the groups of which the individual is a part. Partly because of this inclusive attitude, and partly by the nature of its transpersonal connection, Psychosynthesis is not a way of putting ourselves above or over anyone else. We can honor and utilize our own wishes and power but not at the expense of other people. Psychosynthesis does not rigidly analyze or label people and it is expected that we will not do this either.

Many people in our modern world suffer from either one or both of two main crises. Firstly, there is the ‘crisis of meaning’. Particularly in the western world but increasingly over the whole planet, many people live in an existential vacuum, where life has lost its meaning (beyond, at the best, the purely material). Psychosynthesis helps with the healing of this ‘illness’. The second crisis is that of ‘duality’ – we do not know ourselves as whole, single entities, but are constantly torn between different desires and wishes. Psychosynthesis also works on the healing of this crisis through moving all the parts that make us up towards a clearer harmony – synthesis in fact.

Psychosynthesis recognises that each of us is constantly growing. This viewpoint helps to put meaning and value back into life, and helps us make decisions about who we are and what we want. It can also help us realise our responsibility both to ourselves and the world as a whole. It can add a dynamic sense of self to the present moment, and a sense of meaning to ourselves and to our future.

Psychosynthesis can help you to ‘know yourself’ in the fullest sense of these words. In our modern world situation there is much strife between people on an individual and collective level. The state of our world on an ecological level is so poor due to the greed of some people and the mindlessness of others. There often seems to be such an appalling lack of care and understanding and so much unbalance, particularly in the interaction between people. Anything which helps people know themselves better, both as individuals and in the context of living a life in accord with others, has to be useful.

Psychosynthesis includes the whole person, which is composed of the personality plus the spiritual realms, including The Self which is, in this sense, our connection to the divine (whether that is seen as some outside energy or ultimately within us). Using Psychosynthesis we can learn to grow on all these levels – so we can develop as a personality and find more effective ways to experience life and to express ourselves. We can also grow in our connection to the transpersonal realms, thus unleashing more positive, beneficial qualities into our lives. We find more effective ways of utilizing our creative energies. Creativity, in the Psychosynthesis sense, is not just about drawing, painting, making music, sculpting or whatever (although it is these things as well), but acknowledges the fact that we are all creative in our own ways. With the right attitude we can be as equally creative doing housework as in painting a masterpiece, in changing a baby’s nappy as in encouraging it to walk and talk.

Everything in nature appears to be evolving towards increased wholeness. This could even be considered to be the definition of evolution. Psychosynthesis co-operates with this process. An atom comes together with other atoms to form a molecule, and these form cells, which then group into tissues which become organs that make up a whole body. A similar process of synthesis can be seen in our psychological world, too, as all the parts of us come together to make us into one, whole person. We can use Psychosynthesis to help us explore all these parts so we become more centred and able to function more effectively. If one molecule was at war with another, and your heart didn’t agree with your lungs, you’d have problems. So it is with the psychological functions too – when our sensations, feelings, thoughts, emotions, imagination, intuition, everything that makes us up, are harmoniously synthesized, then we work well and without conflict.

by Will Parfitt

Will Parfitt is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and an experienced and innovative group leader. Trained in Psychosynthesis, he has more than forty years experience of working with psychospiritual development, and travels internationally to run courses on a variety of subjects including kabbalah and psychosynthesis. Will is author of several books including ‘The Complete Guide to Kabbalah’, ‘The Something and Nothing of Death’, ‘Kabbalah:The Tree of Life’ and‘Psychosynthesis: the Elements and Beyond.