What is psychosynthesis and what is it used with?

At the beginning of the 20th century, Roberto Assagioli decided to combine all existing knowledge in the field of psychology. He wanted to put together Freud's theory and all the concepts that came out of it. Based on the principle of unification, the name was given - psychosynthesis. Assagioli wanted to combine all the concepts in order to create such a powerful scientific construct that could explain completely different phenomena and processes, could teach different methods and techniques.

Assagioli even described the personality structure by synthesizing existing ideas from different psychological schools. He identified the lower, middle, higher and collective unconscious, the field of consciousness, the conscious and higher “I”. Thus, according to psychosynthesis, personality consists of 7 mental parts. Roberto Assagioli also described various techniques and methods of human development and self-realization.

In this article:

What we are all made ofManagement of subpersonalitiesMethods of psychosynthesisIdentification

Introduction to the theory and practice of psychosynthesis

October 12, 2021

Fundamentals of classical psychosynthesis: theory, conceptual apparatus, methods of working with clients, psychotechnologies and psychotechnics. Theory and practice. Areas of use. Development of attention, will awareness. How to work with your own subpersonalities: research, cognition, naming, determining further strategy. Evolution of subpersonalities. Social roles, internal actors. The practice of identification and disidentification.

Eastern version of psychosynthesis. Basic ideas of the Eastern version of psychosynthesis. Why does modern Russia need a modern version of psychosynthesis? Psychosynthesis as a universal mechanism of the psyche and the accumulation of experience. Psychosynthesis and accumulation of experience. How to measure a person's external and internal savings? External and internal psychosynthesis. Balance scales.

A new look at mental disintegration. The concept of Presence (the feeling of “I” or the Master of oneself). The evolution of consciousness as a gradual integration of subpersonalities.

New pyramid of needs. How does the combination of needs and attention create a picture of the world? Eight basic pictures of the world and methods of working with them

Techniques for working with attention. Attention and will

The art of working with external and internal resistance. Application of approaches, ideas, practical methods and exercises of the Eastern version of psychosynthesis to solve psychological problems of clients associated with disintegration of consciousness and traumatic experiences.

Psychotechniques, exercises, questionnaires, psychodynamic charts, role-playing games.

Bibliography

Assagioli, R. (1965). Psychosynthesis. New York: Viking Press.
_________. (1967). Jung and psychosynthesis. New York: Psychosynthesis Research Foundation.
_________. (1973). An act of will. New York: Penguin Books.
Firman, J., & Gila, A. (1997). The primal wound: A transpersonal perspective on trauma, addiction, and growth. Albany, NY: State University of New York.
_______________. (2002). Psychosynthesis: psychology of the spirit. Albany, NY: State University of New York.
Jung, C. G. 1954. Personality Development, Bollingen Series, XX. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Maslow, Abraham. (1962). Towards the psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
McGuire, William, ed. (1974). Letters of Freud/Jung. Vol. XCIV, series Bollingen. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Sorensen, Kenneth (2016). The soul of psychosynthesis - seven basic concepts. Centaur Forlag

Psychosynthesis by Assagioli

The principles of psychosynthesis include the initial knowledge of oneself at a deep level, the assignment of control over the components of one's personality, the further creation of a new higher unifying center for all personality structures and the restructuring of the overall picture or individual parts in accordance with the new center. The high effectiveness of the approach is observed in the treatment of psychosomatics and similar disorders, the basis of which is the internal conflict of subpersonalities, since the main goal of psychosynthesis is aimed at understanding the ongoing internal processes and establishing more harmonious relationships between the internal parts of a person. Such work with parts called subpersonalities begins with getting to know each of them, accepting it as it is at this stage, followed by transformation, finding a new appropriate place, integration into a single structure and synthesis of the new.

Assagioli's theory of psychosynthesis includes interflowing tasks, starting from the comprehension of one's true essence (higher, central), the search for harmony through this knowledge and the subsequent building of harmonious relationships and adequate interaction with the outside world and surrounding people. This happens through the exploration and discovery of one’s own unconscious experience and the qualities hidden there, the release of suppressed callings and desires. Subsequently, painstaking work begins on appropriating the released suppressed energy, the ability to control it, by identifying oneself with some quality or phenomenon or disidentification. When all the qualities of one’s own personality are discovered, an inevitable shift in the center occurs, a restructuring of guidelines occurs, and the need arises for a harmonious combination of all components (known and newly discovered, both positively assessed and terrifying).

Such transformations affect both the inner world and its external manifestations. It is impossible to discover your true talent and realize the highest purpose in its implementation and not begin to move along this path in external life. Such aspirations and searches are not an end in themselves, but serve as an indicator of the presence of high-quality contact of various personal parts with reality, showing the integrity and continuity of a person’s manifestation. If the establishment of contact with surrounding people does not correspond to the internal feeling or the inadequacy of the activities performed, we can speak of a loss of contact with one or more subpersonalities, an ineffective life strategy.

The main focus of psychosynthesis is the formation of a new or reconstruction of a previous personality based on new opportunities that have opened up and around the newly formed center

In order to better imagine how the principles of psychosynthesis work, it is worth paying attention to the personality model in this concept

Roberto Assagioli identified in the individual the lower unconscious (vital instincts, the strongest and most animal energies, vivid emotions - a source of creative inspiration and pathopsychological states, euphoric states and nightmares), the middle unconscious (the zone of transformation of unconscious processes into conscious ones, where a peculiar formulation of ripening processes takes place) for the manifestation of processes and feelings at the conscious level), the higher unconscious (instinctive desire for self-improvement, parapsychic processes, unconscious and uncontrollable manifestations of humanity and heroism, desire for high feelings). The conscious part includes the field of consciousness (that part that a person is capable of realizing), the conscious Self (seeing oneself from the outside, self-perception), the higher Self (the true essence of a person, the return to which occurs from all other states). A special place is given to the collective unconscious, which represents a kind of invisible connection between all the unconscious parts of different people, regardless of location and era (i.e., connection with the experience of every living and all deceased ancestors).

The interaction of all these parts usually occurs uncontrollably in people, and under the influence of society’s attitudes, injuries received, and prohibitions imposed, barriers appear to the free flow of energy and harmonious interaction of all levels and subpersonalities.

Psychosynthesis with its techniques allows you to establish the natural flow of energy and reveal the full potential of the mental energy inherent in a person.

Biography

Roberto Assagioli was born on February 27, 1888 in Venice, Italy. He was from a middle class background, of Italian descent. At birth he was given the name Roberto Marco Greco. His father Leone Greco died when he was only two years old, and his mother Elena Caula subsequently married Alessandro Emanuele Assagioli.

By the age of 18, R. Assagioli spoke eight languages: Italian, English, French, Russian, Greek, Latin, German and Sanskrit. At the same age he began to travel, mainly to Russia. In 1910 he graduated from the University of Florence with a doctorate in neurology and psychiatry. In the same year, at the International Congress of Philosophy in Bologna, Assagioli presented his view of the unconscious, pointing out the limitations of psychoanalysis, and began to develop his own method of psychotherapy and self-development called psychosynthesis

In 1922 he married Nella Ciapetti. They had a son, Ilario.

In 1926, Assagioli founded the Institute of Psychosynthesis in Florence. In 1927, his work was published in English: “A New Method of Treatment: Psychosynthesis”

In 1938, Asagioli was arrested by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini for his nationality and humanist writings.

After the end of World War II, the Institute of Psychosynthesis resumed its work, psychosynthesis centers were founded in the USA and France, Assagioli continued to lecture in Italy, Switzerland, England and America. Currently, there are more than fifty institutes and centers of psychosynthesis in the world.

Psychosynthesis by Assagioli

Assagioli embarks on the path of scientific research at a fairly young age. The first publications, starting from the age of 15, are at the intersection of philosophy, medicine, and culture. Having started psychiatric practice and become acquainted with the works of S. Freud, he began writing his doctoral dissertation “Psychosynthesis”. In his work, he criticizes some of the provisions of psychoanalysis and offers his own methods of psychotherapy. At that time he was 21 years old! These were the first prerequisites for the main goal of his research activities.

In scientific circles, his work was treated quite skeptically. And Assagioli himself was not completely satisfied with the results. He lacked information and knowledge, so it was decided to go to Switzerland and continue his studies under the guidance of the famous psychiatrist E. Bleier. At that time, it was the most progressive country in the study of the human psyche and mental illness. There Roberto met G. Jung, friendship and joint work with whom remained throughout his life.

Having immersed himself in the study of psychoanalysis, he was finally convinced that this system was incomplete. Those. It is not enough to analyze mental activity (break it down into components), but then you need to unite it around a single center. And he began to work more actively on psychosynthesis.

In 1933, Assagioli opened the Institute of Psychosynthesis in Florence and published the book “A New Method of Treatment - Psychosynthesis.” This book introduced the so-called “egg” diagram.

The lower unconscious – psychological complexes, phobias, nightmares, mania, obsessive desires.
The middle unconscious is the normal daily work of the mind and imagination.
The Higher Unconscious, or Superconscious - intuition, inspiration, insight, love, enlightenment, talent, higher energies.
The field of consciousness is a conscious part of the personality (thoughts, feelings, desires, images).
The conscious self is pure self-awareness. Not to be confused with consciousness. “I am the center, consciousness is only its reflection.
The Higher Self is who I really am. It resides above the flow of thoughts and the states of our body.
The collective unconscious is a “psychic osmosis” between a person and other people.

Psychosynthesis techniques

The goal of psychosynthesis is to know the true “I” and rebuild the personality around a single center. What does it mean? Despite the apparent duality, we have only one “I”. It’s just that the conscious “I” does not suspect the higher “I” and even denies it. Our consciousness has only a superficial perception of the events happening around and inside us. This is why people easily succumb to fears, worries, and become despondent or depressed. To achieve unity and harmony with yourself, you need to go through the following stages:

Deep study of personality.
Control over its elements.
Revealing your true “I” is creating a connecting center.
Psychosynthesis: the formation or restructuring of personality around a single center.

There are a number of techniques for successfully completing each stage of psychosynthesis. Today there are quite a large number of them. I want to introduce you to some of them.

Assagioli believed that our personality has many faces, i.e. has a number of subpersonalities. Those. in essence, these are our complexes, as well as the masks that we wear at work, in society, in the family. And at the first stage you need to get to know them.

On paper, write a list of the images you identify with, both positive and negative: a caring father, an excellent worker, a cheapskate, a skilled cook, a slob, etc.

Next, try to get to know one of the personalities. Choose a calm, quiet place and relax. Imagine that you, while walking through the forest, came across a hut. Go inside. Who do you see there? What does this subpersonality look like? What are you wearing? Get to know her, talk to her. Ask her name, how did she end up here? And then turn to your feelings. What emotions does this picture evoke? Maybe it limits you, makes you feel discomfort, shame, or, conversely, helps and calms you down.

By performing such exercises, you distance yourself from internal “phantasms and illusions,” as Assangioli defines them. And now it’s not them, but you, who take control of them.

To understand the true “I” you can use the “What I Am” technique. Repeat. I am not my body. I am not my emotions. I am not my mind and thoughts. What am I? This exercise is best performed immediately after waking up, and regularly. At first your conscious self will get in the way, i.e. give out already familiar images of our subpersonalities. And the flow of thoughts in your head is not so easy to stop. Never mind. At a certain moment there will be silence. And you will hear the answer. And this will be the true “I”. You will feel it.

Description of the method

At the beginning of the 20th century, Roberto Assagioli, combining various techniques and approaches of psychotherapy in his psychotherapeutic practice, developed a new method of treatment, which he gave the name “psychosynthesis”. The creation of psychosynthesis was an attempt to combine all the best created by S. Freud, C. Jung, P. Janet and others, as well as to create opportunities for self-knowledge by the individual, self-liberation from illusions and restructuring around a new “center of the Self.”

To achieve harmonious internal integration, comprehend the true “I” and form correct relationships with other people, Assagioli proposed the following approach:

Deep knowledge of your personality.
Control over the components of your personality.
Comprehension of your “Higher Self” (see) - identifying or creating a unifying center.
Psychosynthesis: the formation or restructuring of personality around a new center.

Control over various elements of personality

Once we have identified all these elements, we must master them and gain control over them. The most effective method for achieving this goal is the disidentification method. It is based on a fundamental psychological principle which can be stated as follows:

We are dominated by everything with which we identify ourselves.

We can dominate and control everything with which we have identified ourselves.

In this principle lies the secret of our freedom and our enslavement. Every time we identify ourselves with weakness, guilt, fear, or any of our other emotions or urges, we limit and constrain ourselves. Every time we say “I'm depressed” or “I'm irritated,” we become more depressed or angry. We impose this limitation on ourselves; we put ourselves in chains. But if, under the same circumstances, we say that “a wave of despondency is trying to overwhelm me” or “a flash of anger is trying to take over me,” the situation will change dramatically. Now there will be two opposing forces involved: on the one hand, our alert self, and on the other, despondency or anger. And the vigilant self will not tolerate their intrusion: it can critically and impartially examine the impulses of despondency or anger: it can see their causes, foresee their undesirable consequences and recognize their groundlessness. Often this is enough to withstand the advance of such forces and win the battle.

But even if these forces become stronger for a time, if the conscious personality is initially overwhelmed by their onslaught, the watchful self will never be completely defeated. It can retreat to the inner fortress and, waiting for a favorable moment, prepare there for a counter-offensive. It may lose a number of battles, but unless it raises its hands and surrenders, the final outcome of the matter is certain: it will win in the end.

Further, instead of repeatedly repelling attacks coming from the unconscious, we can use a more thorough and decisive method: we can address the underlying causes of these attacks and uproot the problem from the roots. This procedure can be divided into two phases:

a. Decomposition of harmful complexes or mental images into elements.

b. Management of released energies and their use.

Psychoanalysis has shown that the power of these complexes and mental images lies mainly in the fact that we are not aware of them. Often after they are identified, understood and broken down into their component elements, they cease to bother us. In any case, after this we can defend ourselves against them much more effectively. To decompose into elements, it is necessary to use the methods of “objectification” and “critical analysis”

and "discrimination"

. In other words, we should observe them coldly and dispassionately - as if they were simply external natural phenomena. It is necessary to establish a “psychological distance” between yourself and them and, keeping these complexes and mental images, so to speak, at arm’s length, calmly study where they came from, what their nature is and how stupid they are. This does not mean that the energy inherent in their manifestations should be suppressed or contained; you just need to manage it, transferring it into a constructive direction.

As you know, an overly critical and analytical attitude towards one’s feelings and emotions can fetter and even kill them. This ability of critical attitude, often used to the detriment of our higher feelings and creative possibilities, should be used to free ourselves from unwanted impulses and tendencies. However, critical analysis is sometimes insufficient. Some stable tendencies, some vital elements of our being stubbornly continue to exist, no matter how much we condemn and deny them. This is especially true for sexual and aggressive impulses. Disconnecting from one or another complex or deviating from their previous channel, they lead us into a state of excitement and anxiety and can find a new, but equally undesirable way out.

Therefore, such forces should not be left to chance, they should be directed towards some harmless or, even better, constructive goals: various kinds of creative activity, personality restructuring, promoting psychosynthesis. But in order for this to be possible, we must start from the center; we must affirm and empower the unifying and guiding Principle of our lives

1.doc

^ PSYCHOSYNTHESIS R. ASSAGIOLI
analytical, synthetic.
Self
^ Lower unconscious
ItIt
^ Middle unconscious (preconscious) ^ Higher unconscious (super-unconscious)
SelfSuper-Self
^ Field of consciousness ^ Conscious Self (or the Ego proper)
Self
Higher Self Self
^
Collective unconscious Self
Self psychosynthesis of the unifying center Self
^ Deep comprehension of the personality
of the lower unconscious Onofantasy, mental image ov , dark forces of the lower unconscious true calling
^ Identification of the basic elements of personality and control over them Disidentification
of disidentification with
^ Work with subpersonalities
disidentification of disidentification true (higher Self as a unifying center Self as a
as an external unifying center,
Self and
with magotherapy
image of reincarnation into the inner world of the hero through imitation of his external image and behavior patterns Self
^ Choosing the ideal model of your desire wow I (Not
I
introverts extroverts ambaverts,
I
^ Constructive use of all energy resources
I
transmute the ideal model ^ Complementation or development of missing or “underdeveloped” elements of the personality
of the ideal EI
Internal
self-hypnosis
External
effective formation and improvement ^
Harmonization of personality structure PRACTICUM Workbook rational
V.P. Simonovarational psychotherapy of systematic desensitization
^ Your capabilities Who am I? Disidentification
“I have a body, but I am not a body. I treat my body well, I take care of its cleanliness and health, but I am not only a body.” “I have a body, but I am not a body.” “I have there are feelings, but I am not feelings. I have different strong feelings, they change from joyful to unpleasant, from love to enmity, but my true Self does not change with them. Feelings come and go, but my Self remains.” I have feelings, but I am not feelings." "I have intellect, but I am not intellect." "I have a body, but I am not a body. I have feelings, but I am not feelings. I have intelligence, but I am not the intellect.” “I am the master, and not the slave of my body. I am the master, and not the slave of my feelings. I am the master, and not the slave of my intellect.”
Subpersonalities
At this point we advise the client to ask his other subpersonalities to speak critically about this subpersonality.
^ Climbing.
In the garden workbook
I am not a role
“What I don’t like about myself now is not my unchanging essence. This is just one of the roles that I can play differently or refuse to play at all. I am the master of my roles, not a slave to them "
^ Identification with the center of the Self ^ Formation of an ideal personality
of a pure Self Ideal Self Ideal Self Imagotherapy Self
Synthesis
3

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Biography

In 1922 he married Nella Ciapetti. They had a son, Ilario.

In 1926, Assagioli founded the Institute of Psychosynthesis in Florence. In 1927, his work was published in English: “A New Method of Treatment: Psychosynthesis”

In 1938, Asagioli was arrested by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini for his nationality and humanist writings.

Behavioral (behavioral) psychotherapy

According to this psychotherapy, patients are treated in several stages.

Behavioral analysis. Perhaps the longest stage. At this stage, the psychotherapist carefully approaches the creation of an optimal therapy regimen and develops a treatment plan.
A complete serious treatment plan is developed at the second stage. When the patient's problems are identified, their correction becomes the most important task of the psychologist.
At the last stage, the patient develops behavioral skills.

As a result of behavioral psychotherapy, the doctor gradually teaches the patient the necessary behavioral skills that can help him exist in society. Of particular importance is the patient’s desire for development, his motivation and focus on results.

Direction use

Organizers

Training (Moscow), Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology (Moscow), Professional Psychotherapeutic League (Moscow), Regional cooperation of the Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology (Moscow), Community of psychologists, family psychologists and psychotherapists “Center for Modern Psychology Psychologist OD” (Moscow), Training center of the Institute of Psychotherapy (Moscow), - Creative Workshop (Moscow), Psychological Counseling Center "Psigrad" (Moscow), Center for Modern Psychotechnologies (Krasnoyarsk), Psychological Studio "Metamorphosis" (Tyumen), Psychological (Kiev), Family Psychological (Belgorod) ), Maria Rogozhnikova (Perm), Tatyana Zavalishina (Orenburg), Special Faculty of Psychocorrection, Depth Psychology and Psychoanalysis (Rostov-on-Don), Project “Holocendence” (St. Petersburg), Training (Krasnoyarsk), Center for Esoteric Knowledge “Aquilon” (Krasnoyarsk), (Irkutsk), Academy of Practical Psychology (Naberezhnye Chelny).

More organizers 19

Coaches Angela Karmanova (Moscow), Anna Vladimirovna Merinova (Moscow), Anna Vladimirovna Chumakova (Moscow), Arina Sunkarovna Iskandirova (Moscow), Artur Timofeev (Moscow), Vsevolod Ioffe (Moscow), Dmitry Yurievich Berger (Moscow), Ekaterina Vasilyevna Gorbova (Moscow), Elena Vyacheslavovna Ivanova (Moscow), Elena Nikolaevna Zharikova (Moscow), Elena Shinkova (Moscow), Ivan Strigin (Moscow), Irina Gennadievna Davydova (Moscow), Konstantin Valerievich Gavrilyuk (Moscow), Leonid Borisovich Timoshenko (Moscow) , Lyubov Sergeevna Belova (Moscow), Maria Leta (Moscow), Nina Chakhmakhcheva (Moscow), Olga Sirotkina (Moscow), Svetlana Aleksandrovna Melnik (Moscow).

More trainers 183

Consultants Angela Karmanova (Moscow), Anna Vladimirovna Merinova (Moscow), Anna Vladimirovna Chumakova (Moscow), Artur Timofeev (Moscow), Vsevolod Ioffe (Moscow), Dmitry Yurievich Berger (Moscow), Ekaterina Vandysheva (Moscow), Ekaterina Vasilievna Gorbova ( Moscow), Elena Vyacheslavovna Ivanova (Moscow), Elena Shinkova (Moscow), Ivan Strigin (Moscow), Konstantin Valerievich Gavrilyuk (Moscow), Leonid Borisovich Timoshenko (Moscow), Lyubov Sergeevna Belova (Moscow), Maria Leta (Moscow), Olga Sirotkina (Moscow), Svetlana Aleksandrovna Melnik (Moscow), Yulia Konstantinovna Evdokimova (Moscow), Anastasia Evenko (Moscow), Andrey Nikolaevich Tokarev (Moscow).

More consultants 178

Reflections on Psychosynthesis

1. You can practice psychosynthesis without doing almost anything

Sitting at home on the sofa or in an armchair, taking a bath or lying in bed, in transport, walking down the street. Such external conditions contribute to internal work, when you can focus on anything: on your thoughts or memories, on surrounding things, on your own breathing, body sensations. This allows you to reduce conscious work and strengthen the work of the unconscious part of your personality.

2. All you can do with your experience is observe it (track it), accept it and transform it. The rest is done for you by other parts of your personality: they manifest it and use it!

Outwardly, this looks like “doing nothing”: a person sits and thoughtfully analyzes or summarizes his past, dreams about the future, and returns to the present. In fact, during the practice of psychosynthesis, you “wash” your experience, making it transparent, clear, and useful for further use. This is not always pleasant, but it is extremely necessary.

3. Psychosynthesis is aimed at strengthening the conscious “I” - the center of your personality, which can assemble your body, thoughts and emotions into a harmonious person through the conscious regulation of unconscious processes.

The main function of our “I” is will. By developing your will, you gain the skill to synthesize a new personality, combining what you already have into integrity. This integrity uses all your resources (including unconscious ones), at the center of which is your “I” and its will. Once you've sorted yourself out, don't forget to pull yourself together!

4. The conscious self is a reflection of the higher self.

The founder of psychosynthesis, the wise doctor and philosopher Roberto Assagioli believed that in the sphere of the unconscious there is our essence - the real, true “I”, which has always been, is and will be. The higher “I” has its own calling, life meaning and influences real life with the help of its reflection – the conscious “I”. There are no two selves. There is one “I” that is reflected in our daily life when we are awake, doing our business and performing deeds. That is, the conscious “I” is a reflection of the higher “I”.

5. Psychosynthesis is not a panacea for diseases and problems. This is not a technology for easily achieving happiness and success.

The effects of psychosynthesis occur over time. At first, these may be small qualitative changes, on the basis of which later more important changes in life occur. In modern society, there are many services that promise us mountains of gold, focusing on formulas for success and happiness. This is not psychosynthesis! The process of psychosynthesis is gentle and gradual, like any growth, and its results are sometimes invisible, but you will not want to part with them.

6. Psychosynthesis begins when consciousness and imagination become one.

Once your conscious self begins to use imagination, that's when you gain the skills to explore, accept, transform, and even use your experiences! This does not mean at all that the practice of psychosynthesis creates a world of illusions and dreams for a person. Consciousness can not only turn on daydreaming, but also switch you into real life, in which it can act in a new way, changing it for the better.

7. Personal development involves experiencing crises, which are a sign of this development. This is fine.

Without them, changes that lead to wholeness do not occur. World experience in the use of psychosynthesis indicates that every person experiences four crises of personal and spiritual development, for which he can be prepared if he learns about them in more detail. According to R. Assagioli, the first crisis occurs before a qualitative leap in self-development. The second crisis is directly related to this leap. The third crisis is the reaction of a person and others to obvious development. The fourth crisis is associated with a qualitative restructuring of the personality due to the acquisition of integrity, that is, the implementation of psychosynthesis.

8. The practice of psychosynthesis does not end with specific results at a specific time: self-development skills tend to develop independently over the course of life. This happens in your unconscious.

Psychosynthesis is like a perennial plant that you planted in the spring, it bloomed in the summer while you watered it, and the next spring it sprouted again, but much larger and without your help. The plant is a skill you have acquired or developed, the earth is your unconscious, and you are you.

Psychological Training Center Orange Sun

Willpower development techniques

Along with psychosynthesis, the scientist practiced so-called positive psychology. This was facilitated by work with soldiers returning after the end of the First World War. The main focus of this work was developing the will for positive change. A book, “An Act of Will,” will be written on this topic, but it will be published after Assagioli’s death in 1974. It must be said that he experienced the methods of will training himself. Having Jewish roots, the scientist was persecuted by the Mussolini regime and was even imprisoned. And in this difficult time, he trained his will so as not to despair and continue working.

Before you begin exercises to develop your will, you need to stimulate and emotionally support your desire. To do this, do the preparatory exercises:

Imagine all the unpleasant moments that happened to you due to lack of will. Think about what could happen because of this in the future. Make a list. Feel the negative emotions associated with this.
Now it's the other way around. What will a developed will give you, what can you achieve, what feelings does it evoke? Write it down.
Imagine how, having a strong will, you achieve all your goals, how you realize your plans, how successful you are.

Exercises to develop willpower

Wills in everyday life. Maintain a sleep-wake, work-rest schedule, monitor your emotions and do not react negatively. Remember the rule: I control my emotions, not the other way around.
Physical exercise. After waking up, find 10 minutes for basic gymnastics, take regular walks in the fresh air in any weather, don’t look for excuses. You should not burden yourself with intense training, especially if you are not ready for it. Exercises should develop patience, calmness, and dexterity.

Comments on the exercises

In order for your enthusiasm not to fade, and for the exercises to develop your will to achieve your goal, you don’t need to bring everything to the point of pedantry or do everything at once. Start small and celebrate your success with daily entries. Treat it like a game. This will not affect your effectiveness, but will only reduce the resistance of the unconscious and bring you closer to victory over yourself.

“Autogenic training – prevention of neuroses”

In recent years, autogenic training (AT) has been successfully used not only for the treatment of neuroses, but also for angina pectoris, psychophysiological rehabilitation of post-infarction patients, vegetative-vascular dystonia, the initial stage of hypertension, neurodermatitis and other diseases. AT helps reduce emotional stress, feelings of anxiety and discomfort, has a normalizing effect on the state of basic physiological functions and the regulation of metabolic processes in the body. At the same time, sleep is normalized, mood improves, and the entire person’s personality is activated.

It is best to do autogenic training while sitting or lying down in a quiet and calm environment. The first stage of AT includes five exercises.

Causing a feeling of heaviness.
Inducing a feeling of warmth.
Regulation of cardiac rhythm.
Regulation of breathing.
Effect on abdominal organs.
Effect on the vessels of the head.

All exercises are performed with eyes closed, self-hypnosis formulas are repeated only while exhaling. After performing the exercises, it is recommended to sit quietly for one minute and only then remove yourself from the state of autogenic immersion, saying the formula: “Bend your arms, take a deep breath, open your eyes as you exhale.” About 2 weeks are allotted for mastering each exercise, and 3–4 months for the entire course.

Schedule for 2021

1 training module October 12, 2021 2 training module October 26, 2019 3 training module November 9, 2021 4 training module November 23, 2019 5 training module December 7, 2021 6 training module 21 December 2021

Time: 10.00-16.00 (Saturday)

Those who complete the program are issued:

At the end of each module - cumulative certificates OPPL certificate of the European Association of Psychotherapy confirming the compliance of the completed course with the educational program of the European Psychotherapy Certificate.
Upon completion of the program, you will receive a “Certificate of Advanced Training” from the OPPL Institute for Advanced Studies.

Pre-registration for the group is required

Bibliotherapy

An important indicator for assessing the effectiveness of bibliotherapy is the patient’s interest in reading. If it decreases, one can judge the deterioration of health.

There are different typologies of effects and functions of the therapeutic method:

Information functions. Reading provides information and increases knowledge while reducing fear of the unknown. This function is inherent in scientific literature.
Educational function. Reading brings perspectives and opinions that enhance education.
"Mirror" function. The reader compares the author's views with his own views, changing his own opinion based on this comparison.
Identification functions. The reader finds an example or identifies with a character.
Cleansing function. When reading a book, psychological cleansing (catharsis) can occur. To achieve this effect, the work must be able to perform this purification and the reader must be willing to experience catharsis while reading.
Aesthetic function. The book affects the reader aesthetically.
Relaxation function. Providing relaxation and relaxation.

Personality scheme

All this research and development provides such a mass of material that it is quite possible to try to internally coordinate and synthesize it. If we collect firmly established facts, reliable and well-verified information, as well as sufficiently reasoned explanations, without paying attention to the excesses and theoretical superstructures of various schools, we will obtain a multidimensional concept of human personality; being far from perfection and completeness, this concept seems to us more meaningful and closer to reality than the previous ones.

To illustrate this concept, we will use the diagram below. Of course, this is a schematic and extremely simplified image that can only give a structural, static, almost “anatomical” idea of the structure of our inner world, while its dynamic aspect is more important and significant. However, here, as in any science, the steps must be consistent, and the refinements must be gradual.

When dealing with such a plastic and elusive reality as our mental life, it is important not to lose sight of its main directions and the fundamental differences that exist between them; otherwise, numerous details can obscure the whole picture from us and prevent us from realizing the meaning, purpose and value of its various parts

Subject to these reservations and limitations, the map of our inner world looks like this:

Origin

In 1909 K.G. Jung wrote to Sigmund Freud about “a very pleasant and perhaps valuable acquaintance, our first Italian, Dr. Assagioli of the psychiatric clinic in Florence.” However, later the same Roberto Assagioli (1888–1974) wrote his doctoral dissertation “Psychosynthesis”, in which he began to move away from Freud’s psychoanalysis to what he called psychosynthesis:

In developing psychosynthesis, Assagioli agreed with Freud that the healing of childhood trauma and the development of a healthy ego were necessary goals of psychotherapy, but he believed that human growth could not be limited to these alone. By studying the philosophical and spiritual traditions of East and West, Assagioli sought to address human growth beyond the norms of a well-functioning ego; he also wanted to support the flowering of human potential into what Abraham Maslow later called self-actualization, and, moreover, into the spiritual or transpersonal dimensions of human experience.

Assagioli presented an approach to the individual that could address both the process of personal growth—personal integration and self-actualization—and transpersonal development—a dimension that can be seen, for example, in peak experiences (Maslow) of inspired creativity, spiritual insight, and unifying states of consciousness . In addition, psychosynthesis recognizes the process of Self-realization, contact and response to one's deepest callings and directions in life, which may involve either personal or transpersonal development, or both.

Psychosynthesis is thus one of the earliest precursors of both humanistic psychology and transpersonal psychology, even predating Jung's break with Freud by several years. Assagioli's concept has similarities with existential-humanistic psychology and other approaches that attempt to understand the nature of the healthy personality, personal responsibility and choice, and self-actualization; similarly, his concept is associated with the field of transpersonal psychology, which focuses on higher states of consciousness, spirituality, and human experiences beyond the individual self. Accordingly, Assagioli served on the board of editors of both the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and

and
Journal of Transpersonal Psychology
.

Assagioli presents two main theoretical models in his seminal book Psychosynthesis

- models that have remained fundamental to the theory and practice of psychosynthesis for many years. These two models are 1) a diagram and description of the human personality, and the second 2) a stage theory of the process of psychosynthesis (see below).

Notes

↑ 12
[slovari.yandex.ru/assagioli/Clinical%20psychology/Psychosynthesis/Psychosynthesis](inaccessible link) // Clinical psychology. Dictionary / Ed. N. D. Tvorogova. - M.: PER SE, 2007. - 416 p.
↑ 1 2 3 L.A.
Karpenko. [slovari.yandex.ru/assagioli/History%20psychology/Assagioli/Assagioli](inaccessible link) // History of psychology in persons: personalities. — 2005.
[dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_psychotherapeutic/307/%D0%9F%D0%A1%D0%98%D0%A5%D0%9E%D0%A1%D0%98%D0%9D%D0% A2%D0%95%D0%97 Psychosynthesis] // Psychotherapeutic Encyclopedia. - St. Petersburg: Peter. B. D. Karvasarsky. 2000.

Cognitive psychotherapy

Since a person’s problems are the result of his incorrect perception of what is happening, inferences and automatic thoughts, the validity of which he does not even think about, the methods of cognitive psychotherapy are:

Imagination.
Fighting negative thoughts.
Secondary experience of childhood traumatic situations.
Finding alternative strategies for perceiving the problem.

Much depends on the emotional experience that a person has gone through. Cognitive therapy helps with forgetting or learning new things. Thus, each client is invited to transform old patterns of behavior and develop new ones. Here, not only a theoretical approach is used, when a person studies the situation, but also a behavioral one, when the practice of performing new actions is encouraged.

Books

Assagioli wrote few books: “Psychosynthesis”, “Act of the Will”, “Typology of Psychosynthesis”, “Transpersonal Development”, “On the Spiritual Crisis”; but more than a hundred articles have been published in scientific journals. He did not like to spend time on academic work, but preferred consulting patients and teaching.

He was not only a famous scientist, but also an inquisitive person. Until his death, he did not stop in self-education and research. Assagioli was modest and did not achieve worldwide fame. But his teachings still live today and are actively used in psychology and psychotherapy, increasingly supplemented by new research.