Introduction to the study

This study examined the application of the psychosynthesis approach for conducting psychotherapy by eliciting the views and experiences of twelve psychosynthesis psychotherapy practitioners. Psychosynthesis was understood to be a transpersonal psychology, which as such, addressed the potential of human being, as well as the experiences of neurosis and psychopathology.

The idea for this study emerged after this researcher attended an introductory weekend workshop in psychosynthesis. It became apparent from this experience, that psychosynthesis afforded many opportunities for the author’s personal and professional development, in terms of a greater integration of his own personality and counselling practice. This coincided with an interest in developing an understanding of effective helping relationships, and relationships generally, from the perspective offered by transpersonal psychology.

The researcher was a practising counsellor and psychotherapist, with nearly twenty years of work experience in the field of counselling, as a practitioner and lecturer. The author’s counselling knowledge and skills had been developed through formal courses, ongoing training, and in working in long term and brief counselling contracts with clients in a variety of organisational and private practice settings. In the last five years he had assisted nurses with workplace problems, and developed the experience of conducting counselling over the telephone. As an eclectic practitioner, the author had an understanding of a broad range of theories from the general field of counselling and psychotherapy, and utilised these in his practice.

With all these influences and incentives, the author was motivated to use the opportunity this study afforded, to discover the strengths and limitations of psychosynthesis psychotherapy in practice, and anticipated that the process of the enquiry and its outcome would benefit the nurses and other clients he served, as well as the fields of psychosynthesis and psychotherapy generally.

This dissertation presents an account of the investigation. It consists of four chapters, the first of which provides information from an extensive research of the psychosynthesis discourses available in the English language. This review of the literature includes a discussion of issues concerning psychosynthesis, pertinent to the study.

The second chapter presents the study’s aims and includes a critical discussion of the theoretical framework adopted for this enquiry. It provides an explanation of how the research was planned and conducted ethically and rigorously with the use of the chosen method, instrument and means of data analysis.

The third chapter presents the findings of this investigation. These are grouped into four major themes, identified from the data: how psychosynthesis was perceived by the research participants to benefit clients, to offer a conducive theoretical perspective for practitioners, to offer guidance on the practitioner’s role in the therapeutic alliance, and how there were limitations in what psychosynthesis offered for psychotherapeutic practice. These four major themes are discussed in relation to psychosynthesis literature. The discussions arrive at conclusions which are developed in the dissertation’s critique.

The final chapter is a critique of the research approach and method used, and the findings. It includes a discussion of the implications of the findings, draws these together in an overall conclusion and makes four recommendations.