He subsequently trained as an analyst and psychiatrist, during which time he developed the concepts and theory of psychosynthesis.   At the beginning of the 20th century there was an uprising of exciting ideas in all areas of thought. Influences from the East were beginning to come over to the West and therefore religious thought was being reexamined, education was being revolutionised with such thinkers as Montessori, Froebel and Steiner, and the unconscious was being scientifically studied by Freud, among others.

This was therefore very much a Renaissance time and accordingly Assagioli drew from many fields and influences, though he tended to play down the more mystical aspects of his work, intending to gain scientific validity for his theories.  Inherent in the development of his ideas are both a scientific and a mystical approach.

This is not necessarily a big change from what I was doing previously, as I have had a solid grounding in use of transference and countertransference in which it is assumed that the therapist’s experience is good information about the client’s process (as well as indicators of where the therapist might be getting stimulated with their own material).  However, the subtle shift of attitude seems to have an effect both on me as a therapist and with the experience my clients are having.  A sense of emerging mystery, a feeling of creativity without having to ‘do anything’ creative, a feeling of greater democracy within the therapeutic relationship and a sense of connectedness.

I will be exploring this experience more fully:  focusing on concepts from physics that give us an alternative way of assessing ‘reality’;  looking at some ideas from ‘Universalist’ approaches that are emerging in spiritual and ecological forms in the West; and drawing on ways of working with the transferential phenomena that bring in interrelated approaches.  Throughout, I will be intending to draw conclusions or at least stay with the questions raised for psychosynthesis theory and practice.

The research methodology for this dissertation has been heuristic.  That is, it is self reflective research in which I am using source material and my clinical practice to reflect on the subject matter and make it my own.  I hope to bring both a rigorous academic, clinical and personal approach to the work.