The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology

“The new Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology is a necessity today. Many transpersonal psychologists and psychotherapists have been waiting for such a comprehensive work. Congratulations to Harris Friedman and Glenn Hartelius. May this book contribute to an increasingly adventurous, creative, and vibrant universe.”
Ingo B. Jahrsetz, President, The European Transpersonal Association

“The Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology is an outstanding, comprehensive overview of the field. It is a valuable resource for professional transpersonal practitioners, and an excellent introduction for those who are new to this wide-ranging discipline.”
Frances Vaughan, PhD. Psychologist, author of Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions

“Finally, the vast literature on transpersonal psychology has been collected in what is clearly the essential handbook for psychologists and others who have either too apologetically endorsed or too critically rejected what undoubtedly will define psychology in the future. If you are not a transpersonal psychologist now, you will be after exploring this handbook. No longer can one dismiss the range of topics confronted by transpersonal psychologists nor demand methodological restraints that refuse to confront the realities transpersonal psychologists explore. This is a marvelous handbook―critical, expansive, and like much of what transpersonal psychologists study, sublime.”
Ralph W. Hood Jr., University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

With contributions from more than fifty scholars, this is the most inclusive resource yet published on transpersonal psychology, which advocates a rounded approach to human well-being, integrating ancient beliefs and modern knowledge. Proponents view the field as encompassing Jungian principles, psychotherapeutic techniques such as Holotropic Breathwork, and the meditative practices found in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Alongside the core commentary on transpersonal theories―including holotropic states; science, with chapters on neurobiology and psychometrics; and relevance to feminism or concepts of social justice―the volume includes sections describing transpersonal experiences, accounts of differing approaches to healing, wellness, and personal development, and material addressing the emerging field of transpersonal studies. Chapters on shamanism and psychedelic therapies evoke the multifarious interests of the transpersonal psychology community. The result is a richly flavored distillation of the underlying principles and active ingredients in the field.

Harris L. Friedman is a former Research Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida, USA, and Emeritus Professor at Saybrook University, USA. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and past President of the International Transpersonal Association, he continues to practice psychology and is the current Chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group of the APA’s Society for Humanistic Psychology. Professor Friedman has published extensively on transpersonal psychology and is senior editor of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies and associate editor of The Humanistic Psychologist.

Glenn Hartelius teaches in the doctoral program at Sofia University’s School of Transpersonal Studies, Palo Alto, USA. He is editor of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies and Secretary of the International Transpersonal Association. Dr Hartelius has published work in the fields of transpersonal psychology and consciousness studies, and has taught at the California Institute of Integral Studies as well as at Naropa University in the state of Colorado. He has thirty years’ experience in private practice as a somatic counselor and practitioner.