First, let us say a little about each teaching separately:

Modern psychology is interested in identifying ourselves as separate and independent individuals, often referred to as “ego” or “self”.  The goal of therapy is to become healthy human beings that possess qualities such as self-esteem, autonomy, balanced interpersonal relationships, and self acceptance. It is concerned with healing from wounds accrued in the physical world and overcoming pathology, such as depression, anxiety, insecurity, or anger by reprogramming our thoughts and behaviors.  The expectation is that these improvements will lead to us becoming content and high functioning people within our society living a higher quality of life.

Spiritual traditions often do not address people’s separateness and individuality, but rather speak to who we are in relation to being a spirit or soul united with all that is around us. The basis of spirituality stems from connecting to a Universal Source of energy, sometimes called God, Spirit, Buddha, The Holy Father, Elohim, Krishna, etc., that exists in a realm beyond what we can ordinarily perceive in this world with our five senses. Spiritual practices involve having faith in something bigger than ourselves and often evoke a sense of unification with everyone and everything around us.

Only recently have we begun to realize that both the spiritual and psychological aspects of a person need to be explored together. Focusing on one instead of the other does not address the wholeness and entirety of a being. There are many layers to who we are, and what we need to work on is fluid and constantly changing. At times we need to be working on the “ego,” while at other times we need to explore our spiritual connection to ourselves and all that is around us.

The goal is to continuously evolve in both realms simultaneously so as to change the trajectory of our lives for the better.  Transpersonal psychotherapy can be viewed as a complete and holistic psycho-spiritual model that allows for the whole range of what a human being can experience.  It emphasizes the ultimate possibilities for us as human beings in terms of cultivating qualities like love, awareness, generosity, patience, joy, and wisdom.  When we experience that, we are not so separate, and we can get a feel for the non dual dimension of life, we are more likely to feel connected to others in the world.

The transpersonal therapist works under a larger umbrella than therapists working solely from a modern psychological orientation. They have a more varied tool box with which to work from, as they are trained in modern psychological interventions as well as spiritual counseling; they are, so to speak, the best of both worlds combined.