Presentación y Análisis de los Resultados

The transpersonal relationship in psychotherapy refers to spiritual and sacred dimensions, or qualities influencing the therapeutic process, that are hard to explain and surpass the limits of human understanding (Rowan, 1993). In Jungian thought, the transpersonal is defined by a sense of infinity and the influence of an invisible presence. It is seen as a relationship established upon the communication between the unconscious minds of the therapist and the client (Guggenbuhl-Craig, 1971), during which the psychotherapist can, also, encounter an unsettled part of themselves. This has been described by Clarkson (1995) as the ‘emptying of the ego’ of the psychotherapist’s personal unconscious, in order to make room for the unworldly or supernatural between therapist and client. Buber (cited in Clarkson, 1995) says this has to do with the concept of ‘grace’, in therapeutic work, as the eventual factor that could activate healing or well-being in a client.

This transpersonal space, within psychotherapy, cannot be easily described, or proved because it is an uncommon occurrence, but may be better understood by therapists who have experienced the incomprehensible and unpredictable mysteries, both in therapy and within their own lives (Clarkson, 1995). Focusing on the transpersonal implies that therapists take a step of faith, letting go of their skills, knowledge and preconceptions, to validate a shared, silent being-ness in the therapeutic relationship. It is about intuitive revelations concerning clients, in the absence of prior evidence, which allows serendipitous acts of wisdom and transformation to emerge. Although it is impossible to verbalise, its presence is hard to dismiss. Clarkson emphasises that courage is needed to embrace the whole spectrum of the self, theory and the unworldly or metaphysical, with every client, regardless of directives inherent in therapists’ theoretical beliefs. Grof (1988:238) describes the consequence of therapists not dealing with transpersonal experiences because of their philosophical bias as, “giving up a tool of remarkable power”. To ignore the existence of the transpersonal, as a deeply held conviction running throughout the history of mankind, therapists also run the risk of being unprepared for responding to issues, questions and problems related to human engagement with spiritual issues.

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2.3.5.1. Discriminating Awareness

Traditionally transpersonal aspects of human experience have been the domain of poets, artists and mystics who embrace an artistic and contemplative life, but since it is a part of the human psyche, it is appropriate that the scientific discipline of psychology also attends to this. The big test, currently, for the training of therapists is to bring science and art together by first exploring the value of contemplation for themselves, to be able to speak authentically about it and then be objective about their experience. The well recorded breakdown of C. G. Jung where he observed the pattern of his experience and which served as impetus for his later work is a good example here (McCormick, 2000). It is also vital for therapists to be able to distinguish between pseudo spirituality and real spiritual experiences; and that religious and spiritual practice is not psychologised, thereby reducing what is a common and profound experience for many people. Spiritual discipline requires rigour and attentive self-awareness and psychological therapists need to be able to identify, both in themselves and their clients, spiritual experiences that are spawned from a mature, stable ego system. Experiences that are connected to the longing of a weak ego preventing the voice of the mature self from being heard must also be recognised (Wellings, 2000).

Practitioners conceptualising the transpersonal dimensions of some presenting problems see that this may have to do with the repression of transpersonal experiences as threatening, or intensely spiritual experiences which clients have difficulty making sense of in their minds, or understanding their significance. At the core of their understanding is that human beings are capable of finding meaning in suffering, a process called soul-making by James Hillman. They are also able to move beyond ordinary awareness of personality into states of ‘spiritual’ awareness. This, however, does not mean that by incorporating the transpersonal into psychotherapy that practitioners will collude with ego defences masquerading as spirituality (McCormick, 2000).

2.3.5.2. The Receptacle of the Transpersonal Therapeutic Relationship as Guardian of Boundaries

Therapists use their professional training, experience of personal therapy and own life experiences in order to create the type of environment where the client feels safe and the therapeutic relationship can grow (Hazler & Barwick, 2001). Helping the client return to the heart of who they are can be transformational, which may include the

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possibility of attuning to something beyond ordinary, everyday experiences. Working transpersonally, therefore, requires that the therapist can move beyond ego restrictions into internal spaces where there can be soulful reflection on the experience and infinity of the numinous, especially within the context of suffering.

Aside from abiding by a code of ethics to guard the therapeutic relationship externally and protect clients from the misuse of therapeutic power by therapists, another guard is therapists’ use of theory to hide an insecurity of not knowing. When therapists are not open to following their client, this can be linked to a lack of knowledge about their own shadow and ability to know themselves and, as such, is linked to a defensive stance (McCormick, 2000). This is also dependent on how therapists view the process of therapy, if they perceive it as development or an unveiling of an undiscovered self. The guarding of the therapeutic relationship internally is therefore governed by the therapist’s continual meditative and contemplative practice of listening to themselves and drawing on relationships outside themselves for wisdom and guidance such as colleagues and supervisors. This quality of awareness and presence that is brought to the work are the building blocks of good practice and comes down to each therapist’s self-honesty (Thorne, 2012).

Not all things can be understood within the therapeutic relationship and therapists, therefore, have to be able to work with the unknown and the mystery involved in synchronous events between therapist and client. Therapists must constantly remind themselves that people use therapy in idiosyncratic ways and not to place a value judgement on this. While training is important, it seems equally necessary for therapists to be able to engage with the mysterious aspects of the therapeutic relationship and be open and committed to, also, learning from this body of knowledge, which can spark new avenues for exploration and healing. This can differ from ideas of well-being connected to the ego (Spinelli, 2003). Working with transpersonal elements in therapy the therapist becomes a representative for the soul, where the therapist’s own mindfulness and compassion are necessary for understanding, that staying mindfully with an experience as it is, is preferable to trying to avoid it (Rowan, 2003). In practice this would require therapists to use interventions that facilitate the presence of the client, where healing is composed of reflection on what is felt and thought, focusing and imaging, which leads to a deepening sense of a ‘felt shift’ within the client.

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In summary, psychological practitioners working within one of the major therapeutic modalities could benefit by examining the origins and philosophy of their therapeutic system (Sollod, 2005). Although often stripped of religious and spiritual content, there may still be implicit traces, in some clinical concepts which may offer a deeper religious/spiritual perspective to their therapeutic endeavours. All counsellors aim to provide their clients with a place for healing and growth, a place to pursue truth and be themselves, but those counsellors who can blend high quality counselling with an attuned sensitivity to religious values and spiritual awareness can significantly enrich this therapeutic space.

2.4. Unoccupied Therapeutic Spaces: Psychological Counsellors