Integral Psychology

There is a growing acceptance of spirituality in psychology and psychotherapy and a growing understanding within our culture that meditation and other traditional Eastern forms of spiritual practice can support and be supported by psychological science. At the same time, there is an increasing interest in harmonizing the many competing and conflicting theories and practices within the field of Western psychology. In this program we will study the developing theory and practices of integral psychology: an approach for understanding human consciousness that brings together the major spiritual traditions of the East and West, social science research, and the innovations made by contemporary psychoanalytic, humanistic, systemic, and transpersonal psychologies. The study of integral psychology will provide a framework for gaining a comprehensive understanding of a wide variety of approaches to psychological healing and for learning about the potentially powerful relationship between psychological and spiritual practice in support of their common goals of healing and self growth.

Pedagogical practices will include workshops, book seminars, lectures and video, with an emphasis on experiential learning in individual, small and large group formats. The program will explore the field of psychology from an integral (unity-in-diversity) perspective and will consider ways in which the application of integral psychology can provide perspectives on health reform, interpersonal, educational, and social change. Students need to be willing to work with integral psychology theory and self-knowledge through mindfulness, somatic and expressive arts practices in addition to discussion and reading.