The thrust of this essay is to discuss the nexus between transpersonal perspective and the

humanistic theory on mental health. Both the humanistic theory and the transpersonal
perspective regard motivation as critical in mental health treatment. Moreover, the
component of goal setting when dealing with mental health cases is apparent in both the
humanistic theory and the transpersonal theory. Also just like the humanistic perspective on
the dignity and worth of a person as stipulated by Carl Rodgers, the transpersonal
perspective assumes that mental health clients are inherently healthy and should be evaluated
from a holistic perspective in a worthy manner. However, the transpersonal theory goes
beyond the individual factors towards the culmination of mental health illness unlike
Rodger’s person centred theory and the genetic theory in the humanistic pedagogy. All this is
going to be discussed in the subsequent essay.

Mental health entails a state of mental wellness (Hughes, 2016). A mental disorder is defined
as a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition,
emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or
developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Transpersonal psychology is the
field of psychology which integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the
subject matter and practices of the spiritual disciplines (Bucke, 2015). The humanistic
perspective on personality emphasizes the individualized qualities of optimal wellbeing and the use
of creative potential to benefit others, as well as the relational conditions that promote those
qualities as the outcomes of healthy development (Lin, 2016).

Both the humanistic theory and the transpersonal perspective regard motivation as critical in
mental health treatment. Just like Maslow’ human needs theory, the transpersonal theory
holds that motivation is primary to the action of all human beings, addressing the
suppositions transpersonal theory holds about motivation is crucial to gaining a
comprehensive understanding of the theory (Deci & Ryan, 2015). Maslow and other
humanistic theories such as Skinner and Pavlov however did not incorporate the spiritual
component of mental health as mentioned in the transpersonal theory. The transpersonal
motivation operates on the individual, group and cosmic levels. Individually, “spiritual
strivings” constitute a specific motivation to gain a sense of meaning and agency in life
(Emmons, 2019). Such strivings can be tapped into to reduce anxiety, provide stability and
support during crises, and increase goal attempts (McGregor, Nash & Prentice, 2016). In
allowing spiritual motives to influence even daily undertakings, hostile negative emotions are
likely to subside due to the individual’s understanding of and connection with a higher
purpose (Tix & Frazier, 2015). By illuminating the transpersonal motivation toward
suicidality, Neustadter (2010) posits that even the drive to end one’s life may be rooted in an
individual’s aspiration to reach a spiritual resolution or emergence. Regarding mental health,
such a yearning for spiritual awakening influences the continuance of the life course as well
in the form of finding meaning within the physical plane.

The component of goal setting when dealing with mental health cases is apparent in both the
humanistic theory and the transpersonal theory. In line with Pavlov’s conditioning theory,
inorder to achieve behavioral and strategic mental health treatment, classical conditioning is
essential. In the same vein, Emmons (1999) constructed a theory on transpersonal motivation
which posits four tenets: that humans set goals as a method of seeking purpose, such goals
can be simultaneously or separately spiritual, psychological and social, goals have affective,
behavioral and cognitive implications, and the content, structure and orientation of goals
predict outcomes related to well-being. Interaction within the context of a group, according to
transpersonal theory, is motivated by the individual’s understanding of her/his/their
contribution to the group’s overall performance and the ability to execute the demands of a
task (Emich, 2014).

The transpersonal theory goes beyond the individual factors with regards the culmination of
mental health illness unlike Rodger’s person centred theory and the genetic theory in the
humanistic pedagogy. Transpersonal theory recognizes the interrelated nature of persons with
mental illness, understanding that any individual is never independent of or separate from the
web of life, for the common trait of consciousness bonds all creatures and because of the
substantial role empathic resonance plays in the experience and evolution of each individual
(Schipke, 2017). Specific to the plight of the individual, Kohut (1971) viewed the greatest
possible feat in this life to be the transcendence of the ego, which, although, is not an entirely
independent journey, demands considerable commitment, effort and patience from the
consciousness of the emerging individual. Still, the transpersonal development of one can
influence the collective as well as be influenced by their experience of intimacy and
interconnectedness with the collective (Boucouvalas, 2016).
Both the transpersonal and humanistic theories are complex, and holistic thereby allowing for
evidence based practice in mental health treatment. The humanistic perspective as expanded
by Elkins (2014) is consistent with the first of three components of evidence-based practice
as set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA; 2005). Elkins (2014)
concluded that the core ingredients of successful psychotherapy with mental health patients
are the empathy, authenticity, and realness of the client and therapist bond, which happen to
be the hallmarks of humanistic psychology (Watson & Bohart, 2016). Ettike (2018) pointed
that the extensive involvement of the mental health worker in the lives of his or her clients
ranges through the various ingredients highlighted in the APA’s (2005) Policy Statement on
Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology, inclusive of being responsive to the patient/client’s
specific problems, strengths, personality, sociocultural context, preferences, behavior,
familiar factors, employment stressors, major life events, and so on.

Similar to the humanistic perspective on the dignity and worth of a person as stipulated by
Carl Rodgers, the transpersonal perspective assumes that mental health clients are inherently
healthy and should be evaluated from a holistic perspective. Much of the work done in the
transpersonal field revolves around promoting mental health and defining its qualities but it
has not detailed how egoic emotional illness may retard transpersonal growth (Curls, 2017).
The transpersonal literature contains several important examples of work on mental health.
Wilber (2000) also describes and integrates the world’s known developmental theories into a
‘‘spectrum of consciousness. His work details and expands the concepts of development into
multiple levels, waves, lines and streams, and provides an organization for all of them known
as all quadrant, all level (AQAL). The idea is related to the pyramid of human needs
articulated by Maslow. However, Wilber articulates spiritual development as the growth edge
for evolving our current planetary consciousness.

Other notable exceptions that emphasize states of mental well being in the humanistic field
include the research on resilience, which has received a great deal of attention since the early
work of Rutter (1987). The concept of resilience is now widely accepted to account for some
people’s ability to resist or bounce back from adversity. More recently, researchers have
developed strategies for resilience training or inoculation that focus on teaching and
promoting resilience for mental health patients. In the same line, transpersonal theory
assumes there is a consciousness within each individual that reaches past the personal
identification of the self (Vaughan, 2014). This consciousness can be grasped and embodied
via the implementation of a developmental psychospiritual model (Rowan, 2015). In this
way, consciousness itself is both the object and the mechanism of change in transpersonal
theory, which presumes each individual to possess an inner wisdom as well as a capacity to
heal the self that influences physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual growth
(Vaughan, 1979). It thus assumes the same with mental health patients which contrasts
sharply with the complex biopsychosocial model in the humanistic field. The tanspersonal
theory assumes that mental health clients undergoing transpersonal therapies are trained to
utilize these inherent resources, trust their intuition and remove obstacles to their own
spiritual awakening, specifically by abandoning limiting beliefs, detaching from the ego and
expanding awareness in order to transcend the perception of subject/object (Rolwin, 2015).

The systematic desensitization concept in humanistic line of thinking goes hand in glove with
the transpersonal perspective on mental wellness. The systematic disensitisation process
illuminates stages involved in disensitising to sensitizing mental health patients on positive
and constructive occurences in their lifes (Holoway, 2018). In the same line, the
transpersonal theory posits that the awakening of the individual involves stages of self-
identification and integration, dis-identification with the ego and transcendent identification
with a higher and further developed knowledge of self (Vaughan, 1979). In order for an
individual to access and complete these stages, creativity and surrender are necessary, as the
theory posits that the ego naturally identifies with past experiences and symbols, while the
transpersonal self embodies various perspectives simultaneously, characterizing it as a higher
state of awareness (Bucke, 2016).

The transpersonal theory is an embodiment of several therapeuitic techniques in mental

health treatment as also captured in the humanistic theoretical framework. In conjunction
with this, Wolf (2018) pointed that the transpersonal theory supports several therapeutic
practices which assist mental health patients in returning home to the core of their spiritual
being, including Jungian-based expressive arts therapy, existential therapy and logotherapy,
hypnotherapy and Satir systemic family therapy. Just like in the humanistic perspective, these
techniques, when carefully employed to mental health patients can enhance awareness, self-
understanding, and personal purpose on mental health patients(Wong, 2015). Focusing on the
client’s search for meaning and right to self-determination are the constructionist existential
therapy and logotherapy which are also apparent with the humanistic theorists. Components
of the humanistic systems theory are also apparent in the transpersonal theory regarding
mental health. In conjunction with this, the Satir systemic family therapy approach under the
transpersonal theory utilizes various maps and creative activities which facilitate client
understanding of available resources on the evolutionary and integrative transpersonal
journey (Baring, 2013). Though not as popular as some other forms of therapy, each of these
practices align with mental health treatment.

In conclusion, this essay has discussed the nexus between transpersonal perspective and the
humanistic theory on mental health. The essay pointed that both the humanistic theory and
the transpersonal perspective regard motivation as critical in mental health treatment.
Moreover, it has been noted that the component of goal setting when dealing with mental
health cases is apparent in both the humanistic theory and the transpersonal theory. Also just
like the humanistic perspective on the dignity and worth of a person as stipulated by Carl
Rodgers, the transpersonal perspective assumes that mental health clients are inherently
healthy and should be evaluated from a holistic perspective in a worthy manner. However,
the essay also stressed that the transpersonal theory goes beyond the individual factors
towards the culmination of mental health illness unlike Rodger’s person centred theory and
the genetic theory in the humanistic pedagogy.
References

Baring, A. (2013). The dream of the cosmos: A quest for the soul. Dorset, UK: Archive
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Bucke, R. (2016). Cosmic consciousness: A study in the evolution of the human mind. New
York, NY: E.P. Dutton.

Clements, C. J. (2016). Toward a transpersonal model of psychological illness, health, and

transformation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 48(1).

Elkins, M. (2014). Toward transpersonal adult development. Adult Learning, 27(1), 30-37.

Ettike, E. D. (2018). Transpersonal perspectives on spirituality in social work. Routledge.

Rolwin, S. (2015). Zen philosophy of spiritual development: Insights about human

development and spiritual diversity for social work education. Journal of Religion &
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Wolf , R. (2018). Transpersonal research and scholarship: Reflections on the last twenty
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Wong, W. W. (2015). Chapter four ecological breakdown and psychospiritual breakthrough:

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