“Although the disturbances accompanying the crises of spiritual development resemble some illnesses, and at times it is even difficult to distinguish them, in reality, their causes and meanings are completely different, and in a certain sense even opposite. Accordingly, their treatment must also be different.” — Roberto Assagioli
This thought by Roberto Assagioli (∗) is exceptionally important to me, not only as a psychotherapist but as a person who knows from personal experience what the suffering of passing through spiritual crises looks like. In this case, ego-oriented psychotherapy is truly not enough.
I believe it is very important for this distinction to be known by people in whom the impulse for spiritual development has awakened, but who do not understand what is happening to them and think they are losing their minds. Among the symptoms that may be due to both adaptation problems and spiritual crises are: depressive or manic states, neurotic disorders, baseless inner tension, anxiety and fear, panic attacks, an irrationally strong sense of loneliness, apathy, confusion, dissatisfaction, despair…
Since these two types of suffering must be treated in completely different ways, Assagioli offers two different types of psychotherapeutic work—”personal psychosynthesis” and “spiritual psychosynthesis.”
“In illnesses of the first type, the physician must help the patient return to the state of a normal person. For this, the patient must be freed from the limitations and commands, from the feeling of fear and dependence, from excessive egocentrism and wrong evaluations, from a distorted perception of reality. The task of the physician is to lead the person to a state of objectively and reasonably seeing normal life, fully realizing their own duties and the rights of others. The immature and conflicting factors must be developed and synchronized; in this way, successful personal psychosynthesis is realized.
Regarding the second group of illnesses, the task of inner harmonization—healing—is based on the fact that norms have already been assimilated by an already formed normal personality; i.e., it is about spiritual psychosynthesis around a higher inner center. Obviously, the methods of treatment suitable for patients of the first group are unsuitable, and sometimes even harmful, for patients of the second type.
If the physician does not understand the problems of the latter, does not know about the possibilities of spiritual development, or even denies them, they may hinder rather than facilitate the treatment. Such a doctor is in a position to devalue or mock the patient’s still uncertain spiritual aspirations, to view them as empty fantasies, or at best, as pure sublimation. With their help, the patient may conclude that it would be best for them to harden their personal defenses and completely ignore the voice of the soul. But from this, their condition will only worsen, the struggle will intensify, and liberation will be delayed…
On the contrary, a physician who themselves walks the path of spiritual development, or at least realizes spiritual reality, can provide immense help to the patient. At a time when a person is still at the stage of dissatisfaction, anxiety, and unconscious strivings, when they have already lost interest in everyday life but still have no concept of the higher reality, while seeking relief exactly where it is not possible and hitting a wall, then revealing the true cause of their suffering can help them find the right way out in the awakening of the soul. And this will be the true cure.” — Roberto Assagioli
I agree with every word of Assagioli’s. And I am grateful that he described it so well.
Kameliya
∗Roberto Assagioli was an Italian psychiatrist and the founder of Psychosynthesis, a pioneering method that integrates the spiritual dimension and higher consciousness into psychological healing and personal growth.
∗∗Note: The quotations are translated from Bulgarian and are not presented as verbatim citations.
