What is Psychosynthesis?

Psychosynthesis is commonly used as a psychotherapeutic method, particularly in cases where clients experience internal conflicts between conscious and unconscious forces.

These sorts of conflicts often manifest themselves when a person finds it challenging to move in the desired direction, make decisions, or fully implement a decision. Additionally, these conflicts can arise when a person initiates something and subsequently abandons it, despite recognizing its importance. Have you ever learned a foreign language or started running in the morning and then gave up, only to start again later? These are signs of internal conflicts, where different parts of you have conflicting needs and are pulling you in different directions.

Self-criticism and self-dissatisfaction, accompanied by a strong desire to justify oneself, is another common manifestation of internal conflict. In psychosynthesis, these conflicting parts of a person are referred to as subpersonalities, a concept that has also been adopted in other areas of psychotherapy.

Subpersonalities are parts of our personality that have formed around specific needs and desires, and have become complex enough to have some level of autonomy. These subpersonalities use our body, emotions, and thinking to express themselves. It’s important to note that subpersonalities aren’t inherently good or bad; they all express some vital aspect of our being, although we may initially perceive some of these aspects as negative.

The danger arises when subpersonalities begin to control us, limiting our ability to identify and disidentify with them as we choose. Thus, one of the goals of psychosynthesis is to prevent subpersonalities from dominating us and restricting our ability to live authentically.

The process of working with subpersonalities typically involves several stages, as identified by Ruffler (1998):

1. Awareness and recognition: Developing the ability to identify and disidentify with one’s subpersonalities, understanding their roles and how they contribute to one’s overall personality.

2. Acceptance: Acknowledging and accepting the negative aspects of one’s personality, such as fear and anger, and consciously turning towards painful content rather than avoiding it.

3. Coordination and transformation: Restructuring old belief systems and transforming limiting and destructive value systems to expand one’s perception of the world, in which the structures of subpersonalities are intertwined.

4. Integration: Creating unity among different elements, including those with opposite natures, while retaining their individual qualities. This involves developing an inner sense of wholeness and balance.

5. Synthesis: When two or more subpersonalities are ready to form a new whole, synthesis occurs, resulting in the loss of individuality but the preservation of qualities. This leads to the acquisition of new characteristics and abilities, and can contribute to personal growth and development.

According to Assagioli, the main tasks of psychosynthesis are:

1. Realization of one’s true (higher) Self.
2. Achieving internal harmony based on this realization.
3. Establishing adequate relationships with the external world, including other people.

To achieve these goals, the following processes are necessary: