Establishing an indigenous and transpersonal therapies alliance to promote holistic and pluralistic mental health practice

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a new synthesis of how the establishment of an Indigenous and Transpersonal Therapies Alliance (ITTA) can promote the value and effectiveness of holistic and pluralistic mental health care and therapeutic practice. It first examines the impact of therapies privileging a Western humanist perspective, while proposing the historical and cultural root of the problem; then clarifies what the visible limitations are when a belief in philosophical and cultural humanism is not adhered to. This will be followed by demonstrating the strengths and benefits of integrating transpersonal and indigenous perspectives into a framework of understanding of what it means to be human. Recommendations for active steps towards actualising the goal of establishing an indigenous and transpersonal therapies alliance to promote holistic and pluralistic mental health practice will be provided.