Holistic Psychology Research Articles

The Possible Profession: Joe Lichtenberg and the Restoration of the Bodily Self

ABSTRACT Beginning with “The Psychoanalytic Situation and Infancy,” I consider Joe Lichtenberg’s legacy of creating an experience-near holistic psychology of the self in terms of a larger attempt to make psychoanalysis a more possible profession. By grounding developmental theory in an empirical-phenomenological science of subjectivity, Lichtenberg not only helped give self psychology a more “clinically relevant baby” (Stern) – he also widened the scope of analytic theory to include both the non-dynamic unconscious and the bodily subject, which Freud had abandoned in his search for a purely psychological science of subjectivity. In this sense, “The Psychoanalytic Situation and Infancy” represents the first major installment in Lichtenberg’s decades-long project toward what we might call, the restoration of the bodily self. Furthermore, by freeing psychoanalysis from its pathomorphic developmental theory – which construed adult psychopathology in disembodied terms, as evidence of the fragmented, conflicted nature of infant experience – Lichtenberg helped catalyze an “enactive” turn in psychoanalysis, opening the way for re-conceptualizing mental pathology in adaptive terms as “varieties of self-disorder” (Sass) – ensuring psychoanalysis’ relevance to the understanding and treatment of conditions long considered outside of its purview.

Psychology of Coloured People: A Critical Note to the Dominance of Euro-American-Oriented Psychology over the Psychology of Non-Western Countries

Whether psychology is universally or regionally determined is examined in this article. Implicitly, this question is about the general validity of statements of psychological research, theories and practices (such as testing, therapy, recruitment, etc.). If psychology is culturally and regionally rooted, statements based on psychological research, theory and practice are not universally valid. Moreover, once it is established that psychology is cultural and regional in nature, the underlying question arises: is there a psychology of coloured and white people? The findings of this article are based on a reasoned literature review. First of all, the origins of Western psychology are in broad terms mapped out. In the period between and after the first and second European and Asian World Wars, American and European psychologists made psychology big and important. Psychology had the wind in its sails because the American defence put an immense amount of money into test, social and clinical psychology. This was necessary to be able to select soldiers, maintain an army and take care of veterans. The Americans then used this Psychology to colonise the world (especially the non-Western world). With that, the original psychology from the non-Western world has gone into the 'dustbin'. Only now the non-Western world is rediscovering that their millennia-old psychology needs to be taken out of the ‘dustbin’. That ancient non-Western psychology rooted in philosophy is mapped out in this article for China, India and Africa. The tentative conclusion is that psychology is regionally and culturally determined. We could call this psychology holistic psychology. After all, we humans represent and are humanity as a whole, our ancestors, born and unborn children, gods and spirits, mother earth (fauna and flora) and the cosmos. In this psychology there is also room for spirituality and consciousness. In fact, there is a psychology of and for people of colour anywhere in the world. It is not clear whether this also applies to the research methods.

Participatory research methods in transpersonal studies: Introduction to the special topic section.

The Sufi tradition that arose within Islam describes a compelling and varied map of the self and its transformations. Over the span of a millennium of practice and discourse, Sufis have explored and detailed the stages of the journey of selftransformation towards their ultimate aim of union with the One. Their models of the spiritual journey and of the emergent transpersonal self, extensively contextualized in phenomenology, epistemology, theology and ontology, offer singular insights into a richly detailed holistic psychology of self-realization and the making of the complete human.

Transpersonal dimensions in Islamic spirituality.

The Sufi tradition that arose within Islam describes a compelling and varied map of the self and its transformations. Over the span of a millennium of practice and discourse, Sufis have explored and detailed the stages of the journey of self-transformation towards their ultimate aim of union with the One. Their models of the spiritual journey and of the emergent transpersonal self, extensively contextualized in phenomenology, epistemology, theology and ontology, offer singular insights into a richly detailed holistic psychology of self-realization and the making of the complete human.

Introducing holistic psychology for life qualities: A theoretical model forconsideration

Introducing holistic psychology for life qualities: A theoretical model forconsideration

Introducing holistic psychology for life qualities: A theoretical model forconsideration

Introducing holistic psychology for life qualities: A theoretical model forconsideration

Embodiment of Going Downhill: Scaffolding of Movement Experience

Psychology needs to view the human being in its full reality—which is constant movement. This is rarely taken in account in theories that usually deal with static ontologies of being. This paper outlines a way of how to grasp the complex reality of downhill skiing from a psychological point of view. The theoretical background for the study of how parents instruct their children in acquisition of skills and feelings into the practice of Alpine skiing is explained. First empirical outcome is also discussed in the light of those theories. A combination of empirical and theoretical work is needed to provide sufficient explanation of the reality of downhill skiing. This is done by combining different theories—those of embodiment of actions Gibson’s notion of affordances, holistic psychology and the totality of the environment (Ganzheitspsychologie tradition). The social guidance of children’s skill development while skiing is analysed from the perspective of scaffolding. The combination of different views complemented with empirical data such as videos and interviews is a first step towards understanding the individual experience of downhill skiing.

Affect and emotions in mathematics education: toward a holistic psychology of mathematics education

Emotions and affect have become an area of interest to mathematics research. However, both tend to be intellectualized and approached as external to and separate from intellect. As far back as in the 1930s, Vygotsky considered the split between affect and intellect as psychology’s greatest defect. To address that defect, over the last 18–24 months of his life, he sketched the barebones of a different psychology but died before he could develop his ideas into a theory of emotions. His ideas provided us with a roadmap for developing an approach in which intellect and affect are united to constitute a central part in the life of the whole person. Such a position, conceived here in dramatic terms, remains virtually unknown, in part because of the unavailability of specific texts and personal notes until a few years ago. In this study, we develop Vygotsky’s seeds and go beyond what he actually stated. We focus our conceptualization of affect on mathematics classroom practices and exemplify our theoretical perspective with empirical data drawn from a number of studies.

Finding an Inner Voice through Silence: Mindfulness Goes to College

College students are stressed. This is not news. However, the increasing level of stress and anxiety they report is alarming. Added to the traditional pressures to fit in, succeed, and mature, today’s undergraduates are faced with information overload, a sense of isolation, and the cultural shift from the college experience as a time to deepen inner wisdom (discovering a call) to an emphasis on building a resume (finding a job). In this article the author shares the advance of holistic psychology curricula, the practice of integrating mindfulness into higher education, and a shifting personal perspective on undergraduates’ callings.

Holistic Psychology: A Brief Primer

This article explicates the foundations, essential themes and healing principles of holistic psychology; an approach which provides a corrective for such trends in modern scientific psychology as disciplinary perspectives, the overemphasis on the economics and politics of professionalism. Holistic psychology emphasizes spiritual healing, multi-cultural counseling, community and ecological interventions. Its core pillars of practice and care stem from the spiritual and wisdom traditions widely applicable to combating illness, injustice, violence, materialism, and technocratic influences so prevalent in contemporary society. As a breath and/or spirit based healing practice, holistic psychology provides a foundational exercise for personal, social and cosmic transformation.

What Happened to Holism?

“Der Drang nach Ganzheit.” Striving for the whole. This phrase was the key slogan of the second Leipzig school of psychology,Ganzheitspsychologie. The phrase aptly captures the existential dimensions of human experience: we all exist in time and as such must grabble with the uncertainty of the past, the incompleteness of the present, and the indeterminacy of the future. Every moment of our lives involves struggles to overcome these ambiguities and become secure wholes. Though we may make great gains stabilizing the world and ourselves over our life, this process will never be complete. We will forever live in a world of becoming. This situation affords on the one hand, anxiety and ambivalence, and on the other, creativity and novelty. Despite the centrality of these dynamics to human life, contemporary psychology has contributed little to their investigation (with some notable exceptions—e.g., Ernst Boesch, discussed by Simao in chapter 8 of Striving for the Whole). This is a result of contemporary psychology’s anxiety about phenomena that cannot be easily studied through its elementary parts (i.e., variables). One might even call this tendency of the discipline “intolerance to ambiguity” (Adorno et al. 1950)—the ambiguity here being that the properties of wholes cannot be understood from their parts alone. For broader insight into holistic dynamics it is beneficial to go back to an earlier era of psychology that focused on the mind as a complex and developing whole. Diriwachter and Valsiner’s Striving for the whole provides an excellent selected survey of early twentieth century theories of holism, centered around Ganzheitspsychologie, together with a few historical precursors and contemporary developments. The editors’ expressed aim is to bring back a strong philosophical and theoretical framework into contemporary psychology so as to strive toward a “unity” in our understanding of mind—in other words, to see the whole (bigger picture) behind the mass of “data-driven” research. The present review will attempt to further the goals of this book by highlighting and developing some key ideas discovered in it. First, I contextualize and contrast Ganzheitspsychologie with other contemporaneous holistic theories; second, I explore how the whole was lost in psychology; and third, I focus on some methodological principles of holism and how they might be applied to reinvigorate a holistic psychology today.

St. Thomas Aquinas’s Philosophical-Anthropology as a Viable Underpinning for a Holistic Psychology

In this article, the philosophical-anthropology of St. Thomas Aquinas is examined. In particular, the non-dualistic aspects of his anthropology are explicated and shown to have the potential to provide an underpinning for a holistic approach to psychology. In the course of this examination, parallels are drawn between Thomism and existential-phenomenology. The article concludes with an exploration of the ways in which a dialogue between existential-phenomenology and Thomism might benefit both traditions of thought, particularly as regards their relevance to metapsychology.

¿Una ética biofísica cuantitativa para enfrentar el desafío global?

Philosophical and political discussions often become ends in circles, in which barely scratches occur without creating new structures of thought that would reveal the reality and the ways to solve the serious problems we live. Generally, each person involved in the discussion, consider that it is right in his argument and no mediator to interact in the discussion to help move the points of view, nor an arbitrator may render a verdict. And often the rhetorical skill and the weight of tradition influence the outcome of the discussions, for better or for worse. Is it possible philosophical and political debate based on science universal? In this case, the arguments would have to present diagrams to explain the systems that defend and to quantify energy flows involved, quantitatively simulate the consequences of the alternatives and generate indicators to assess the implications of the proposals. The progress of modern science enables this evolution. This new type of discussion requires training in Biophysics Economics. The science involved would be: General Systems Theory, Systemic Ecology, Thermodynamics of Open Systems and Holistic Psychology. These sciences enable a systemic approach to reality, explaining the complexity and dynamics. We could have a qualitative leap in human work and interaction with nature, whether judges, politicians and ordinary people could make decisions based on the systemic approach. Have you thought of a Systemic Ethic and the implications of this approach to religion? Or to set the price of resources and products? Or to set the value of a coin? Or to measure the sustainability of the production models? Therefore, education on these sciences is a great need and that training should occur in parallel with formal education and everyday activities of people.

Diversity of Conversion and the Rise of Conversion Studies: With Special Reference to Lewis Rambo's Holistic Psychology of Religion

Diversity of Conversion and the Rise of Conversion Studies: With Special Reference to Lewis Rambo's Holistic Psychology of Religion

Musikpsychologie: An autobiographical historical perspective.

(TRANSLATED BY BRUNO H. REPP) ABSTRACT-As the historical birthplace of psychology, musicology, and music psychology, Germany has been an important center for the development of our field. In this article the author traces the development of all three disciplines in Germany and Austria from the 1940s to the present. She discusses the difficulties of being a woman in academia, especially during her early years as a student and faculty member, and includes fascinating personal experiences with important founding fathers of music psychology (such as Albert Wellek) and musicology (such as Carl Dahlhaus). She also describes the formation of the national journal, Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie, and the German Society for Music Psychology, as well as the publication of many monographs and articles. Her contributions to the establishment of the field of systematic musicology are also discussed, including the editing of the Handbuch der systematischen Musikwissenschaft [Handbook of Systematic Musicology] (2004-2007). The Handbuch includes an extensive volume on Musikpsychologie. Memory actively processes information by selecting, categorizing, and creating associations. An autobiographical document is therefore limited as a historical source; rather, it is a document of impression management behind which intimations of a self are hidden. It seems certain to me that I am a typical example of a German woman born in 1938. This type is usually quite flexible because the conditions of war during childhood caused frequent changes of domicile; such women are also able to adapt to unfamiliar situations and are at the same time - despite urban influences - somewhat provincial because they have grown up with few external contacts and have had little access to educational institutions. Typically, these women were educated by their mothers to be prepared for possible independence in a profession, but at the same time the traditional image of the homemaker was transmitted to them. This had the consequence that they were rather unemancipated as adults but nevertheless were able to assert themselves professionally, even though (in West Germany at least) the traditional sex role stereotypes had been increasingly re-established by that time: When I received the page proofs of first publication, in which I had not yet used appended maiden name (Haber), first name (Helga) was crossed out and replaced with that of husband (Diether). YEARS OF STUDY In 1957 I began to study psychology at the University of Mainz, a medium-sized town in southwestern Germany. The Professorial chair for psychology in Mainz had been occupied since 1946 by Albert Wellek (1904-1972). He was a representative of holistic psychology (Ganzheitspsychologie) of the Leipzig school, which shared with Gestalt theory of the Berlin school a focus on holistic organizational processes. The Leipzig school's emphasis was on experience and emotions. It attempted to explain the impression of a Gestalt as arising from an incremental construction during stimulus processing, the so-called Aktualgenese. One way in which this was investigated experimentally was through brief tachistoscopic presentations. The concept of Aktualgenese has disappeared; however, research on the interaction of data-driven bottom-up processes and knowledge-driven top-down processes is still important today. The founder of holistic psychology was Felix Krueger, the successor of Wilhelm Wundt. Wellek, who was born in Vienna and had studied composition, musicology, and psychology, became Krueger's assistant in 1933, perhaps because Krueger, who himself had conducted research on musical consonance, was interested in investigating the psychology of music further. Krueger was dismissed from his post in 1936 and died soon afterwards. In view of their brief collaboration it is remarkable that Wellek never mentioned Krueger's name without adding my revered teacher. Some of his colleagues ridiculed him because of this. …

Galen and the Stoics: Mortal Enemies or Blood Brothers?

AbstractGalen is well known as a critic of Stoicism, mainly for his massive attack on Stoic (or at least, Chrysippean) psychology in On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato (PHP) 2-5. Galen attacks both Chrysippus' location of the ruling part of the psyche in the heart and his unified or monistic picture of human psychology. However, if we consider Galen's thought more broadly, this has a good deal in common with Stoicism, including a (largely) physicalist conception of psychology and a strongly teleological view of natural entities, shared features which are acknowledged in several treatises outside PHP. Why, then, is Galen such a remorseless and negative critic of Stoicism in PHP? Various factors are relevant, including the shaping influence on Galen of the Platonic-Aristotelian (part-based) psychological framework. But, it is suggested here, an important underlying factor is the contrast between two ways of thinking about the part-whole relationship, a 'composition' and a 'structure' approach or an atomistic and holistic approach. This contrast is most evident and explicit in one section of PHP 5, where Galen, criticising Chrysippus' holistic psychology, denies that the Stoic thinker is entitled to use the concept of part at all. But the contrast is also seen as pervading Galen's response to Stoic thought more generally, in PHP and elsewhere, in ways that inform his explicit disagreements with Stoic theory. Stoicism is presented here as having a consistently 'structure' (or holistic) approach. Galen's approach is seen as more mixed, sometimes sharing, or aspiring towards, a holistic picture, and yet sometimes (especially in PHP 5), adopting a strongly 'composition' or atomistic standpoint. This (partial) contrast in conceptual frameworks is presented as offering a new perspective on Galen's critique of Stoic psychology in PHP and on his relationship to Stoic thought more generally.

The Relevance of Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology, as with any paradigm, is defined by its position with respect to matters of content, method, and approach. This article reviews how the humanistic paradigm defined itself in these respects in its founding generation and then looks ahead to the question of its relevance for the future. It demonstrates that the humanistic vision is historically one of holism. Furthermore, this holistic vision is precisely what is most needed to resolve crucial issues of the next generation, including globalization, health, ecology, and spirituality. By fulfilling its own potential as holistic psychology, the humanistic paradigm can continue to flourish by providing a time-less vision to a world in timely need of it.

The importance of the type concept in psychiatry

The significance of the typological approach in psychiatry, which has been partly forgotten and partly considered to be outdated at present, is discussed. It follows from considerations of terminology and the critique of knowledge that on the basis of its taxonomic function logically and unambiguously determined by Hempel and in particular by Oppenheim, type, in contrast to class, is capable of categorizing majorities with blurred dividing lines. It was in this function that the concept of type entered psychology through W. Stern as a means of systematically categorizing the multiplicity of psychological varieties in different groups of persons, whereby the polar definition of the type concept as developed by Krueger and Wellek in genetic holistic psychology proved to be taxonomically effective. Type gained significance in psychiatry as polarity, in particular in the framework of research into constitution and psychopathy. Anglo-Saxon criticism of the concept of type and the evident differences between American DSM psychiatry and the German concept of type are examined. The current methods of typological research in psychiatry have been developed in the preceding thirty years mainly by Zerssen and his team using modern uni- and multivariate statistical methods and successfully applying them. As a result, it was possible to objectify in several studies in the meantime Tellenbach's typus melancholicus, the typus manicus (v. Zerssen), as well as the typus migraenicus (Peters) as premorbid personality types. In addition, a circular typology of personality variants is beginning to emerge ever more clearly in the latest studies on the basis of which it may be possible to identify individual personality disorders typologically.

Ira Progoff (1921-1998): The Creator of the Intensive Journal Method and a New Profession

Dr. Ira Progoff, who died at the age of 76, was a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Humanistic Psychology beginning with the second issue in 1962 and continued until 1975. His article “Toward a Depth Humanistic Psychology” was published in volume 10 in 1970. This article reviews Progoff’s life and works, his concepts of Holistic Depth Psychology, the creation of the Intensive Journal method, and the applications of these concepts and methods in society. A new helping profession of Intensive Journal consultant illustrates one way Progoff’s concepts and methods of Holistic Depth Psychology have been embodied in society. This article concludes with two examples of research with persons using the Intensive Journal method.

The Edge of a New Story? On paradox, postmodernism and the cultural psychology of experiential learning

This paper focuses on experiential learning in the paradoxical postmodern moment: a period offering unparalleled opportunities for diverse groups to experiment with identities. But this in a context of frightening uncertainties and insecurities at an environmental, socioeconomic and personal level. The struggle to experiment must also be located within a powerful consumerism which can offer illusions of choice, but substitutes appearance for substance, manic materialism for existential purpose. Using cultural theory and psychoanalysis, I argue that experiential learning, in the postmodern moment, requires a holistic cultural psychology of human agency transcending the narrow vocationalist, short‐term discourse of lifelong learning. In a culture where inherited templates have fractured, experiential learning has become a vital necessity, offering, potentially, some supportive space, emotional as well as critical literacy, for the peoples of the margins, and nearer the core, to recompose selves, stories and communities, on more of their own terms.