Introduction to Psychosynthesis

A Psychology with a Soul

“Our concern is the synthesis of all areas of the personality. That means psychosynthesis is holistic, global and inclusive.”

—Roberto Assagioli, in conversation with Sam Keen, 1974

There are times when we know that something within us needs healing, while also sensing that we are more than our pain, habits or anxieties. This reflects something central to the psychosynthesis perspective: a bifocal vision.

Psychosynthesis recognises how our past continues to shape our present lives and attends to pain, conflict and patterns that may have developed through earlier experience. At the same time, it holds that difficulties and crises may also carry the potential for change, growth and transformation.

Psychosynthesis embraces the whole person—body, mind, feelings, relationships and the transpersonal dimension of human experience.

It gives close attention to our needs such as safety, love, connection and self-worth. It also honours our deeper aspirations for meaning, purpose, creativity and the full development of our human potential.

At its heart, psychosynthesis is concerned with becoming more fully who we are.

A Wider Vision of the Human Being

Psychosynthesis was developed by Roberto Assagioli (1888–1974), an Italian psychiatrist whose work began during the formative years of psychoanalysis. He valued Freud’s work and psychoanalysis for revealing the influence of childhood experiences, repression, inner conflict and the unconscious, but his vision went further.

Human life also encompasses creativity, love, ethical values, the search for meaning, the capacity to choose and experiences that transcend the ordinary boundaries of personality. Assagioli wanted psychology to address our pain and difficulties while recognising our potential to develop and grow.

Diana Whitmore later used the term “bifocal vision” to describe this distinctive psychosynthesis perspective. A psychosynthesis practitioner may therefore ask not only, “What has happened to this person?” but also, “What potential for growth is trying to emerge through these difficulties?” (Whitmore, 2001).

Analysis and Synthesis

The term psychosynthesis describes a natural process through which different elements come together to form a larger, more coherent whole.

Analysis and synthesis are complementary processes. Analysis helps us recognise the feelings, thoughts, memories, bodily responses, needs and behavioural patterns that shape our lives. It may reveal inner conflicts and different parts of the personality pulling us in opposing directions.

We might recognise, for example, that one part of us longs for change while another is frightened by it; one part seeks closeness, while another protects itself by withdrawing. Psychosynthesis refers to these different parts of the personality as subpersonalities. Many of them developed as ways of adapting to our early relationships and experiences.

The aim is to recognise and understand these different parts and gradually bring them into greater harmony. As we become less identified with any one of them, we gain greater freedom to choose how we respond.

In this way, psychosynthesis refers both to a natural process of integration and to our conscious cooperation with it.

The “I”: Awareness and Will

Central to psychosynthesis is the “I”, or the personal self. Assagioli described the “I” as a centre of awareness and will — the inner observer from which we can notice our thoughts, feelings, sensations and impulses without becoming identified with them.

We may feel anxious, angry or discouraged, but these experiences are only part of what is happening within us; they are not the whole of who we are. When we are strongly identified with anxiety, it can feel as though anxiety has become our entire experience. With greater awareness, we may begin to recognise: anxiety is present, and “I” am aware of it.

Assagioli called this process disidentification. It allows us to remain present to our experience without being dominated by it. As identification loosens, a little more inner space and freedom become possible. This does not make anxiety disappear; rather, it gives us enough room to meet it with curiosity and care, instead of being entirely swept along by it.

For Assagioli, awareness is intimately connected with the will. The will does not mean harsh control or forcing ourselves to obey an inner command. It is our capacity to choose, to direct our energies and to act purposefully in line with what we recognise as important.

In practice, the will may be expressed through a small but meaningful choice: setting a boundary, beginning a conversation we have avoided, resting when we would usually push on, or taking one step towards something we value.

Developing a clearer sense of the “I”, together with awareness and will, gives us greater freedom in how we meet our experience. Rather than being governed by habitual reactions or the expectations of others, we become better able to pause, reflect and choose how we wish to respond.

Personal and Transpersonal Psychosynthesis

Assagioli distinguished personal psychosynthesis from transpersonal, or spiritual, psychosynthesis. These are closely related aspects of human development and often overlap.

Personal psychosynthesis is concerned with healing and becoming more fully ourselves. It helps us understand how our past has shaped us, meet our difficulties and inner conflicts with greater awareness, and recognise parts of ourselves that may have been neglected or left behind. As these aspects of ourselves become more integrated, we can relate more authentically to ourselves and others and make choices that feel more truly our own.

Transpersonal psychosynthesis is concerned with those moments when we sense that life holds something more — a deeper meaning, purpose or direction. Qualities such as creativity, compassion, courage, love and wisdom may seek expression in our lives, alongside a deepening sense of beauty, connectedness, vocation or spiritual awareness.

Such experiences need not be dramatic or mystical. They may be encountered through creativity, sustained care for another person, a sense of belonging in nature, or a renewed commitment to what matters most.

These transpersonal qualities and experiences are associated with the higher unconscious, or superconscious — a dimension of the psyche from which they may emerge into awareness and gradually find expression in our lives.

At the heart of the transpersonal dimension is the distinction between the “I” and the Self, or Transpersonal Self. The “I” is the centre of awareness and will in everyday life. The Self is our deepest identity and a source of inner direction, meaning and purpose.

The transpersonal dimension does not require adherence to any particular religion. It offers a psychological space in which questions of meaning, purpose and spiritual experience can be explored, while also helping us recognise what may be seeking to emerge in our lives — new possibilities, directions or ways of being.

Psychosynthesis in Practice

Psychosynthesis is both experiential and theoretical. Assagioli gathered and developed a wide range of practices for broadening awareness, fostering integration and supporting purposeful action.

These include disidentification and self-identification, inner dialogue, guided imagery, working with symbols, meditation, developing the will, the ideal model and cultivating transpersonal qualities.

The approach is adapted to the individual and to the purpose of the work. Some people respond most readily to thought and reflection, while others may engage more deeply through feeling, imagery, bodily awareness or creative expression.

Within psychotherapy, these practices are held within a genuine therapeutic relationship and grounded in careful attention to suffering, personal history and present experience. The pace and focus of the work are adapted to the person’s circumstances, resources and readiness. Care is taken not to move beyond what can be safely explored and integrated.

At the same time, the person is never reduced to a diagnosis, current difficulties or personal history. The therapist attends both to what is causing pain or difficulty and to the qualities, capacities and possibilities that may be seeking expression.

In this way, healing and personal development become part of the same unfolding process.

An Open and Evolving Approach

Psychosynthesis was conceived as an open and evolving approach, able to draw on new knowledge and other perspectives to enrich its understanding and practice while remaining grounded in its core principles and identity.

In 1974, towards the end of his life, Assagioli identified seven experiences that he regarded as fundamental to psychosynthesis: disidentification; the personal self, or the “I”; the will — good, strong and skilful; the ideal model; synthesis in its various aspects; the superconscious; and the Transpersonal Self.

He called them experiences, rather than simply concepts, because psychosynthesis is experiential as well as theoretical. Together, they help define the distinctive identity and core framework of psychosynthesis, while allowing the approach to remain open to further development (Assagioli, 1974).

Maintaining this balance between a clear identity and continuing development is both a strength of psychosynthesis and a responsibility for us who practise, teach and develop it. Contemporary psychology, psychotherapy and neuroscience can deepen our understanding of many of the processes that psychosynthesis has long sought to describe.

At the same time, later ideas need to be distinguished from the original formulations. Scientific research should not be used to imply that every aspect of the model has been confirmed.

Becoming More Fully Who We Are

Psychosynthesis views the human being as influenced by the past, living in the present and holding unrealised potential.

It invites us to recognise the forces that move us, the parts that protect us, the conflicts that divide us and the directions in which a more integrated life may be calling us.

Psychosynthesis also recognises that we do not develop in isolation. We live within relationships, families, groups, communities and the wider world. Inner integration shapes how we relate to others, while personal development finds fuller expression through relationship, participation and goodwill.

It helps us discover a centre within us — the “I” — from which we can observe, choose, relate and act with greater awareness and freedom.

Psychosynthesis also points towards the Self, or Transpersonal Self — our deepest identity and a source of inner guidance and wisdom.

In this sense, psychosynthesis is a psychology with a soul, embracing healing, personal growth and self-realisation.

It attends to both our histories and our future possibilities, encompassing the personal and transpersonal dimensions of human experience. At its best, it supports a life lived with greater awareness, connection and authenticity — a continuing movement towards becoming more fully who we are.

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This article begins a new series, Reading Assagioli in the 21st Century: Psychosynthesis in Dialogue with Contemporary Psychology and Science.

The essays will revisit some of Assagioli’s central ideas — including the Egg and Star Diagrams, the seven core experiences, subpersonalities, higher unconscious and transpersonal development — and bring them into dialogue with contemporary psychology, science and clinical practice.

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References

Assagioli, R. (1974). Training: A statement by Roberto Assagioli. Istituto di Psicosintesi.

Assagioli, R. (1990a). The act of will: A guide to self-actualization and self-realization. Crucible. (Original work published 1973).

Assagioli, R. (1990b). Psychosynthesis: A manual of principles and techniques. Mandala. (Original work published 1965).

Assagioli, R. (1991). Transpersonal development: The dimension beyond psychosynthesis. Crucible.

Keen, S. (1974, December). The golden mean of Roberto Assagioli. Psychology Today.

Whitmore, D. (2001). Psychosynthesis: A psychology with a soul. In Counselling: The BACP counselling reader (Vol. 2)

Dragana Djukic, BSc, MA (Psych) September 2026

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