| This study reviewed transpersonal psychology's relationship to mainstream American (United States) psychology. A historic-hermeneutic perspective was taken wherein transpersonal psychology was viewed as an event emerging out of and alongside other areas of American psychology, including behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, cognitive psychology, and more recently, positive psychology. Founders of transpersonal psychology, who were interviewed included Ken Wilber, Roger Walsh, Frances Vaughan, Stanislav Grof, Ralph Metzner, Stanley Krippner, Huston Smith, James Fadiman, Miles Vich, Charles Tart, and Michael Washburn. These individuals answered general questions with regard to transpersonal psychology's development over the past 35 years as well as more specific inquiries into their involvement in mainstream psychology. In order to provide a counterpoint to the transpersonal perspective, historians of American psychology were also interviewed. These individuals commented on the place of transpersonal psychology in the history of American psychology, whether or not they view transpersonal psychology as a subdiscipline of American psychology, and if they believed that transpersonal psychology could have a viable relationship with mainstream American psychology in the future. Results indicated that neither its founders nor historians of psychology consider transpersonal psychology an influential force in American psychology. Transpersonal psychology's failure to influence mainstream American psychology was attributed to mainstream psychologists' resistance to spiritual and philosophical ideas as well as to transpersonal psychologists' tendency to isolate themselves from the mainstream. However, both groups suggested that with the current rise of positive psychology and a popular interest in spirituality transpersonal psychology might be able to engage with mainstream psychology in the future. Finally, both groups offered suggestions for how transpersonal psychologists can participate more dynamically in mainstream American psychology. Both groups suggested that transpersonal psychologists become more involved with the mainstream, and do so by emphasizing existing similarities shared with the mainstream rather than focusing on historical differences. |
