Transpersonal psychology

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Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is an area of psychology that seeks to integrate the spiritual and transcendent human experiences within the framework of modern psychology.^[1]

Evolving from the humanistic psychology movement, transpersonal psychology emerged in the late 1960s, integrating spirituality and consciousness studies into psychological theory, as a response to perceived limitations of mainstream psychological approaches.

The empirical validity and recognition of transpersonal psychology remains contentious in modern psychology. Early critics such as Ernest Hilgard have viewed it as a fringe movement that attracted extreme followers of humanistic psychology, while scholars such as Eugene Taylor have acknowledged the field's interdisciplinary approach, at the same time noting its epistemological and practical challenges. The field's connections to psychedelic substances, religious ideas, and the new age movement have also further fueled controversy.

Transpersonal psychology has influenced various related and transpersonal disciplines, including transpersonal anthropology, business studies, near-death studies, and parapsychology. The field has a strong institutional presence in California, where the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and Journal of Transpersonal Psychology were developed.