What is an Integral approach to personal growth and
relationships?
An integral approach to
personal growth (consciousness) and relationships
suggests that there are three
essential elements of consideration:” states, stages, and
shadow. States of
personal growth (consciousness) include the normal
states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping, and also span the spectrum of
spiritual experiences, from gross, to subtle, to causal, to nondual. What all
states share is that they are temporary, and for the most part can be accessed,
through, meditation, contemplative prayer, mind machines,
binaural brainwave entrainment, (or simply by chance), in just about any
order. Stages of personal growth (consciousness) range from egocentric, to
ethnocentric, to worldcentric, to kosmocentric, and will affect how one
interprets and understands various
states. Stages are
permanent acquisitions of the psyche, they unfold in a developmental order, and
the sequence cannot be
bypasses.
Our shadow elements
are those first-person impulses that, for whatever reason, have been
dis-owned, and therefore appear as “not self” (“I’m not
angry, but my boss sure is,” or “I’m not angry, but I sure am depressed.”).
It is healthy to identify these split-off parts and begin to integrate them back
into personality.
The great spiritual traditions of the world
have developed incredibly skillful tools for eliciting profound states of
consciousness (and their corresponding state-stages), but have generally
remained ignorant of developmental structure-stages, and have few tools for
explicitly dealing with the shadow. A more integral approach in the modern and
postmodern world would be certain to include all three of these essential parts of
the human experience. Having the right tool for the right situation is essential
in the use of skillful means, and Richard Pfeiffer is
unique in that he is highly
experienced in both psychotherapy and
spirituality, so he can make an informed opinion when
consulting with patients:
i.e..
yes, psychotherapeutic tools
might help you in this situation, or no, you’re just getting lost in
self-concern—let it go!
Dr. Pfeiffer guides and
supports the integration of your mind paying close attention to primitive
and evolved brain structure functioning as well as synchronization of the left
and right brain hemispheres. He understands
the importance of unconditional love and acceptance on
both
the spiritual and psychotherapy paths.
Without that larger perspective, without that love of the whole person just as
they are, you can get stuck doing “endless psychotherapy.” But once placed in
that context of unconditional acceptance, you can use the same old human “stuff”
(guilt, anger, shame, etc) that we all bring to the path as grist for the mill,
and fuel for real integral growth
and consciousness.
Read a recent published article
by Dr. Pfeiffer on
Relationships and the Integral Approach
(PDF)
Types of Psychotherapy
(PDF)
Relationship Information
(PDF)
For more information about the
Integral Approach: Integral Institute
Ken Wilber discusses the Integral Approach in New York City
Richard Pfeiffer, M.Div.,
Ph.D.-
Director/Founder of
GrowthCentral
Richard Pfeiffer is a
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Psychotherapist, and a nationally Certified
Anger Management Specialist-V. His psychological
/ spiritual training
is
the foundation for his expertise in helping people work through their core
conflicts. He is a Fellow of the
American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), and
a
Distinguished Diplomate of the
National Anger Management Association (NAMA). An innovator in the development of Issue
Focused Individual
Psychotherapy
and Integral Relationship Therapy, Pfeiffer has provided psychotherapeutic services to
individuals and couples for over twenty years. He is the author of
eight Real
Solution Workbooks and the bestselling
Creating
Real Relationships. Richard Pfeiffer can be reached
at mailto:growth@growthgroups.com
