Transpersonal psychology: The big picture.

Abstract

Reviews the book, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology edited by Harris L. Friedman and Glenn Hartelius (see record [rid]2013-05204-000[/rid]). Friedman and Hartelius, in their massive and comprehensive volume, accomplish many things. First, through an impressive array of authors, they provide a thorough overview of where the research in transpersonal psychology stands today. Much of that research, across a wide variety of topics, is surprisingly mainstream in its methodology. These topics include altered states of consciousness, near-death experiences, sexuality, dreams, ecopsychology, mental health, meditation, feminism, neurophenomenology, and psychotherapy, among others. The contributors also devote substantial space to wrestling with issues that include defining transpersonal psychology more clearly, philosophical foundations of the field, and links between transpersonal psychology and neuroscience. It will serve as a useful reference for a comprehensive overview of the entire discipline for years to come. Anyone who claims to be a scholar of the entire field of psychology must read it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)