The Act of Imagination: Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy in Experiential Context (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781912698141)

This book expands upon the importance of imagination in psychosynthesis psychotherapy, going beyond a narrow focus on scripted visualizations to present a broad, image-based approach to therapy and everyday life.

Instead of assuming images to be only subjective-personal mental pictures, separated from a purely objective reality, the "act of imagination" is shown to connect self and world, via a synthesis of feelings, thoughts, sensations, perceptions, and actions.

Healing and transformation are created not, as is often presumed, by the replacement of fantasy with reality, but rather, with the cultivation of imaginative life itself within normal everyday experiences.

The result is a radical clarification of the theoretical distinctiveness and experiential context of psychosynthesis psychotherapy.

With clear explanations of how to put the theory into practice, supported by case-study examples, therapist-client transcripts, and a comprehensive discussion of the original teachings of Roberto Assagioli (the founder of psychosynthesis) alongside writings from contemporary figures in the field, this groundbreaking work will be of interest to both experienced practioners and newcomers to psychosynthesis.

"A major contribution to the evolution of psychosynthesis." -from the foreword by Molly Young Brown, author of Unfolding Self: The Practice of Psychosynthesis

"The clearest exposition of psychosynthesis I have read in my 20 years of practice as a psychotherapist." -Susan Holliday, author of Hidden Wonders of the Human Heart

"I learned quite a bit from this book.' -Piero Ferrucii, author of Science of Psychotherapy