An introduction to spiritual psychology: overview of the literature, east and west.
Harvard Review of Psychiatry January 1, 2004 Michael Miovic
This article reviews the philosophical underpinnings of spiritual psychology by examining Western and Eastern traditions. It defines and critiques theism, atheism, and agnosticism, and discusses the limits of scientific knowledge. The perspectives of William James, Carl Jung, and Sigmund Freud are reviewed, along with contributions from humanistic psychology. Contemporary spiritual psychology is summarized through recent work on theistic psychotherapy, Buddhist psychology, mind-body medicine, and transpersonal psychology. Sri Aurobindo's modern Asian perspective on theistic psychology is introduced, describing his model of the relationship between the soul and the unconscious. A brief clinical vignette illustrates the discussion.