robert assagioli
Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), the founder of Psychosynthesis, in his conception of the whole human being included both the discoveries of psychoanalysis and the wisdom of spiritual traditions. He saw that, although psychology and spirituality are distinct domains, those engaged in a spiritual search often need psychological help in integrating their experiences. Conversely a psychology which does not honour the spiritual dimension cannot speak for the whole person. He recognised the spiritual longing of persons in our present cultural wasteland. In connection with this he said:
"One major reason why the Self is coming back into currency is the tremendous search for self identity. Formerly an individual took himself so to speak for granted. He accepted himself as he was, or, more frequently, he identified himself with the group to which he belonged, family, tribe, clan, class, or nation or, if he was religious, with some great Being or God. But in our time, which may well be a time of total crisis, all these identifications fall away and the individual is thrown back on himself. This baffles him, he does not know who he is and this is the chief reason for the widespread 'existential anguish'."