Past life therapy: An integrated transpersonal psychotherapeutic approach

This Project is an attempt to codify a model of past life regression as a psychotherapeutic approach within the movement of transpersonal psychology. One purpose, then, is to fill the void in the literature by defining a comprehensive therapeutic modality which considers contemporary thought out of quantum theory, psychotherapy and philosophy within the context of transpersonal psychology, while it calls for the integration of the approach with other modalities in therapy. It is directed to professionals in psychology and psychotherapy with the intention of formalizing an initial model, establishing more credibility for the approach and stimulating awareness among those professionals who might use the technique as a primary approach or who might be open to considering it as an adjunct technique.;The formalized model is presented in section two starting with a discussion of the metaphysical philosophy out of the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce. Although the point is made that the effectiveness of the approach is not dependent on a belief in reincarnation by either the therapist or the client, since the approach utilizes stories or metaphors in a past life context, a basic understanding of these principles is necessary.;The model is then based on the concept of current psychological, emotional and physical disorders resulting from biographical, perinatal and past life experiences which energize a complex. Strong emphasis is placed on the idea of these complexes embedding in the physical structure of the body in line with the principles of the psychotherapeutic approaches of bioenergetics and core energetics. This principle necessitates addressing the disorder, then, not only on a mental level but also on an emotional and physical level through cathartic experiential release of the energy of the root cause experience by revisiting that experience. The model calls for the release of energy by re-experiencing and completing those prior episodes throughout the Energetic Chain of Experience (i.e. the charged sequence of experiences in the biographical, perinatal and past life) on all three levels of consciousness.;The model was based on actual cases, in light of the approaches described in the literature, and especially the work of Morris Netherton, Stanislav Grof and Roger Woolger.;The first section focuses on a brief history of reincarnation thinking, the background of past life therapy and the evolution of the transpersonal force in psychology. This background is presented in parallel to the paradigm shift occurring in theoretical physics and it makes the point that transpersonal psychotherapy and specifically past life therapy share the basic tenets of this contemporary movement in science.