Psychology of the future : lessons from modern consciousness research /

Grof, a psychiatrist born in the former Czechoslovakia, summarizes his contributions to transpersonal psychotherapy. Despite its misleading title (Grof does not address vast areas of psychology and psychiatry), his book spans the most important insights that emerged from Grof's research into nonordinary states of consciousness, especially those attained through LSD-type drugs and, more recently, "holotropic" breathing procedures. Chapters treat the heuristic and therapeutic potentials of nonordinary states; Grof's cartography of the psyche and its use in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and psychosomatic disorders; and the purported spiritual dimensions of death, dying, and "spiritual emergencies." The author gives considerable attention to such controversial topics as "birth trauma," "prior-life experiences," and Eastern cosmologies. Grof bases his claims on data gathered from work with thousands of patients and workshop participants, and most of the propositions outlined in this book are testable. Grof has presented a thoughtful paradigm; if it gains influential adherents, the psychology of the 21st century will be one whose purview includes philosophy, mythology, and the humanities. All psychology collections. S. Krippner; Saybrook Graduate School