About Polly Plowman Counselling, Psychotherapy and Training Website, Essex UK

‘Classical’ Psychosynthesis came first
The founder of Psychosynthesis, Roberto Assagioli, coined the name to distinguish it from the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and the analytical psychology of his main teacher, Carl Jung. Assagioli was interested in a holistic view of the psyche, that not only analysed the component parts of a person, but was also interested in the unique and mysterious whole formed by these parts interacting with each other. He passionately believed that our spiritual nature was an essential ingredient in our make-up and he built a whole approach to therapy designed to allow this soulful quality to emerge and guide the healing work. Psychosynthesis centres around the world disseminate and develop his ideas, among them the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London (www.psychosynthesis.org) where I originally trained, and the PsykosyntesInstitutet in Gothenberg, Sweden (www.psykosyntesinstitutet.se) where I now teach. Near the end of his life Assagioli declared: ‘Psychosynthesis is not a doctrine or a ‘school’ of psychology … There is no orthodoxy in Psychosynthesis, and no one, beginning with myself, should be considered as its exclusive representative or leader. Each of its exponents tries to express and apply it as well as he or she is able…’

Integrative Psychosynthesis develops
Psychosynthesis has sometimes attracted not only people interested in a spiritual dimension within psychology, but also those using spirituality as a way of avoiding the challenges of psychological development. To counter this, Re.Vision Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis (www.re-vision.org.uk) was established in 1988 to ‘re.vision’ Psychosynthesis through a down-to-earth set of practices and skills, and also connect Psychosynthesis more clearly with the work of other psychotherapeutic schools.
Integrative Psychosynthesis practitioners attempt to marry human hopes and dreams with the limitations of practical reality, and draw upon a whole range of psycho-therapeutic approaches to provide tools to do the job. The key concept in Integrative Psychosynthesis is ‘relationship,’ and the nature of the relationship between therapist and client is always seen as fundamental, and soulful.
I completed my psychotherapy training at Re.Vision and have subsequently taught within the programme there for more than 20 years.