Psychosynthesis and the ‘Will’ in the Addictive and Alcoholic self
Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974) was a student of Sigmund Freud and introduced Freud’s teachings to the medical fraternity in Venice in 1910. Assagioli was also involved in the Theosophical Society. He is one of three Italians credited with being pioneers of the psychoanalytic movement. At the same time, around 1910 Assagioli laid the groundwork for Psychosynthesis. He saw that there was a need for something beyond analysis, which was the need for a person to become whole, to be united in synthesis.
Assagioli maintained that just as there was a lower unconscious, there was also a superconscious (1965). He describes this as a realm of the psyche which contains our deepest potential, the source of the unfolding pattern of our unique human path of development. Assagioli formulated his discoveries into an approach he called Psychosynthesis. This term of course distinguishes it from psychoanalysis, but Assagioli did not mean thereby to replace psychoanalysis, but rather to complement and include it.
Psychosynthesis then is not simply a model of pathology and treatment, but a developmental approach which can help guide a person to understand the meaning of their addictive and alcoholic patterns of dependency, within a deeper context.
The beauty of Psychosynthesis is its ability to hold a conceptual framework that unifies the diverse competing schools of psychology and therapy into a whole that can explain the different developmental stages within the personality. Further it clearly allows for the inclusion and development of the spiritual, hence it becomes a psychospiritual model that can examine the dilemma of purpose, meaning and value.
The will is central to the psychology of Psychosynthesis and Assagioli set out his stall as such by presenting the will as being in the position to direct and regulate the field on consciousness surrounding the self. Assagioli posited that the will was able to regulate the psychological functions within consciousness and that there are psychological laws that flow from this ability to regulate the personal ‘I’ with directional intention within consciousness and the will is the activity of the ‘I’.
On many occasions we have heard the words, “you must have incredible willpower to stop drinking”. This is a common misunderstanding as access to the will has become so conflated with the underlying need, which is often to feel complete, whole, purposeful, peaceful, worthwhile, valued and loved. The substance or process addiction (bulimia, gambling, sex, anorexia, work-aholism) soothes all of the unmet needs and the sacred wound. The personal will is aligned with the denial of Self and the maintenance of having the underlying need continuously fed through the active dependence.
