Humanistic, Transpersonal and Existential Psychology

Discussion 6

A) Many of his colleagues considered Rollo May the father of American existential psychology. What are the key similarities and differences that you discern between May and the European humanistic perspectives about the individual and connection to others? What makes these significant?

B) Irvin Yalom suggests that anxiety is an existential dilemma that can emerge in a person’s daily life and needs concrete decisions from an individual in order to ameliorate it. Do you agree or disagree with Yalom’s position? Why? How does your personal worldview influence your stance? Explain.

Discussion 7

A) Some believe that the integration of the mind, body, and spirit into a unitary whole can create harmony and healing in one’s life. Do you agree? Why or why not? How might the connection between these three separate entities be important in understanding how one might transcend physical aging? Support your position.

B) What are other types of “therapies” that can contribute to refreshing the mind, rejuvenating the body, and renewing the spirit? Which of these alternatives do you believe best aligns with a Christian worldview? Why? Which of these alternatives do you believe best aligns with your personal worldview? Why?

Discussion 8

A) Integral theory suggests that human development and psychological stages of growth should be integrated with a spiritual state of awareness. What are the possible benefits of recognizing “other states of awareness” as a way of healing a person holistically? Does this integral theory align with the Christian worldview? Why or why not?

B) Literature suggests that transpersonal psychology should be the 4th Force or movement in psychology along with psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology. Why has transpersonal psychology garnered significant attention over the past decade? Do you believe it should be its own movement (a 4th Force)? Why or why not? To what extent, if at all, is the notion of transpersonal psychology compatible with your personal worldview? Explain. How might this compatibility (or lack thereof) influence your dissertation research?

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.