If you are looking for support for Spiritual Emergence/Emergency, there are national Operating SENs with local knowledge that can help you. Going through a spiritual crisis is actually very common, and although it may not feel like it right now, falling apart can actually be part of a journey to a very positive transformation. Making sure you get plenty of sleep, eating well, exercising and spending lots of time in natural environments also helps.
The History of SEN
SEN was founded as the Spiritual Emergency Network (SEN) in 1980 by Christina Grof and her husband, Stanislav Grof, in response to the lack of understanding and respect for psychospiritual growth in the mental health profession. In 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association supported the Grof’s insights by including spiritual and religious issues under it’s category of conditions which are not mental illness, yet lead people to seek mental health services.
In 1998, SEN moved to the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), bringing to SEN the educational resources of CIIS and providing unique access to the spiritual emergence population. To best reflect our expanding vision and services, we changed our name to the Center for Psychological & Spiritual Health in 2002. In August 2003, CPSH closed its clinic due to a lack of adequate funding.
In the spring of 2005, we changed our name back to SEN when we moved our office location and began a supportive relationship with the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. In February 2015, SEN became a part of the Stanislav and Christina Grof Foundation. In 2018, SEN began its newest chapter working towards becoming its own 501(c) 3 with Susana Bustos as the new Director of Operations.
Associated Organizations and Resources
Association for Transpersonal Psychology
The Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP) is a membership supported international coordinating organization for scientific, social, and clinical transpersonal work that serves the world community.
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Holotropic Breathwork Training
Holotropic Breathwork Explained by Expert: A Journey into Consciousness
Holos Institute
Holos Institute is a non-profit organization offering holistically oriented psychotherapy and educational programs. Their counseling offices are based in both Oakland and San Francisco and offer a range of affordable, high quality psychotherapy services with advanced marriage and family therapist interns who are participating in the Holos ecopsychology training program. They also offer unique group experiences in nature/wilderness therapy and vision quests.
International Association of Yoga Therapists
The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) was founded in 1989 by Larry Payne, Ph.D., and Richard Miller, Ph.D., and had well-known Yoga teacher Lilias Folan as its honorary president for many years. Since its establishment, IAYT has consistently championed the cause of Yoga through annual conferences, an annual journal, and a newsletter.
In particular, IAYT has served well the growing number of Yoga teachers, especially those who use Yoga therapeutically.
Center for Spirituality & Psychotherapy
The Center for Spirituality and Psychotherapy (CSP) was formed in response to the rapidly growing interest in the relationship between spirituality and psychotherapy. It is the first center of this kind within a major psychotherapy and psychoanalytic training institute. It is committed to the study of how psychotherapy can foster the emergence of the spiritual dimension in our lives, and how spiritual practice may enhance our personal lives and the psycho-therapeutic experience.
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The Hoffman Institute
The Hoffman Quadrinity Process is an 8-day retreat that empowers you to resolve previously immovable blocks to healthy relationships, self-knowledge, emotional freedom, and radiant spirituality. It is based on the principle that persistent negative behaviors, moods, and attitudes experienced in adulthood have their roots in the experiences and conditioning of childhood.
Key Figures and Experts
Emma Bragdon, PhD
Emma Bragdon wrote the first book published about Spiritual Emergency, A Sourcebook for Helping People in Spiritual Emergency. It is used in graduate schools internationally to train psychotherapists how to recognize spiritual emergence phenomena so they can offer appropriate support. Another book, “The Call of Spiritual Emergency” is full of stories of individuals who have experienced spiritual emergency and the positive outcomes they have had.
Emma was licensed as a psychotherapist in 1989. She has extensive training in breathwork, energy work, yoga, and intuition. She offers private consultations online and in person.
Bonnie Greenwell
Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D., is a transpersonal therapist and author of ‘Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process’, a guide for experiencers and therapists based on her dissertation research. Over the past fifteen years she has lectured , trained therapists, and consulted with hundreds of individuals who have experienced spiritual emergence phenomena. She has training in Ashtanga and Kundalini Yoga, acupressure, and breathwork.
Judith Orloff MD
Dr. Orloff is accomplishing for psychiatry what physicians like Larry Dossey and Dean Ornish have done for mainstream medicine - she is proving that the links between physical health, mental well-being, and spiritual connectedness cannot be ignored. She has worked as a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA and is an internationally known writer and lecturer.
Read also: Explained: Spiritual Blessings
Center for Spiritual Emergence
The Center for Spiritual Emergence provides wrap-around, concierge level in-patient and out-patient services to help people live to their fullest potential by providing a transpersonally based, systems-oriented, body-centered, and trauma-integrated approach to healing spiritual emergence, spiritual emergencies, and addictions.
Spiritual Competency Academy
Spiritual crises can be mistaken for psychiatric disorders, and this can lead to tragically unnecessary hospitalizations and stunting of the growth potential of such experiences. This site helps both clinicians working with spiritual issues and is a useful self-help resource for persons integrating a spiritual emergency. This site is run by Dr.
Summary of Resources
The following table summarizes the resources available for spiritual emergence and emergency support:
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN) | Provides support and resources for individuals experiencing spiritual emergence or emergency. |
| Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP) | International organization supporting scientific, social, and clinical transpersonal work. |
| Holotropic Breathwork Training | A powerful approach to self-exploration and healing. |
| Holos Institute | Offers holistically oriented psychotherapy and educational programs. |
| International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) | Champions the cause of Yoga through conferences, journals, and newsletters. |
| Center for Spirituality & Psychotherapy (CSP) | Studies the relationship between spirituality and psychotherapy. |
| The Hoffman Institute | Offers a retreat to resolve blocks to healthy relationships and self-knowledge. |
| Emma Bragdon, PhD | Author and psychotherapist specializing in spiritual emergency. |
| Bonnie Greenwell, PhD | Transpersonal therapist and author on kundalini process. |
| Judith Orloff MD | Psychiatrist and writer on the links between physical health, mental well-being, and spiritual connectedness. |
| Center for Spiritual Emergence | Provides in-patient and out-patient services for healing spiritual emergence and addictions. |
| Spiritual Competency Academy | Offers resources for clinicians and individuals integrating a spiritual emergency. |