Imaginal Psychology is a recent branch of psychology which considers soul to be psychology’s primary concern. Central to this new discipline is the idea that the 'soul' expresses itself in images, and that care of the soul requires that we pay great attention to the images we 'inhabit'. This approach to psychology draws on a variety of spiritual traditions, the religious beliefs of indigenous peoples, mythology, literature and poetry, Deep Ecology, and social critique.
Imaginal Psychology is an attempt to revive traditional spirituality in ways relevant to our contemporary lives, enabling a distinctly postmodern approach to psychology to emerge; advocates consider secularism, rationalism and modernity to be negative forces, and believe that postmodernism's more relativistic worldview will be more conducive to human happiness.
Famous quotes containing the word psychology:
“Views of women, on one side, as inwardly directed toward home and family and notions of men, on the other, as outwardly striving toward fame and fortune have resounded throughout literature and in the texts of history, biology, and psychology until they seem uncontestable. Such dichotomous views defy the complexities of individuals and stifle the potential for people to reveal different dimensions of themselves in various settings.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)