Author and psychosynthesis psychotherapist Will Parfitt reflects on his journey with books, publishing, and psychosynthesis.
Books, Publishing and the Journey of Psychosynthesis
Thank you everyone who has supported my most recent book, The Magic of Psychosynthesis which recently received a new review, which you can read at the Trust’s Resources Hub. This led me to consider my earlier psychosynthesis books and their journey into the world. The first was The Elements of Psychosynthesis in 1989, part of a broader ‘Elements of…’ series from the publisher. They were on a roll at the time and the series was found not only in specialist bookshops but were widely distributed, even to airport bookstores. Considering this, not surprisingly it sold very well, topping 25,000 copies. It is currently available in a Kindle edition.
As my experience as a therapist deepened, I felt there were lots of areas I had not covered in a small introductory book so, in 2003, brought out Psychosynthesis: Beyond the Elements. The first half of the book is the original ‘elements of’; the second half, new material covering topics such as sexuality, dreamwork and social applications. Disillusioned by my publisher’s accounting processes, I decided to self-publish. This is a common, even usual decision nowadays, but back in 2003 it was an unusual step which involved learning about publishing processes. I was advised against it because it would be difficult to market without a big publisher to support the promotion. The book has sold many copies, however, and continues to sell worldwide. As self- and niche publishing have become widespread, it’s great to see many more books on psychosynthesis being released in recent years and there is room for many more. You could write and publish, too! A reflective, receptive, creative meditation on your deepest passion is a great place to start.
Publishing and the psychosynthesis community
By the mid ‘00s, the psychosynthesis distance course I ran had so many good graduate essays that deserved airing, so I started a journal, The Synthesist. There were three issues filled with items of interest to psychosynthesis practitioners. By 2009, I decided a book was in order and produced Psychosynthesis New Perspectives and Creative Research. The Trust newsletter carried a positive review by Karen Baillie and the book sold fairly well, although not as widely as I had hoped. Recently, I posted all of the material from the journal on the Facebook page Psychosynthesis in the World. Not all the work was from distance students; some of the best content came from, for instance, Trust graduates Mike Stillwell and Melanie Reinhart, as well graduates of the Institute, ReVision and Synthesis, the Bristol training led by Kunderke Kevlin who was Diana’s other apprentice at the same time as me.
I also published more than twenty books by others, including The Key to Recovering Self Esteem by Rachael Clyne, a Trust graduate; Finding the Self Through Madness by Nikki Holland, a ReVision graduate; several books by the late Jay Ramsay, a graduate of the Institute and a highly respected poet. One of our authors, Rose Flint, won two international poetry competitions, and The Inheritance by William Ayot won a special award at the Peoples Book Prize. Doing all this whilst running a busy psychosynthesis practice and training courses nationally and internationally took its toll. In 2016, I resigned from UKCP, closed my therapy practice, and stopped running courses.
Retirement and next steps
Having retired, I realised I could produce the psychosynthesis book that would mean most to me: one showing the interweaving relationship between the visions and values of psychosynthesis, humanistic psychology, and the esoteric worlds in which I moved prior to training in psychosynthesis. Which brings us back to The Magic of Psychosynthesis. When Kim Shiller wrote in her review: “A gift and clearly a labour of love”, I was deeply touched as she had honed in on exactly where I was coming from.
And thank you, Diana Whitmore and the Trust. I had a wonderful apprenticeship with Diana, whose training abilities and heart-centredness were an example for all her early students. Psychosynthesis gave me the confidence to go into the world and be the person I wanted to be. Although in no way set up as initiatory in any esoteric sense, the training, for me, offered keys to unlocking the depths and heights the other approaches had not quite managed.
Before training I was a keen short-story writer. You know Hillman’s acorn theory: to look back into one’s youth to find what really moves you. Not surprisingly, then, my ‘retirement’ activity includes writing short stories, and a book titled Rose of Heaven is undergoing editing as I write this mid-2022. I’m also considering how to make the content of the psychosynthesis distance lessons available to all, but more of that another time.
Retirement keeps one busy; you can retire from activities, even all activities, but you cannot retire from psychosynthesis, nor would anyone want to. I’m reminded of a by-line I created many years ago: ‘Psychosynthesis is learning to live with a vision that comes from deep within yourself’; undoubtedly a welcome, never-ending process at all stages in the journey of life.