Introduction to “The Psychosynthesis Research Foundation – Vision, Mission, and Program” (1957)
This historic document, written by Roberto Assagioli and his collaborators in early 1957, is one of the foundational texts of psychosynthesis. Prepared just months before the legal establishment of the Psychosynthesis Research Foundation (PRF) in the United States, it served as the first clear articulation of the emerging movement’s vision, mission, and program.
What makes this paper remarkable is its clarity of purpose. Assagioli addresses the urgent psychological needs of the modern world — the fragmentation of the human person, the rise of mental distress, and the limitations of contemporary psychology — and responds with a call for synthesis: synthesis of psychological schools, synthesis of psychology with philosophy and religion, and synthesis of therapeutic and educational techniques.
The document outlines the specific contributions of psychosynthesis, including its pioneering work on the superconscious, the will, creative potential, and the harmonious integration of all human functions. It also presents an ambitious program for research, education, psychotherapy, and global expansion.
In many ways, this text marks the moment psychosynthesis steps forward as a mature and outward-looking project — a movement ready to engage the world and meet its psychological and spiritual challenges. Its relevance today is striking.
We share it here so the community can reconnect with the original impulse behind psychosynthesis and the far-reaching vision that guided Assagioli’s early co-workers.
Source: Derived from the AAP archive, folder PRF_AAP_Correspondences, 1957.
The_Psychosynthesis_Research_Foundation-mission-vision.pdf
