Unknown - Psychotherapy of Love : Psychosynthesis in Practice

It is with great sadness and a broken heart that I, Ann Gila, tell you that John Firman, my husband and co-author, died on June 23, 2008, four weeks after we signed the contract with SUNY for the publication of this book. John was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late March and lived for only three months beyond diagnosis.

John was passionate about psychology and especially Roberto Assagioli's psychosynthesis. In 1968, John had a peak experience that led him to search for a psychology that spoke of such experiences. He discovered psychosynthesis and a few years later he spent two months in Italy studying with Roberto Assagioli. John's heart and mind were committed to the development of psychosynthesis theory, to the exploration of the role of the psychotherapist in relationship to his or her client, and to the understanding of the development and healing of the human person.

John and I had worked together briefly in psychosynthesis in the 1970s and then parted as we pursued different directions in our lives. When we came together again in 1987 John was working as a therapist at a Catholic parish in Los Angeles and I was in private practice in Palo Alto, California. During the first several years of our renewed friendship we commuted between our two homes, spending many weekends sharing our personal and spiritual journeys, reading many different psychological and spiritual approaches, and discussing psychosynthesis theory. This was the beginning of our twenty years of work together and led to the writing of our first two books and now the present one. After our parting in the 1970s and considering the directions we had each taken, it was improbable that we would come together again, but Spirit called and our work together began. Our books have been born out of our shared desire to know the truth of our lives, our love of psychosynthesis and psychology, and our commitment to understand and serve our clients.

So, now I speak for both of us as we acknowledge people, places, and creatures that have supported us and our work.

First to be acknowledged are Chuck and Laila Millar who have carried me through the loss of John and have been there in my darkest hours. They have made many personal sacrifices for me and I will forever be grateful. Without them, this book would never have been published. Their love has held me together personally and their editorial and computer expertise made it possible for me to complete the final tasks required for publication of this book. Thank you, Chuck and Laila, from the bottom of my heart, and I know that John thanks you, too.

I would also like to thank Dal Miranda and Robin Dunaway who both have spent many hours with me during some of the hardest times, especially holidays. Their gift of listening to me and requiring nothing in return has helped me to survive. And thank you, Chris Meriam, for supporting me and for understanding so profoundly the depth of my loss of John. I am grateful for your love of me and of John, and we both thank you for the sharing of ideas over the years.

John wrote some acknowledgments before his death. He wished to recognize my cousin Gene Parodi and his wife, Bonnie, whose empathic presence during a trip we made together to Italy in 2003 engaged John in sharing himself at increasingly intimate levels. This experience reconnected John to the power and presence of Roberto Assagioli, and this reawakening allowed us to remember that Roberto's therapeutic presence was essentially about empathic or altruistic love. We made a choice then to place this empathic love, this essence of Roberto, at the center of our book on psychosynthesis therapy. Thank you, Gene and Bonnie, for providing the love and nurture that allowed this seed to germinate.

We would like to acknowledge Mark Horowitz whose brilliant study of the human wounding inflicted by oppressive socioeconomic-political systems strongly informs this book. Mark has used psychosynthesis to see into the widespread devastating impact of such oppression and to explore human resilience and growth in the face of this. Thank you, Mark, for your love and support, and blessings on your work. Philip Brooks receives our love and gratitude for reading this manuscript at various points in its development, a service he performed for both of our earlier books as well. His wisdom and considerable clinical experience have informed our teaching and our writing over the years. We would also like to thank Philip for stepping in and helping us complete our yearly training program as John became unable to teach.

Many thanks to David (Pope) Firman, John's brother, who not only contributed materially to this book with his clear and elegant drawings, but who has been a loving brother and faithful friend. Over the years both David and John were delighted to discover each other beyond their familial roles and patterns, finding that they genuinely loved and respected each other as people.

We wish to acknowledge John's daughter, Catharine Elizabeth Cat Firman, who has a gift for finding her own unique way in the world while at the same time remaining fully in communion with her intimate circle of many friendsa key theme of this book. John was so very proud and happy that he and Catharine had found each other, sharing a love of passionate work and play, and discovering that their music opened their souls.

We also want to appreciate Ann's brother, Bob Gila. Bob has been faced with some significant challenges throughout his life and yet has emerged with his soul intact. He has been an inspiration, a joy, and a source of wisdom and love in our lives for which we are eternally grateful. There is much in this book that he taught us by word and deed.

We want to thank Jane Bunker, editor-in-chief at SUNY, who so compassionately responded to our request to have our manuscript immediately reviewed for possible publication. Her willingness to do this and then offer us an advance contract within days of receiving the manuscript gave John, before his death, the gift of knowing that SUNY would likely publish our book. The joy on John's face upon receiving this news will always be remembered.

As was true for our two earlier books, this book could never have been written without our clients, students, and trainees who have trusted us to join them in their life journeys. They have been our greatest teachers in allowing us to accompany them to the depths of human anguish and despair; to the heights of hope, joy, and love; in their efforts to hold this entire range of human experience in their lives; and, perhaps most important, in their determination to uncover and follow the wisdom of their hearts.