Roger Woolger
Encyclopedia
Roger J. Woolger is a psychotherapist, lecturer and author specializing in past life regression
spirit release and shamanic healing. He was educated at the University of Oxford
and King's College London
, where he gained degrees in psychology, religion and philosophy. He then trained as an analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich
. His method is today called Deep Memory Process.
methods, including dreamwork
, but through this began to discover images which seemed to be past life memories
. He found a therapeutic and spiritual value in this method, which entails trauma release, psychodrama
, deep body therapy, Tibetan "bardo" work and shamanic spirit release. This synthesis is today called Deep Memory Process.
, the University of Vermont
and Concordia University, Montreal, as well as leading workshops at the New York Open Center, Omega Institute and Esalen Institute
. He runs training programs in the US, UK, Holland, Portugal, Germany and Brazil.
He is a co-founder of the European Association for Regression Therapy EARTh with Hans Ten Dam and others. He is honorary President of the International Deep Memory Association (IDMA) and directed European conferences for IDMA on Spiritual Healing: "Regression and Shamanism" (Portugal, 2006); "War and Human Memory" (Austria, 2006); "Exile and Longing to Return" (Ireland, 2008). He is Founder and Director of O Instituto para O Psique e as Tradicoes Espirituais in Salvador, Brazil, 2008.
His second book, The Goddess Within (1989), co-written with Jennifer Barker, examines feminine psychology in terms of Greek goddesses
. He also published Healing Your Past Lives (2004) and Body Psychotherapy and Regression in Tree (ed) Body Psychotherapy (2002). His unpublished M.Phil Thesis was onThe Spiritual Philosophy of Simone Weil (King's College, London University, 1970).
Past life regression
Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations, though others regard them as fantasies or delusions. Past life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience, or in a...
spirit release and shamanic healing. He was educated at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, where he gained degrees in psychology, religion and philosophy. He then trained as an analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich
C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich
The C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland was founded in 1948 by the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of Analytical Psychology...
. His method is today called Deep Memory Process.
Deep Memory Process
He began his practice with conventional Jungian therapyAnalytical psychology
Analytical psychology is the school of psychology originating from the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. His theoretical orientation has been advanced by his students and other thinkers who followed in his tradition. Though they share similarities, analytical psychology is distinct from...
methods, including dreamwork
Dreamwork
Dreamwork differs from classical dream interpretation in that the aim of dreamwork is to explore the various images and emotions that a dream presents and evokes, while not attempting to come up with a single, unique dream meaning. In this way the dream remains "alive" whereas if it has been...
, but through this began to discover images which seemed to be past life memories
Past life regression
Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations, though others regard them as fantasies or delusions. Past life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience, or in a...
. He found a therapeutic and spiritual value in this method, which entails trauma release, psychodrama
Psychodrama
Psychodrama is a method of psychotherapy in which clients utilize spontaneous dramatization, role playing and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jacob L. Moreno, M.D. psychodrama includes elements of theater, often conducted on a stage where...
, deep body therapy, Tibetan "bardo" work and shamanic spirit release. This synthesis is today called Deep Memory Process.
Academia
Woolger has been a Professor at Vassar CollegeVassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
and Concordia University, Montreal, as well as leading workshops at the New York Open Center, Omega Institute and Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
. He runs training programs in the US, UK, Holland, Portugal, Germany and Brazil.
He is a co-founder of the European Association for Regression Therapy EARTh with Hans Ten Dam and others. He is honorary President of the International Deep Memory Association (IDMA) and directed European conferences for IDMA on Spiritual Healing: "Regression and Shamanism" (Portugal, 2006); "War and Human Memory" (Austria, 2006); "Exile and Longing to Return" (Ireland, 2008). He is Founder and Director of O Instituto para O Psique e as Tradicoes Espirituais in Salvador, Brazil, 2008.
Books
Woolger's book Other Lives, Other Selves (Doubleday, 1987) has been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. He is one the twelve contributors to the standard work on regression therapy: William Blake Lucas (editor), Regression Therapy: A Handbook for Professionals, (2 volumes, Deep Forest Press, Crest Park, CA, 1993). Lucas writes in her Introduction: "[Woolger's] chapters on theory are the most innovative in the field and his book currently [1993] is the one most used in training" (p. 20). Part of his contributions to Lucas's handbook appears in Seymour Boorstein's compendium, Transpersonal Psychotherapy (2nd ed. State University of New York Press, 1996) under the title "Past-Life Regression Therapy",His second book, The Goddess Within (1989), co-written with Jennifer Barker, examines feminine psychology in terms of Greek goddesses
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. He also published Healing Your Past Lives (2004) and Body Psychotherapy and Regression in Tree (ed) Body Psychotherapy (2002). His unpublished M.Phil Thesis was onThe Spiritual Philosophy of Simone Weil (King's College, London University, 1970).
See also
- Nancy Alvarez (psychologist)Nancy Alvarez (psychologist)Nancy Alvarez is a Dominican television personality who, as a psychologist, sexologist and family therapist, is best known for hosting the talk show ¿Quién Tiene La Razón? [Who's Right?]...
- Carol BowmanCarol BowmanCarol Bowman, M.S., is an author, lecturer, counselor, and therapist, known for her work in studying cases of reincarnation, especially those involving young children....
- Ian StevensonIan StevensonIan Pretyman Stevenson, MD, was a Canadian biochemist and professor of psychiatry. Until his retirement in 2002, he was head of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, which investigates the paranormal.Stevenson considered that the concept of reincarnation might...
- Satwant PasrichaSatwant PasrichaDr. Satwant Pasricha is the head of Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences at Bangalore. She also worked for a time at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the USA. Pasricha investigates reincarnation and near-death...