Frances Vaughan

Frances Vaughan, Ph.D. is a psychologist, educator and author of books, chapters and articles on psychology and spirituality. Her books include Awakening Intuition, The Inward Arc: Healing in Psychotherapy and Spirituality, and Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions. With her husband, Roger Walsh, she is co-editor of Paths Beyond Ego: The Transpersonal Vision, and Gifts from A Course in Miracles, which includes Accept this Gift, A Gift of Peace and A Gift of Healing. Her books have been translated into eight languages.

As a pioneer in transpersonal psychology, Dr. Vaughan was a founding faculty member of the Institute of Transpersonal psychology. Later she joined the clinical faculty at the University of California Medical School at Irvine. At present she is a founding faculty member of the Metta Institute.

Dr. Vaughan has served as President of both the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and she is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She is currently a trustee of the Fetzer Institute. The mission of the Fetzer Institute is to foster the awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community.

Dr. Vaughan holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and has been a practitioner of meditation since 1972. She has studied and practiced Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu spiritual traditions in addition to deepening her understanding of Christian mysticism.

Dr. Vaughan has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and on the board of editors of several journals. She has lectured and conducted workshops throughout the U.S. and in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. She graduated from Stanford University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She has two children and five grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Marin County, California.

Values:

In her coaching, counseling and psychotherapy with individuals, Frances focused on inner work and on developing healthy, satisfying relationships to self, others and the world. She recently retired from the private practice of psychotherapy after more than thirty years.

She says, "I think of the spiritual path as a journey from fear to love, from bondage to freedom and from ignorance to understanding. I believe love is a universal experience. Although concepts of love can be narrow and distorted, the experience of love is vital to healing and wholeness. I value integrity, honesty, and authenticity in relationships, and I think we need to be true to our deepest experience of the sacred. Qualities such as kindness, generosity, caring and respect flow naturally from a commitment to living in accordance with truth and love."