It is important to emphasize that episodes of holotropic states of varying duration can also occur spontaneously, without any specific identifiable cause, and often against the will of the people involved. Since modern psychiatry does not differentiate between mystical or spiritual states and mental diseases, people experiencing these states are often labeled psychotic, are hospitalized, and receive routine suppressive psychopharmacological treatment. My wife and I see these states as psychospiritual crises or “spiritual emergencies.” We believe that, properly supported and treated, they can result in emotional and psychosomatic healing, positive personality transformation, and consciousness evolution.
— Grof & Grof 1990, 1989.
