Writing

SAMPLE READ of The Act of Imagination

‘The Act of Imagination: Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy in Experiential Context’ by Allan Frater -an edited extract The below extract from the opening of my new book ‘The Act of Imagination’ (published by Transpersonal Press, April 2026) answers the question of ‘what is psychosynthesis?’ in respect to its root principles – that it is an experience (rather …
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ENDORSEMENTS for THE ACT OF IMAGINATION: Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy in Experiential Context

Ahead of publication, on 14th April, another sneak-peak, this time of the generous endorsement i’ve been very grateful to recieve from authors in the field of psychosynthesis: “This is a book on psychosynthesis with a difference, emphasizing the individual’s lived experience and, in this sense, takes the reader on a remarkable journey. It elucidates several …
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FOREWARD by Molly Young Brown

My forthcoming book ‘The Act of Imagination’ now has a publication date – 14th April 2026 – so coming soon! In the meantime, a sneak pre-view of the ‘forward’, by the wonderful Molly Young Brown – who was my dream choice to do so. Why? Because she is both a direct link back to Roberto …
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Back Cover ‘BLURB’

My forthcoming book: ‘The Act of Imagination: Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy in Experiential Context’ is currently ‘in-press’ and planned for publication sometime in the spring. You’d think writing the actual book was the main task, but there are currently all sorts of background efforts going on to move the project to completion. One of which was finally …
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Podcast Interview with ‘With Love in Mind’

I recently had a lovely conversation with Susanne Halsius on her ’ With Love in Mind’ podcast. Susanne gave it the title: ‘How to live an imaginative life – a life of more meaning’ After the ‘how did you get into all this’ background story we meandered through a number of imagination related topics: -the …
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THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH

The following is the draft prologue of my forthcoming book ‘The Act of Imagination: Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy in Experiential Context’. After nearly two years, and counting, the initial stages of writing are slowly coming to completion – and its time to start sharing some preview extracts. At the time of writing, the plan is to complete …
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Wild Reading: How Fiction Sets Imagination Free

How does reading fiction work? By what mysterious process does a book come to life in the hands of a reader? And why is this process often therapeutic? Why is life somehow just better when reading a novel or short story and what can be done to enhance this cross-over into everyday living? I imagine …
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Podcast Interview with ‘Emerging Purpose’

I had a fun interview with my colleague Greg Donaldson on his podcast ’emerging purpose’. After the ‘how did you get into all this’ background story we meandered through a number of imagination related topics: -my interest in reading fiction and how it relates to waking dreams -the loss and recovery of imaginative life -some …
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Living & Dead Metaphors: Re-Imagining Psychodynamic Theory

An edited extract from ‘Waking Dreams: Imagination in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life’ Part 1: What is Metaphor? Part 2: Freud and the Machine Metaphor Part 3: Living and Dead Metaphors Part 4: Re-imagining Psychodynamic Theory What is Metaphor? The Latin word metaphora means to “transfer” or “carry over” experience from one domain to another. As …
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A Wild Imagination

Wild Imagination is an earthy, untamed imagination. An imaginal perception easily lost, trapped behind the screens of our techno-civilisation. For those who might like to conserve the richness of imaginative life, this article sketches out the identifying markers of wild imagination and discusses assumptions that scare it away. The concept ‘wild imagination’ is my own …
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