SEN was founded as the Spiritual Emergency Network (SEN) in 1980 by Christina Grof and her husband, Stanislav Grof, in response to the lack of understanding and respect for psychospiritual growth in the mental health profession. The Grofs eventually handed control of SEN over to other individuals who have done a fantastic job over the years, carrying on their work.
In 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association supported the Grof’s insights by including spiritual and religious issues under it’s category of conditions which are not mental illness, yet lead people to seek mental health services. This recognition has opened the door for a specialization in spiritual issues.
In 1998, SEN moved to the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), bringing to SEN the educational resources of CIIS and providing unique access to the spiritual emergence population. To best reflect our expanding vision and services, we changed our name to the Center for Psychological & Spiritual Health in 2002. In August, 2003 CPSH closed its clinic due to a lack of adequate funding. However, we continued to give phone referrals and support–we also created an on-line database for self-referral.
In the spring of 2005, we changed our name back to SEN when we moved our office location and began a supportive relationship with the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. We continue to give ongoing phone referrals and support along with all of our other online services, helping those with psychospiritual issues or questions.
In February of 2015 SEN became a part of the Stanislav and Christina Grof Foundation. In 2018 SEN began it’s newest chapter working towards becoming its own 501(c) 3 with Susana Bustos as the new Director of Operations. In 2020, Ted Esser stepped back into that role, having been in that position since 2004.