After earning his physics degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Arnold Mindell went to Zurich, Switzerland, to continue his studies in physics. There he discovered the work of the renowned psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and shifted his focus to analytical psychology. He trained at the C.G. Jung Institute, where he qualified as an analyst. He became deeply interested in the connection between bodily experiences — especially physical symptoms — and the way they are expressed in dreams.
Mindell published this research in his first book, “Dreambody: The Body’s Role in Revealing the Self” (1982). He went on to explore how the dreaming mind produces unconscious signals, or “double signals,” that show up when we communicate with other people. He found that becoming aware of such signals makes interpersonal communication more effective.
Because his attention centered on signals and processes of this kind, Mindell called his approach “process-oriented psychology.” His interest in interpersonal communication led him to study conflict in large groups. He discovered that the dreaming processes he had found in individuals and relationships were also useful for resolving problems in large, socially diverse groups.
After writing a series of books on these discoveries, Mindell returned to physics and to the study of subtle signals usually overlooked by classical psychological approaches. Together with Amy Mindell, his partner and wife, he began exploring new ways of working with people in coma, vegetative and near-death states. In recent years, his interest in quantum physics has led him to study the relationship between psychology and theoretical physics, and new ways of working with subtle states of consciousness. He uses concepts of waves and information to explore preverbal and “pre-dreaming” states of awareness.
In the early 1980s, Mindell began applying his discoveries to resolving conflict in large groups. He coined the term “Worldwork.” He is actively involved in a large international community dedicated to research and training in Process Work (the Process Work Institute).

Amy Mindell
She is a dancer and actress, as well as a psychologist with a PhD, a psychotherapist, and a teacher at the Process Work Institute (Portland, Oregon, USA). She leads Process Work workshops at Esalen and other major psychology centers, teaches students around the world, speaks on the radio, writes books, and, together with her husband Arnold Mindell, helps this new approach to psychotherapy grow.
Dr. Amy Mindell is known for her contribution to the concept of metaskills in process-oriented psychology, for her work with people in comatose states, and for applying the Process Work paradigm to art and music.