This theoretical study integrates, through dialectical hermeneutics, the transpersonal theories of Carl Gustav Jung and Stanislav Grof regarding the structure and dynamics of the human psyche. The Jungian concept of the feeling-toned complex is shown to be equivalent to the Grofian concept of the system of condensed experience (COEX system). Various contemporary Jungian theories of the complex are compared to one another, some emphasizing object relations and others emphasizing self-organizing systems. Implications of similarities and differences between COEX systems and the various theories of complexes are explored. Grof's methods and goals of LSD psychotherapy are compared to methods and goals of analytical psychology, as described by Murray Stein, Edward Edinger, and Jung. The death rebirth cycle in Grof's Basic Perinatal Matrices is compared to the death-rebirth cycle in alchemy. Alchemical imagery found in psychedelic therapy sessions is explored, comparing Jungian interpretations of these symbols with interpretations by Grof.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has recently funded psychedelic research on human subjects using psilocybin and MDMA with promising results. Research into the benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy is becoming increasingly popular in Europe and more recently in the United States. Not only has psychedelic psychotherapy been valuable as a clinical tool, but also as a great aid in understanding the dynamics of the deeper layers of the human psyche, including the dynamics of the personal unconscious, the influence and activity of the archetypes, and the structure of the collective unconscious. This study bridges the gap between Jungian theory and theory from psychedelic research, so that each may benefit from the other as these theories advance.