SAT programme

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Claudio Naranjo · 1971 · Berkeley

What it is

SAT is not a single therapy. It is a multi-year, group-based programme of self-knowledge and psycho-spiritual transformation created by Claudio Naranjo (1932-2019), a Chilean psychiatrist and one of the three successors Fritz Perls named. It is delivered in intensive modules, about one a year, by…

Format

• Format. The programme runs in group modules taken in sequence, roughly one per year. Each module is an intensive retreat-style block. The only module whose length a page stated was SAT 3: 9 full days (Argentina, 14-22 Oct 2026). Whether modules are residential, and how big the groups are, was not…
• Between modules, small follow-up groups ('encuentros de seguimiento') keep tracking passions and fixations in daily life.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Consider regressive or perinatal work (SAT 3 level) only after a stable alliance, demonstrated affect regulation, and screening (see section 5).

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Social anxiety or shame. Allow eye contact to be optional.
• Over-control, which you can work with directly (B3), and flooding.
• Grief or memories that come up unexpectedly. Leave time to process them.
• Spiritual comparison and competition, which can itself be a passion at work.
• Shame. Sexual or aggressive arousal. Keep clear boundaries. Physical limits.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.