Stress is an ongoing and increasing problem at a societal and individual level. This systematic review aims to evaluate which effects breathwork has on stress in a healthy population. A literature search was done on Scopus, and Web of Science for peer-reviewed, published, and original research. In the search process, it was decided to include psychological and physiological assessments due to the narrow topic. Threestudies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The outcome measurements included were heart-rate variability (HRV) which measures the activity in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and salivary cortisol to measure cortisol as a biomarker of psychological stress, as well as the questionnaires PSS, PANAS, and STAI. There are many different breathwork techniques, in this review the focus is oncontrolled, slow deep breathing techniques e.g. diaphragmatic breathing, resonance breathing, and cyclic sighing. All three studies showed significant improvement in stress in the breathing groups. These findings suggest that breathwork can be valuable in reducing stress in healthy individuals. Furthermore, more research is needed before conclusions on the general population can be drawn.

Non-ordinary states of consciousness have been presented for a long time and currently, when the spiritual side of the human existence is left out, the states of consciousness turn to its regeneration. This thesis is focused on the resulting changes in human life after passing the non-ordinary state of consciousness and especially regarding the changes in attitude towards death and process of dying. In the theoretical part, I have described the problem of death and the process of dying from the cultural, medical, psychological and theological view. I have presented the basic and extended model of the human psyche, the knowledge of which is essential in understanding the non-ordinary states of consciousness. Next, I have specified the concrete definition of non-ordinary states of consciousness and I have dealt with the extended description of those matters, when the human being is not directly touched or not during the experience with dead or dying. The last theoretical chapter goes into the therapeutic potential of the described non-ordinary states of consciousness. The goal of this thesis is to catch the significant similarities of the body and point its transformative effect on the personality of the human being, especially in the matters of basic existence. In order to achieve this goal, I have chosen the qualitative research strategy with the elements of phenomenological research. This semi-structured interview was defined as a method for collecting the data. The research file represents seven respondents with their own experience of a non-ordinary state of consciousness, especially near-death experiences, holotropic breathwork and psychedelic experiences. The results of this research have shown the significant changes in the lives of people who had this type of experience in question. The changes in their respective lives have also resulted in the reduction of the fear of death or dying of these individuals. The results from these findings have significant implications for the psychotherapy. It is mainly aimed at those therapists who have contact with people suffering from death and who have anxiety about dying.

The MA thesis compares cognitive-behavioral, spiritual and holotropic breathwork approaches in drug abuse treatment. The theoretical part briefly describes a function of some psychotropic substances and drugs in history. It follows the description of drug addiction genesis and drug addiction types. Other chapter of the theoretical part deals with system of treatment for drug addicts and role of psychotherapy in the treatment. There is also a description of three fundamental approaches for three methods used in drug abuse treatment at the end of the theoretical part. The practical part of the MA thesis characterizes the comparison of three institutions, which use different methods in drug abuse treatment. The chosen institutions were: cognitive-behavioral method {--} Červený Dvůr Psychiatric Hospital, spiritual approach {--} Postovice Therapeutic Community, holotropic breathwork method {--} Atelier II Private Psychotherapeutic Centre. Although, each of these institutions provides a treatment for substance (alcohol or other psychotropic drugs) abuse and addiction, their methods / approaches to the treatment have different fundamental bases. This part also contains transcriptions of structured talks with clients who experienced the mentioned methods / approaches. At the end of the MA thesis the selected approaches based on monitored marks are analyzed and compromise approach for drug abuse treatment is suggested.