Jay Ramsay, who has died of cancer aged 60, was a psychotherapist and poet. The author of nearly 40 books, including nonfiction on alchemy and relationship psychology, and translations of classics of eastern philosophy, he was an influential presence on the alternative poetry scene. With the rich timbre of his voice and his impassioned opinions he was also an ambassador for transformative spiritual, political and psychological awareness.

His own poetry collections included Kingdom of the Edge (1980-98) and Out of Time (1998-2008). He also co-edited, with Sylvia Paskin and Jeremy Silver, Angels of Fire: An Anthology of Radical Poetry (1986) and was the editor of Soul of the Earth: The Awen Anthology of Eco-spiritual Poetry (2011), as well as editing and writing reviews for the mind/body/spirit journals Kindred Spirit (1997-2004) and Caduceus (2002 onwards).

Born John Ramsay-Brown, in Guildford, Surrey, both his parents Yvonne (nee Wray) and Donald, were from an army background. His father, a decorated lieutenant colonel in the second world war, went on to work for the Iraq Petroleum Company. His mother died when he was 17.

He was educated at Charterhouse school, in Godalming, and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he studied English literature. Redefining himself as Jay Ramsay, he launched himself on the London poetry scene.

In the early 1980s he founded the cross-artform festival Angels of Fire, which continued for five years from its first event at the Purcell Room, in the Southbank Centre, and in 1990 he created the popular correspondence course Chrysalis: The Poet in You.

In 1986 he had qualified as a UKCP-accredited psychosynthesis therapist and healer, and worked in private practice in Stroud, Gloucestershire, where he settled in 1993, and London.

He was a guest tutor at the alternative holiday centres Skyros, in Greece, and Cortijo Romero, Spain, and at the ethical centre Hawkwood College in the Cotswolds, and ran poetry and performance workshops across the UK and abroad, including Ireland, Portugal, Malta and the US.

As a performer, Jay gave numerous readings both solo and in collaboration with fellow poets, musicians, dancers and artists. In 2012 he performed at the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Findhorn Foundation, an eco-village on the north-east coast of Scotland.

On Boxing Day last year, Jay married Angela Warren, a yoga therapist, whom he had met at a Resurgence magazine gathering earlier in the decade. He is survived by her, his stepdaughter, Ruby, and his sisters, Carolyn and Diana.