Towards a Psychotherapy with a Philosophical Basis

Abstract

This chapter proposes José Ortega y Gasset’s work as a foundation for the psychotherapeutic task. Even though this task is based on works and theories from specialists, in every theorical approach it lays an implicit anthropological and philosophical concept. Ortega y Gasset has made the phenomenon of “human life” his philosophy’s main point. Therefore, his reasoning is currently of great help in the understanding the human being in all of its difficulties. The titles Life as a Radical Reality and Fundamental Data, Circumstance and I, Cultural Crisis, To Lose Ourselves and Become Upset, Life Project and Vocation, Ideas and Beliefs, Vitality, Soul and Spirit and Happiness give a deeper look at what the human being is and about the current crisis that leads him to a lack of contact with himself and makes him ignore what he truly wants in his life. This difficulty develops an authentic life project and causes a fake and unsatisfactory way of living. Acknowledging and facing the state that causes the discomfort that leads to the consult is fundamental for a therapeutic result. Also, knowing how beliefs affect our conduct, our spirit organizes our moods, and the therapeutic value of withdrawing within ourselves are key concepts for the understanding of the human being, both inside and outside the consult.