In this workshop, Maria will shortly present how psychotherapy, and especially Transactional Analysis, was influenced by the four main currents of thought in Europe: Enlightenment, Romanticism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. This presentation is based on Keith Tudor’s paper “Psychotherapy, A Critical Examination” (2018).

Maria considers the life script to be influenced also by the philosophical context of the person, of the family, or of the group, and she aims to explore, together with the participants, how and and what level this happens. Her hypothesis is that there are influences from all the four system in each person, and that these philosophical perspectives “colour” and “tint” interpersonal relationships, generating intrapsychic existential dilemmas for which the person is called to find solutions.

Maria aims to raise the participants’ awareness of the possibility of analysing their family’s life history by building their family tree in parallel with the important life events of the family, whether social events with a major impact or events that were important for the family. From this perspective, there will be an outline of the idea that roots, including those on the family level, represent a fountain of vitality.

In this setting, the participants will compare scripts decisions with the four main Western systems of thought and they will reflect on how these decisions could be different depending on one philosophical influence or another. In small groups, together with Maria, they will look for answers to various questions: How do we relate, on a personal or professional level, with persons who have different philosophical basis? Which TA concepts better serve one philosophy or another?

The workshop is addressed to those interested in multiple perspectives on the understanding and approaching of their own life script, as well as to those looking for enlivening solutions to the problems they are facing.

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