Guntrip and the Search for an Ontological Psychoanalysis

Guntrip’s work as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and as a seelsorger spans more than four decades and multiple publications in two separate, yet interrelated fields: psychoanalysis and theology. Discussed in Chapter 2, as a young student, Guntrip was deeply influenced by the work of John McMurray (February 16, 1891–June 21, 1976), a Scottish philosopher whose thinking critically challenged the scientific traditions of rationalism and empiricism, classifying his works as part of the ‘personalist’ view of man. It is worth noting that other clinicians from Scotland, such as Drs. Ian Suttie, Ronald Fairbairn, and R. D. Laing, all innovative voices in psychoanalysis, focused valiantly on taboo themes such as tenderness, freedom, relationality, and agency, which all greatly influenced Guntrip’s natural bend to find a psychoanalysis able to support ‘becoming a person in one’s own right.’ In this, the final chapter, Guntrip’s ontological psychoanalysis is critically explored.