Vittorio Filippo Guidano (4 August 1944, Rome, Italy – 31 August 1999, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Italian neuropsychiatrist, creator of the cognitive procedural systemic model[1] and contributor to constructivist post-rationalist cognitive therapy.[2] His cognitive post-rationalist model was influenced by attachment theory, evolutionary epistemology, complex systems theory, and the prevalence of abstract mental processes proposed by Friedrich Hayek.[3] Guidano conceived the personal system as a self-organized entity, in constant development.[3]
Among his published writings are the books Complexity of the Self (1987) and The Self in Progress (1991).[4] He was the first president of the Italian Society of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy (SITCC) and he co-founded the Institute of Post-Rationalist Psychology and Psychotherapy (IPRA).[4][5] Guidano's work has been called "the most important influence" on Jeffrey Young's schema therapy.[6] He also influenced the elaboration of other constructivist psychotherapies such as coherence therapy.[7][8]