Delirium has not to be considered just as a manifestation of a wider disease, but it is in fact an independent dimension, ranging from pathology to normality. It is mainly characterized from an inability to change that can be considered the common base of many behaviors, spreading over the whole spectrum of human functioning, from stubbornness and obstinacy to the more problematic psychotic delusion. Delirium can be explained as a psychological mechanism strictly connected with the life of the subject and it is necessary to maintain a coherence in the identity of the person while facing intolerable events. In this view, delirium is considered as a protection for the individual. It is possible to cure the delirium. While the present approaches, both psychological and pharmacological ones, focus on eliminating delirium as if it was a simple symptom of the disease, in this paper we propose a psychotherapy of delirium that aims to the comprehension and definition of it as a defense for the individual personality, and a subsequent reorganization of alternative strategies. The paper provides 14 sheets for working with the patients, both in a clinical and in a domestic setting.
Keywords: Delirium, confirmation attitude, self-deception, psychosis, cognitive psychotherapy, evolutionism