The 'Person'in Philosophical Counselling vs. Psychotherapy and the Possibility of Interchange between the Fields

This paper suggests that a basic distinction between philosophical counselling and psychotherapy is to be found in the conception of 'the person'that is inherent in each of the fields. Understanding this distinction allows not only for a more profound recognition of what is unique to philosophical counselling but also for a better view of possibilities of interchange between the fields. [1]     

Towards a taxonomy of philosophical counselling

As sympathetic outsiders trying to understand and explain the field of philosophical counselling to other (perhaps not so sympathetic) outsiders, we find ourselves repeatedly asking and being asked two questions: “What is philosophical counselling?” and “What is its relationship to psychological counselling?” In seeking to develop satisfactory answers to these questions, we present a taxonomy of philosophical counselling. This fourfold taxonomy was developed by classifying the work of a range of recognised philosophical counsellors in terms of their declared ends. This taxonomy makes sense of the diversity of the field, while also recognising the underlying coherence. Moreover, the categories of the taxonomy align with existing forms of psychological counselling practice, and in this way the taxonomy enables us to pinpoint the relationship between psychological and philosophical counselling. We end with some consideration of what philosophical counsellors can learn from their colleagues in psychology, especially in relation to the role of empathy and the importance of empirical testing.     

Philosophy and the care of the self: A literature survey

This article reviews a number of recent books and practices that address a renewed interest in the role that philosophy might play in the living of a rich and fulfilling life. The review looks at books addressed to the general public as well as books which discuss such classical and Hellenistic philosophers as took their task to be helping people achieve happiness in life. It then turns to contemporary studies of the self and of wisdom and turns finally to some newly emerging philosophical practices such as philosophical counselling and philosophical discussion groups of various kinds in order to explore whether philosophy can still be a source of consolation or guidance in contemporary life.     

Applied pluralism in the evaluation of employee counselling

The method and major findings of a complex, 'pluralist' evaluation, which investigated the effectiveness of the counselling provision of an employee support and counselling service in a local authority education department over 22 months, are outlined. Reference is made to the underlying philosophical approach of integrated pluralist evaluation, which may represent a significant step forward from the accepted methods of triangulation. In addition to achieving predicted high satisfaction rates from clients, counsellors and clients both indicated significant improvements in all measures used. These were maintained at follow-up which took place at intervals from 1 to 18 months after counselling had ended. Reduction in absenteeism post-counselling suggested the possibility of very substantial revenue savings. Responses also indicated the acute, and often chronic, need for employee counselling provision in the education system.     

On exploring meanings: Combining humanistic and career psychology theories in counselling

The notion of meaning is considered a significant construct in both humanistic psychology and vocational psychology. These two psychological disciplines appear to share some philosophical common ground with respect to the role of meaning making and meaning interpretation in people's life career experiences. This paper intends to take a look at such shared conceptual foundation, and examine the feasibility in incorporating the humanistic meaning construct into career psychology. Career counselling implications are discussed.     

The concomitants of system orientation in secondary school counsellors

Counsellors resolve their working dilemmas in terms of an orientation which they bring to the system in which they work. This ranges from extremes of acceptance and close co-operation, to extremes of challenge and independence. Evidence is given to indicate that the position which an individual adopts on such a continuum is related to factors in his personality, to his experience of inter-role conflict between teaching and counselling, to his experience of intra-role conflict with colleagues, to the designation of his role, to the amount of time available for its fulfilment, and to the length of the counselling training he has received. The findings tend to indicate that counselling is beset by internal philosophical tensions, and that the introduction of counselling is not necessarily part of a historically inevitable movement towards more openness in schools.     

African and Islamic philosophy: Expanding the horizons of philosophical counselling

Philosophical counselling has traditionally utilized a limited number of philosophical traditions: Existentialism, Stoicism, and the employment of Socratic dialogues being the most common ones. Focusing on a limited number of philosophical views does not exploit the potential therapeutic value of many other philosophical traditions, and may enhance dogmatism. In this paper we illustrate the need for a wider philosophical toolkit by showing the potential value of two rarely-employed philosophical traditions: African and Islamic philosophy. From the plethora of issues in these philosophical traditions, we highlight the relevance of African philosophy to conflicts between social duties and individual desires, and the relevance of Islamic philosophy to conflicts between faith and reason. We then emphasize the relevance of these philosophies in the current social and political situation in the Western world in general, and in Europe in particular.     

Pleasure in Epicurean and Christian Orthodox conceptions of happiness

The essay examines the central role that pleasure plays in a wide range of conceptualisations of happiness or ‘good life’, from Epicurean hedonism, to Christian asceticism, to contemporary cases of pastoral and philosophical counselling. Despite the apparent moral chasm between hedonists and ascetics, a look at the practices promoted by Epicurus and the Christian monastic fathers reveals striking similarities. The reason is that, at a fundamental level, both parties agree that one should reject the vulgar pleasures that society glorifies, and develop a refined attitude that seeks the appropriate and natural pleasures, while ignoring the harmful or unnecessary ones. And such an attitude can only be acquired through moral training, either by philosophical instruction and reflection, or by pastoral counselling. We highlight some important parallels regarding the connection between pleasure and happiness, as conceived by Epicureans and monastic fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. We begin by discussing elements of Epicureanism that can also be found in its rival philosophical schools and Christianity, mainly the emphasis on forming the right conception of happiness and acting in accordance with it. We then examine the connection between morality and happiness in the Christian Orthodox monasticism. We argue that Christian ascetic ethics not only condone some types of pleasures, but in fact require them as elements of happiness in this life that play an instrumental role for the Christian soteriological dogma. The argument has wider philosophical significance because it shows that pleasure is indeed a fundamental conceptual ingredient of happiness across different normative ethical contexts.     

Disability Advocacy and Reproductive Choice: Engaging with the Expressivist Objection

This professional issues paper outlines the experience and value of engagement with disability advocates, philosophy scholars and bioethicists for spirited debate of issues such as modern eugenics, the expressivist objection and reproductive choice. This process for one group of individuals, undoubtedly prompted deeper examination and questioning of some long held personal and professional views, for all participants. For this author, engagement in the “Disability Rights–Genetic Counseling Interest Group” over a full year resulted in several positive changes in genetic counselling practice as well as the development of meaningful, robust philosophical defence of the dual roles in genetic counseling; advocacy for those with disabilities, and facilitation of a full range of reproductive choices.     

Philosophical Counselling, Truth and Self-Interpretation

Philosophical counselling, Ran Lahav and others claim, helps clients deepen their philosophical self-understanding. The counsellor's role is the minimalist one of providing the client with the philosophical tools needed for reflective self-evaluation. Respect for the client's autonomy entails refraining from intervening with substantive moral criticism, theories, and methods; the client's ways of working out fundamental questions like ‘Who am I and what do I really want?’cannot be assessed by the counsellor in terms of their truth-value, but only in terms of whether they reflect the client's autonomous choice to express him/herself in a certain way. I argue that this view, which is informed by an anti-realist account of self and life-history, undermines the distinction between self-knowledge and self-deception. Once interpretive and criteriological free rein is given to the client, and once personal, pragmatic and aesthetic considerations take precedence over truth-value, then the way is left open to clients to generate the most morally convenient self-interpretation to suit their current needs. I defend the view that truth matters in philosophical counselling; more specifically, that there is a basic distinction between true and false forms of self-understanding. To do this, I offer a broadly realist account of self and reflective self-evaluation. If this is right, then philosophical counsellors shoulder a significant burden of responsibility in helping their clients achieve an accurate, defensible, action-guiding and truth-oriented self-understanding.     

Fifth International Conference on Philosophy in Practice

Increasingly philosophers earn their living as consultants. The conference will aim to explore the practical role of philosophical dialogue in education, counselling and business organizations, and to enrich the international dialogue between practising philosophers.     

Epimelia Heautou as Philosophical Counselling

Abstract

Philosophical counselling is practice aimed at alleviating suffering though the application of a range of philosophical skill and methods. Presupposing that critical investigation of one’s values and assumptions will be sufficient to bring about a meaningful transformation is presumptuous – both of the force of rationality, and the breadth of philosophy’s application. Self knowledge is a precursor to transformation, but not solely responsible for it. This appears to call the foundation of philosophical counseling into question. The ancient notion of epimelia heautou (care of self) attends to this concern. Care of self is a call to form a relationship of self with self. This is not a process of coming to know ourselves through reflection and analysis alone, but entails an active involvement with our very formation. I will argue that care of self is exemplar of philosophical counseling, in that it contributes to the understanding and practice of philosophical counseling in a way that significantly enriches it.     

Respect as Esteem: The Case of Counselling

To claim that respect is one of the cornerstones of professional ethics is uncontroversial. However, it has become commonplace in the philosophical literature to distinguish between different kinds of respect. This paper considers the distinction between ‘recognition respect,’ said to be owed to persons as such, and ‘appraisal respect,’ said to be owed to those persons whom merit it, in the context of the professional–client relationship. Using the practice of counselling as an example, it is argued that both kinds of respect have a place in the professional–client relationship, which is in turn articulated as a relationship between equally fallible moral agents.     

To change our thinking: Philosophical practice for difficult times

If a time of crisis calls for a new mode of thinking, philosophical practice offers the means to answer that call. Contemporary philosophical practice revitalises the ancient Greek understanding of philosophy as a way of life that cultivates personal transformation and new ways of seeing the world. This article describes the development of the author’s philosophical counselling practice as a practice of emancipation, in concert with the writings of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Rancière. It considers the significance of personal engagement and companionship for the cultivation of practical wisdom, and suggests that the intransigence of our global social and economic crises ultimately indicates an incorrect view of human nature and an ossified or unbalanced relationship between practical and theoretical ways of knowing and wisdom.     

Introducing an existential-phenomenological approach: Basic phenomenological theory and research–Part I

What is often referred to as the existential approach to counselling and psychotherapy may be defined as the application of existential-phenomenological philosophy towards psychotherapeutic ends, in which individual practitioners choose how to apply their readings of the leading authors. The first of this two-part exposition introduces a form of ‘experiential’ philosophy called phenomenology, a regular experiential method that is in many ways antithetical to the conventional scientific approach. This first paper concentrates on one of the many successive definitions of phenomenology given by Husserl, the philosopher of science, in 1927, with help from his ex-student Heidegger. In the second paper, phenomenology is brought to bear on human experience, and it is Heidegger in Being and Time who added it to the writings of the earlier existentialists Kierkegaard and Nietzsche; to produce existential psychology and philosophy. Also in the second part, three forms of existential therapy are briefly mentioned. This first paper introduces a handful of key ideas for counselling psychologists, and illustrates how philosophical work is an inherent part of life, as well as the production and use of psychological knowledge.     

Some unresolved issues in philosophy and psychology: their implications for therapy

This paper is divided into two interrelated sections: the first section examines the scientific status of mainstream Western psychology. It will also consider the major arguments concerning the relationship of mainstream Western psychology to philosophy—in particular to metaphysics and the philosophy of science. It will be argued that psychology has turned away from its past philosophical heritage and has thus, short-changed itself by avoiding the very issues, which form an integral part of one's subjective and existential world and of the therapeutic process. The second section argues that, to a large measure the contemporary approaches to counselling and psychotherapy have moved away from the scientific ideologies, which guide research within mainstream Western psychology. Over the last 30 years or more, counselling and psychotherapy as ‘disciplines’ have proliferated into several sub-disciplines. This has made it difficult, if not impossible, to determine their pedigree and parentage. Although a great deal of ingenuity has gone into the construction of such new therapies, very little effort has gone into testing their validity. Unless serious attempts are made to bring about a rapprochement, it is likely to lead to a state of ‘epistemological anarchy’, or, anything goes.     

How To Think About Philosophical Methodology

Experimental philosophy, at least in its ‘negative’ variety, has standardly been portrayed as presenting a dramatic challenge to traditional philosophical methodology. As such, it has prompted a large variety of counter-arguments and defenses of intuition. In this paper, I argue that many of these objections to experimental philosophy rest on various oversimplifications that both experimental philosophers and their opponents have made regarding intuitions and philosophical methodology. Once these oversimplifications are abandoned, I argue that the experimentalist critique of current philosophical methods becomes somewhat less dramatic, but also much less open to objection.

     

Tools for Many Trades: Reaffirming the Use of Grief Counselling by Health, Welfare and Pastoral Workers

The use of counselling is increasingly questioned as an appropriate and viable activity for professionals in statutory and general settings whose work roles and tasks are varied. This paper looks specifically at grief counselling and examines some of the reasons why applications of grief theories and grief counselling by such workers have been narrow and limited. It then suggests a framework for teaching the subject, offering relevant applications. Finally, it points to developing areas of grief counselling in multi-disciplinary contexts and argues that working with grief and loss must be recognised and fostered as core, generic skills for the non-specialist.