The Good Life: Reflections on Philosophical Counseling

General Philosophy
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“For I have this in common with the midwives: I am sterile in point of wisdom, and the reproach which has often been brought against me, that I question others but make no reply myself about anything, because I have no wisdom in me, is a true reproach; and the reason of it is this: the god compels me to act as midwife, but has never allowed me to bring forth. I am, then, not at all a wise person myself, nor have I any wise invention, the offspring born of my own soul; but those who associate with me, although at first some of them seem very ignorant, yet, as our acquaintance advances, all of them to whom the god is gracious make wonderful progress, not only in their own opinion, but in that of others as well. And it is clear that they do this, not because they have ever learned anything from me, but because they have found in themselves many fair things and have brought them forth.” - Socrates, Theaetetus

“Ancient philosophy proposed to mankind an art of living. By contrast, modern philosophy appears above all as the construction of a technical jargon reserved for specialists.“ - Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” - Epictetus, Enchiridion

We all ask the so-called big questions: What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose? Is there a God, and if there is, what is God like? What is happiness, and how does one achieve it? Why is there something rather than nothing at all? I believe that some people who go through an existential crisis and ask these kinds of questions get turned towards healthcare professionals who are quick to judge. As a result of asking these perfectly rational questions, their sanity gets mistaken for insanity, and they are advised to take Prozac when this particular individual really doesn’t need it, and this can cause a boatload of problems. The West, specifically the United States and Canada, has become increasingly prone to what I have come to call “therapy culture.” If you have anything seemingly wrong upstairs, it means you need to go see a therapist or a psychiatrist. What if, in all honesty, you just need guidance to help get answers to rational questions? Go see a philosopher, I suppose. The late Pierre Grimes really caused the philosophical counseling movement to take root on the West Coast, and Albert Ellis developed Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy from studying the ideas of the Stoics, Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha.

Philosophical counseling is not in any way a substitute for psychotherapy or psychiatry. Some people really have legit mental health disorders or illnesses and need to take medication. Rather, I think that the two complement each other. In my opinion, genuine forms of philosophical counseling and psychotherapy should make one independent rather than codependent. My armchair answer to someone who struggles with, say, for example, fear or anxiety, and I am suggesting that this individual has no real mental health problems, is to read Kierkegaard’s On the Concept of Anxiety or Epictetus’ Discourses, where he devotes an entire section to the topic. If someone is struggling, perhaps, with finding an authentic form of love, then maybe Plato’s Symposium would be a good remedy. If one looks on the grim side a lot, the practice of premeditatio malorum, a premeditation of evils, as suggested by Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, would be a potential exercise that could be useful. If one is prone to anger, Seneca’s essay on it would be a good read. And, if one wants to practice mindfulness in his daily life, Stoic philosophy or perhaps something from Buddhism, Confucianism, or Daoism would be beneficial.

To conclude, I think that getting people more involved in a movement like this could not only help put an end to the therapy culture that we have found ourselves in, but we can also put philosophical thinking into practice so we can live well and die well. To quote Socrates:

"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying and they fear death least of all men.” - Socrates, Phaedo

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Insightful post. Thus the human condition is laid bare, warts and all, life’s a journey perfection does not exist … all I can hope is that I’m better than I was yesterday and remind myself that whatever afflictions may trouble me are temporary.

Philosophy as a mode of inquire should reveal errors in our way of thinking about the world only through trial and error do we truly gain wisdom

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I’ve seen this topic in this forum not too long ago. I don’t recall if you’re the one who created that thread.

My answer is still the same. I would open a philosophical practice.There is a building near my work that actually has suites small and big, with doors displaying the names of such and such practice – healing, counseling, etc. I don’t have a PhD in philosophy, so, I’m not at the level of a therapist or counselor. People would make appointments for all kinds of counseling and life coaching. So, why not philosophy. I think this kind of practice needs to exist first before it can be a niche or mainstream. If it’s there, seekers or counselees would be curious and try to book an appointment. (Keep in mind that the point of philosophy is not to get rich, so expect the passion, not the money, pouring in)

And here’s the thing: people do want a deeper knowing of certain concepts like the soul, without having to be religious. Another is existential worries without the mental and psychological underpinnings.

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Psychotherapy is generally intended to be a form of philosophical counselling. People often confuse pharmacotherapy and psychiatry with counselling. Medication can be critical for some people, but that is a matter of psychiatric treatment, perhaps followed by ongoing maintenance and monitoring with a general practitioner. Psychotherapy, by contrast, is a chaotic mixture of counselling, coaching and therapeutic interventions, ranging from the disgraceful to the immensely helpful. At its best, it can be approached as a way of helping people grapple with philosophical questions: meaning, spirituality, God, meaninglessness, freedom, responsibility, mortality, identity, relationships and how one ought to live. These aren’t merely psychiatric problems.

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Have you encountered Canadian professor John Vervaeke? His Lectern website hosts courses on precisely these kinds of philosophical therapies.

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Concerning fear of death, Socrates had a cheat we don’t have access to: The belief that magic might be real and that death may not be the end.

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I think that philosophical counseling, if understood the way you described it, is exposed to a fundamental criticism about its philosophical nature. In your description of philosophical counseling, the result, the answer to get, is already set in advance. This destroys the supposed philosophical nature of that kind of counseling. There is no point in philosophy to do any research, enquiry, question, analysis, if you establish in advance the answer and the result that should come out.
If you do philosophy to reach happiness, or to live better, or to feel well, or to die in a better way, or to diminish suffering, you have pre-established in advance the final result that you want to get. This way you have completely killed, nullified, any value of your research, any value of philosophy. There is no point in studying 2+2 if you have established in advance that the answer must be 5. May be the answer 4 is not so pleasant, not so helpful to feel well, to diminish suffering, but, at least, it is the result of an authentically open research.
This means that doing philosophical counseling with the pre-established purpose of helping people to feel better is the opposite of looking for authenticity.

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Therefore, the more the philosophical counseling or therapy is needed. Because this is exactly the dogmatism a philosopher is trying to dismantle in those whose beliefs have already been formed without further inquiry. Seekers go to a sage because they have become religious, for example, through upbringing. Or they have no religious beliefs because their family never had one either. There is also this doubt about the soul, for example or the non-existent spirit. They would want to know if they have reasons to believe otherwise.

The sage is not going to dictate what to believe. But they will show you your mind’s foolishness.

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Which is a pretty good summary of psychotherapy if done appropriately.

I suspect that psychotherapy like philosophy, is often taken up by the third rate and by hacks. :wink:

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That was probably me from a very long time ago. I just think as a society we medicalize everything that anyone says or does. Inability to focus? You have ADHD. Afraid constantly? You have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Sad because of certain life circumstances? You have clinical depression.

I am not suggesting that these are not real mental health problems for people. I am not going so far, as Michel Foucault did, to suggest that mental health problems are all socially constructed. It’s clear that there are people who want to commit suicide every other day, see and hear things that are not really there, or invent a new self for themselves (as is found in split personality disorder). Medications definitely help quell that in conjunction with talk therapy. These are extreme examples that do have a medical solution.

But the real issue is over-diagnosing people. If the mental health field over-diagnoses then it’s probably misdiagnosing, too. I think this does people extreme harm. Take for example a person that is in a depressed state because of the death of a parent. This does not make them mentally ill or “insane.” Rather, they are perfectly sane. They just need helping reasoning out why they are acting the way that they are. The ultimate goal of a counselor should be to get rid of their clients over time, giving them the tools and insight they need to be independent rather than codependent.

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I agree. That is at least what I would hope from an honest therapist.

I do think that a lot of people that enter the field of psychotherapy and psychiatry are hacks because they get burnt out easily. This is not representative of all people in the field, but there is a number of them that get like this and see their clients as just another dollar sign.

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Agree. I remember Jeffrey Masson, a critic of therapy (Against Therapy), making the point that we need to be very cautious around people who think they know what’s best for others. I would extend this to philosophy and religion too. The impulse to impose values on others in the name of some truth/healing/enlightenment can be a significant conduit to harm. Sometimes unintentional.

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