On philosophical counseling

[If you’d like to schedule a philosophical therapy session with me, please use this contact form.]

Back in the early 2000s I was living in Knoxville, TN, working as a faculty in the Department of Botany at the University there. But I already had an interest in philosophy, so for one of my classes I interviewed Lou Marinoff, who is now my colleague in the Department of Philosophy at the City College of New York.

You see, Lou had written a best selling book that struck me as both bizarre and intriguing: Plato, Not Prozac! — Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems. The book introduced the general public to what is known as philosophical counseling, which Lou characterizes as “therapy for the sane.”

The National Philosophical Counseling Association (NPCA) provides the following description of what philosophical counselors are up to:

“A philosophical practitioner helps clients to clarify, articulate, explore and comprehend philosophical aspects of their belief systems or world views. … Clients may consult philosophical practitioners for help in exploring philosophical problems related to such matters as mid-life crises, career changes, stress, emotions, assertiveness, physical illness, death and dying, aging, meaning of life, and morality.”

A few years later, I wrote a short piece introducing philosophical counseling to my blog readers, on the occasion of my first attendance to the meetings of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA) in New York City. In 2011 I interviewed Lou again, for my Rationally Speaking podcast. Obviously, I was indeed intrigued. (Lou is also quite a character in his own regard, setting aside the things he talks about.)

Finally, in 2014 I took the plunge and enrolled in the APPA certification program for philosophical counselors. I wanted to try out the thing for myself, so I set up shop for about a year, during which I had 11 clients. Each client saw me (in person or via Skype) for a small number of sessions — this isn’t Woody Allen’s…