Philosophical Counseling as Psychotherapy: An Eclectic Approach

Contrary to current belief among many philosophers, I attempt to show that philosophical counseling is a form of psychotherapy that is in need of structure and guidance in order for it to prosper as a viable approach to mental health treatment. Methodological approaches are examined including dialectical, solution-oriented, and long-term considerations that comprise the nature of meaning analysis and procedural inquiry. If philosophical counseling is to gain recognition among the helping professions, it will need to embrace a philo-psychological paradigm of theory and practice that emphasizes philosophical eclecticism. Philosophical Counseling (PC) is a controversial discipline offering several competing approaches to philosophical self-investigation, guidance, intervention, and personal adjustment that address life concerns which have typically been treated by mental health professions. It is controversial in that it alleges to offer a unique and divergent alternative to the array of traditional existent psychotherapies, is largely based on theoretical propositions rather than on tested practice, has no defined training criteria, is (with qualifications) potentially ethically questionable in some contexts, and apart from a