What philosophical education does the typical philosophical counselor have?
A Master’s or Doctor’s Degree in Philosophy, along with interdisciplinary studies in Psychotherapy and Psychology. Some philosophical counselors are also regular full-time college faculty members. Others are self-employed practitioners who may also do some part-time college teaching. Among the specialty subjects that trained philosophers bring to the counseling encounter are Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics, Epistemology (Theory of Knowledge), Ethics (Moral Philosophy), Logic, Critical Thinking, and Conceptual Analysis. Three common characteristics of philosophical counselors are (1) appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of their work, (2) fascination with the interplay between theory and practice, and (3) the conviction that every client is also a philosopher, endowed with insight and reasoning capacity for forming a meaningful, life-directing worldview.
