`Erwin′s argumentative skills and knowledge of the literature are remarkable and most of his original claims are persuasive....The merit of the analysis Erwin offers is to provide a well-informed and accessible account of the current state of psychotherapy, its history and its philosophical grounds′ - Metapsychology Online `For those readers who favour an empirical-scientific approach to counselling and therapy, and who view therapy, at least potentially or in principle, as an objective science, this will no doubt be a very useful and informative book... We should be grateful that Erwin has set out more fully than anyone to date the specifically philosophical case for a "science of therapy"; and those of a New Paradigm persuasion at least now know the nature of the arguments they will have to refute in order to sustain their position. I look forward with eager anticipation to their efforts, and to an emerging and fruitful engagement between philosophy and therapy - for both have a great deal to learn from each other′ - Counselling, The Journal of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy This pioneering book analyzes the interface between philosophy and psychotherapy. The first authoritative work to apply rigorous philosophical discipline to therapeutic claims and counter-claims, it will encourage psychotherapists, counsellors and applied psychologists to examine their practice and clarify their thinking. Edward Erwin discusses some of the key philosophical issues that have a particular relevance to psychotherapeutic theory - autonomy and free choice, the nature of the self, epistemology, and values and morals - as well as examining specific interdisciplinary issues that cut across the boundaries between philosophy and psychotherapy. Finally, he looks at the `crisis′ in psychotherapy today, offering a valuable philosophical insight into the debate about the proliferation and efficacy of therapeutic approaches.

Why should modern psychotherapists be interested in philosophy, especially ancient philosophy? Why should philosophers be interested in psychotherapy? There is a sense of mutual attraction between what are today two thoroughly distinct disciplines. However, arguably it was not always the case that they were distinct. The author takes the view that by reconsidering the generally received wisdom concerning the history of these closely-related subjects, we can learn a great deal about both philosophy and psychotherapy, under which heading he includes potentially solitary pursuits such as "self-help" and "personal development".

Presenting a highly innovative exploration of the relationship between philosophical and psychological issues, Edwin L. Hersch argues that psychological theories and practices inescapably rest upon a series of philosophical positions – whether they are acknowledged and reflected upon or not. To examine this proposition Hersch develops his Hierarchy of Levels of Theoretical or Philosophical Inquiry Method, which involves the systematic consideration of a series of philosophical questions pertaining to the ontological, general epistemological, field-specific epistemological, and psychological stances adopted (either explicitly or implicitly) by any particular psychological theory. By using this hierarchical framework the book then attempts to develop a new approach to psychological theory and psychotherapeutic practice based largely on the premises of phenomenological philosophy. The scope of the book cuts across a variety of theoretical and professional disciplinary approaches within the broad psychological field in demonstrating the relevance of certain philosophical issues for all of them. Clinicians, theorists and students in the psychological field are presented with a palatable introduction to the importance and inevitability of dealing with philosophy in pursuing their own work. Furthermore, his philosophical explications of a variety of psychological theories provide a new tool with which to better understand, compare, or assess any internal inconsistencies.

Although philosophy has become a purely academic discipline over the last few centuries, it once played an important role in the politics of many Western nations. Now, the end of the 20th century, philosophy seems to be returning to its original, practical purposes, thanks to the new practice of philosophical counseling, which is now emerging as an alternative to psychoanalysis and other clinical approaches. This volume describes the main theoretical aspects of this practice based on an open-ended dialogue between a philosophical practitioner and a client or a group, and places it in a historical context, while contrasting it with various forms of psychological counseling. To illustrate how philosophy can be beneficial, the author, a practicing philosophical counselor, also presents several case studies from her own practice.

In this book, Raabe argues that philosophy can effectively inform and improve conventional methods of treating mental illness. He presents clinical evidence showing that mild and so-called clinical mental illnesses can be both prevented and alleviated with philosophical talk therapy. Raabe offers concrete case examples that support his findings.

This book presents an account and defense of Wittgenstein's later philosophy emphasizing its therapeutic character. Peterman argues that any therapeutic philosophy must present an account of human health, a related account of the mechanisms of health and illness, and finally an account of how philosophy can bring someone from a state of illness to health. In light of this general model, he presents an interpretation of Wittgenstein's therapeutic project that emphasizes the continuity between it and the earlier ethical project of the Tractatus. The book confronts the problem of continuity by arguing that the earlier ethical goal of coming into agreement with the world as such is replaced in the later views by the therapeutic goal of coming into agreement with forms of life. In the course of the argument, Peterman challenges standard interpretations of Wittgenstein's project and standard modes of criticizing and defending it. The book also contributes to contemporary philosophical discussion by showing why we should take seriously the project of philosophical therapy.

In the first book written in English on this growing field of applied philosophy, Essays on Philosophical Counseling is a collection of 14 articles by leading philosophical counselors from five countries. The book presents the reader with the major approaches to philosophical counseling, by combing theoretical discussions with a large number of case studies. Divided into three parts, Essays on Philosophical Counseling first discusses the theoretical and historical background of philosophical counseling, then deals with the relationship between philosophical counseling and psychotherapy and last, focuses on specific types of problems and predicaments and how they are addressed philosophically. Contents: Philosophical Counseling: The General Picture; A Conceptual Framework for Philosophical Counseling: Worldview Interpretation, Ran Lahav; Philosophical Counseling in Holland: History and Open Issues, Ida Jongsma; The Training of a Philosophical Counselor, Dries Bole; Philosophical Counseling: The Arts of Ecological Relationship and Interpretation, Barbara Norman; Philosophical Counceling and Psychotherapy; Philosophy, Philosophical Practice, and Psychotherapy, Gerd A. Achenbach; Philosophical Counseling as a Critical Examination of Life-Directing Conceptions, Michael Schefczyk; Some Reflections on Philosophical Counseling and Psychotherapy, Ben Mijuskovic; Meaning Crisis: Philosophical Counseling and Psychotherapy, Steven Segal; Philosophical Counseling: Some Roles of Critical Thinking, Elliot D. Cohen; Specific Topics for Counseling; Philosophy in Marriage Counseling, Anette Prins-Bakker; Philosophical Practice, Pastoral Work, and Suicide Survivors, Will A.J.F. Gerbers; The Philosopher in the Business World as a Vision Developer, Ad Hoogendijk; On the Emergence of Ethical Counseling: Considerations and Two Case Studies, Louis Marinoff; Supplement: The Legal Perspective; Legal Issues in Philosophical Counseling, Barton Bernstein and Linda Bolin.