Philosophical    Practice

Philosophical  Counseling  for  INDIVIDUALS:   I provide counseling to individual clients on a variety of issues, including ethical dilemmas, personal and professional decision-making, questions relating to the meaning of life and existence, issues in the philosophy of religion, aspects of socio-political change and the individual, personal growth and development, and various questions in value theory, ethics, and meta-ethics.

     Philosophical counseling has existed, informally, since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers (Socrates, Aristotle, Plato), but first received professional structure and development when German philosopher Gerd Achenbach established his own private practice in philosophical counseling in 1981, founded the German Association for Philosophical Practice, launched the journal “Agora”, and published his treatise, “Philosophische Praxis”.  Today, philosophical counseling has been developed in the United States and other countries by prominent scholars and practitioners, such as Drs. J. Michael Russell, Vaughana Feary, and  Dr. Lou Marinoff,   founder of the  American Philosophical Practitioners Association  (and the author of such popular texts as    Philosophical Practice   (2001),  Therapy For The Sane: How Philosophy Can Change Your Life  (2003), and  Plato, Not Prozac!  Applying Philosophy to Everyday Problems  (1999).

     Many people find that philosophy can empower them to cope with, transcend and overcome everyday challenges and difficult life situations, much more effectively than various forms of psychotherapy.  Simply put, not all of life's issues are reducible to, nor are manifestations of, “mental illnesses” -- nor are they “treatable” through psychotherapy or medication.   (For extensive, documented research in support of this view, see works by Dr. Peter Breggin, such as his book, Toxic Psychiatry, and Dr. Thomas Szasz's books, including his popular work, The Myth of Mental Illness, and his latest book,  Psychiatry: The Science of Lies  (2008),  among others.)   In a wide variety of cases, philosophical counseling may enable you to better examine your life, and help you to discover new perspectives, insights, and understandings regarding your situations, concerns, and personal challenges.   (On the other hand, if you suffer from severe depression, acute anxiety, or are physically ill, then you should consult with a doctor or pychotherapist.)
To begin familiarizing yourself with the nature and scope of Philosophical Counseling, and to see whether it may work for you, I highly recommend that you read Dr. Lou Marinoff's Philosophical Practice;  this book will give you a comprehensive overview of how philosophy may help to change your life positively. 

     In my practice, I apply a variety of philosophical methods drawn from both Analytic Philosophy (the tools of Critical Thinking, Informal Logic, Argumentation Theory, Conceptual Analysis), as well as the methods of Existentialist philosophers ( drawing on the techniques, principles, and concepts of such thinkers as  Jean-Paul Sartre, and Viktor Frankl’s school of  Logotherapy ).   I also apply the main insights, principles, and theories of philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, the Stoics (Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius), Rene Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, G. W. Leibniz, Friedrich Nietzsche, William James, Bertrand Russell, Robert Nozick,  Ayn Rand, John Hospers, and others, to your own personal issues, in order to provide you with greater philosophical understanding of, and perspectives on, your situations. To see if philosophical counseling is for you, and/or to arrange a session, please email me at:  rrabinsky@miami.edu     (I offer philosophical counseling in English and Spanish).  

 
Philosophical Services for ORGANIZATIONS:  I offer my consulting services to a variety of organizations, including academic institutions (schools, colleges, and universities), private businesses and corporations, as well as non-profit organizations, and the government.   My consulting provides specialized assistance in creating, developing, and refining your own unique “Organizational Philosophy”:  including professional codes of ethics, organizational mission statements, policies, and methods for articulating and enhancing organizational values, strategies, and goals.  I am also available for keynote speeches, critical thinking & creativity workshops, and philosophical Socratic dialogue seminars.  To arrange a service, and for organizational rates, please e-mail me at:  rrabinsky@miami.edu


 


                                                                   Copyright  ©  2008  by  Ruben Rabinsky