Book Review: Philosophy Practice: An alternative to Counselling and Psychotherapy

In the world of the 'helping professions', philosophical counselling is considered a relatively new genre. The first manifestation of this 'new' movement was the opening of a modern, philosophically based practice in Koln, Germany by Gerd Achenbach in 1981. Achenbach is a German philosopher who conceived the idea that the philosopher could work as a private individual, discussing questions about life problems within private consultations. Since 1981, philosophical counselling has spread; within a relatively short space of time it has become established in many countries, including Israel where Shlomit C. Schuster practices. In her challenging and fascinating book Philosophy Practice, Schuster puts forward her views on the evolution and historical roots of this movement and indicates ways in which it can be used within the practice of psychotherapy. A final, very useful and revealing, section of the book relays details of case studies, showing philosophical counselling in action.

Philosophical counselling is concerned with challenging assumptions, it attempts to look at the world, and our concepts of the way in which we live in it, in a different way and from a different viewpoint. Therefore, it is not surprising that this book throws up many interesting and challenging questions. For example, how can philosophical counselling be considered a new genre, when the practice of philosophy has questioned our worldview throughout time? Schuster says "searchers for truth and knowledge today should consider the answers of those who have searched before". Thus she firmly places philosophical counselling as growing from the practice of philosophy. However, she feels that philosophy today has had a tendency to become provincial and marginalised; by using labels about philosophy such as 'analytical', 'existential', or 'phenomenological' we can restrict ourselves to thinking in a narrow way. Instead, Schuster promotes philosophical counselling as a living, breathing art. By creating a 'free space' in which it is possible to discuss, challenge, question and examine the way in which we think, philosophical counselling can help us to look at basic concepts about our own lives without previously held assumptions getting in the way.

A further challenge is given to us in the subtitle of the book - 'An alternative to counselling and therapy'. Schuster feels that psychological counselling has hijacked the terms 'counselling' and 'counsellor'. She points out that the word counselling, in its original sense, means 'giving advice'. Just as experts in law, literature, politics and gardening can give advice, so can the philosophical counsellor. The term is not exclusively for use by a person who has been on a 'counselling' course. Similarly, Schuster eschews the use of the term 'therapy' in relation to philosophical practice, rather she considers her work to be 'trans-therapeutic'. That is, "it consists of activities that are not therapy, but can nevertheless induce a sense of well-being". To emphasise this point, she distinguishes between 'therapy' and 'therapeutic'; therapy subscribes to certain rules, training and an ethos, whereas therapeutic can refer to any activity that makes someone feel better.

Furthermore, she places philosophical counselling firmly in the realm of the non-clinical. Most therapeutic training, she believes to be rooted in the medical model - by the length of training, the use of jargon, the adoption of a particular set of values and the desire to 'cure'. According to Schuster, this 'medical imperialism' forces us into what is considered to be the 'normal' and accepted view of the cause, or diagnosis of an illness. Conversely, philosophical counselling sets up a space in which to search for answers which are 'meta-clinical', that is, concerned with human philosophical questions, rather than entrenched in the concept of 'curing' our neuroses by the use of doctors and psychiatrists. It is, according to Schuster, these 'meta-clinical' problems which can often be presented to doctors and psychiatrists, who then try and 'cure' them - when they are in actuality part of our normal dilemma and anxiety of being alive. By the process of questioning and discussing the counsellee's ideas, it may be possible to 'de-diagnose' and 'de-psychoanalyse' - that is, release the counsel lee from rigid, previously held ideas. Therefore, Schuster says, it is important to recognise that an invitation to participate in philosophical practice is not a bid to develop, grow, change or be cured (all aspects, she believes, of therapy) but more a deepening of a philosophical dialogue. By creating a space, a 'no-mans land' between the philosophical, psychological, medical and therapy worlds, philosophical counselling becomes a neutral place in which to explore our concepts of our own world. Therefore, we can see that philosophical practice is not offered as a substitute for the use of medicine, but as an alternative; it can be an additional way of looking at a situation, rather than a substitute.

Another important aspect of the practice of philosophical counselling is the difference between the purely cerebral approach of academic philosophy and the more empathic stance of philosophical counselling. Clarity of thought is essential - as we would expect from any practice in which two people form a dialogue for the purpose of the resolution of difficulties - as indeed is a certain detachment from being involved with the counsellee's worldview. However, empathy - and even love - are considered an important part of this practice. By quoting Chad Varah, the founder of the Samaritans, Schuster points out that the power of friendship is often found to help the process of giving advice to become more effective. Friendship is not what the counsellee pays for, rather it is an essential part of human discourse. Without friendship and love, both our day to day living and the experience within philosophical counselling would be hollow, intellectual posturings.

Within the section of the book that investigates the justification of the non-clinical approach to philosophical counselling, there are some references to existential psychotherapy. Schuster feels that the reference to philosophy ideas within the practice of existential psychotherapy is advantageous. However, she also feels that however much existential psychotherapy acknowledges the use of philosophy within its practice, it will never achieve the openness that philosophical counselling can accomplish. She re-iterates that any therapeutic training instils, by its very nature, a 'therapeutic consciousness'. By setting itself aside from any prescribed methodology, philosophical counselling offers a complimentary practice, a place in which it may be possible to achieve "freedom from the preconceived, the ill-conceived, the prejudiced, and the hubris of knowing it all".

This is a densely written and many-faceted book, a book which benefits from frequent reference, rather than read through from cover to cover in one sitting. The challenging and questioning nature of the material makes it a very useful book, not only for existential psychotherapists but for all of us. As Schuster so neatly puts it "questioning and searching for answers has a value in itself that often exceeds the answers ultimately found."

Kathy Parsons