Philosophical Counselling
Welcome. My name is Matthew Bishop. With qualifications and years of experience both as a philosopher and a psychotherapist, I offer Philosophical Counselling.
There are two common variants of Philosophical Counselling. The first is pure philosophical conversation, of a kind that benefits your life. The second is a combination of philosophy with psychotherapy. I offer both variants.
People come to me with many different kinds of problems or goals. I see people by Zoom or phone, in Australia and internationally.
Psychotherapy
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. To pursue this path, I studied Counselling and Psychotherapy to masters level. For years, I worked in mainstream therapeutic contexts, alongside my philosophical work. During the 2010s I conducted a private practice focused on Existential Therapy. In short, I have decades of experience as a mainstream counsellor and psychotherapist and as an existential therapist. I integrate all that knowledge and skill into my philosophical counselling.
Philosophy
I have decades of experience offering philosophical conversations which help people to face their challenges and to live with greater depth. When I speak of philosophy I mean, above all, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Such philosophy is contemplative, but also practical: it is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue. Wisdom is the ability to think clearly and deeply about reality. A virtue is any good quality which we cultivate, which makes us and our lives better. Most people want to possess a good heart and mind, but also a good life in the sense of happiness, success, flourishing. More than anything else in life, it is cultivation of wisdom and virtue that leads to these.
While I focus on classical philosophy, I draw readily from elsewhere, for example from existentialism and phenomenology. Phenomology is a discipline for understanding our experience, our way of being, what we truly care about and what motivates us, and so on.
Who is this for?
Because I practice both forms of Philosophical Counselling--pure philosophical conversation, and the combination of philosophy and psychotherapy--I see a wide variety of people for a wide variety of concerns. This includes:
--People who seek a purely reflective philosophical conversation, to make better sense of things.
--People who desire to cultivate wisdom and virtue, for the sake of a better life.
--People who want counselling, and who sense that a combination of philosophy with therapy may be even better for them.
You can read more about my approach here. You can read about making a booking here.
The present website emphasises my combination of philosophy and psychotherapy. See my main website here for my other services which focus on my more purely philosophical services, such as coaching in critical thinking.
There are two common variants of Philosophical Counselling. The first is pure philosophical conversation, of a kind that benefits your life. The second is a combination of philosophy with psychotherapy. I offer both variants.
People come to me with many different kinds of problems or goals. I see people by Zoom or phone, in Australia and internationally.
Psychotherapy
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. To pursue this path, I studied Counselling and Psychotherapy to masters level. For years, I worked in mainstream therapeutic contexts, alongside my philosophical work. During the 2010s I conducted a private practice focused on Existential Therapy. In short, I have decades of experience as a mainstream counsellor and psychotherapist and as an existential therapist. I integrate all that knowledge and skill into my philosophical counselling.
Philosophy
I have decades of experience offering philosophical conversations which help people to face their challenges and to live with greater depth. When I speak of philosophy I mean, above all, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Such philosophy is contemplative, but also practical: it is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue. Wisdom is the ability to think clearly and deeply about reality. A virtue is any good quality which we cultivate, which makes us and our lives better. Most people want to possess a good heart and mind, but also a good life in the sense of happiness, success, flourishing. More than anything else in life, it is cultivation of wisdom and virtue that leads to these.
While I focus on classical philosophy, I draw readily from elsewhere, for example from existentialism and phenomenology. Phenomology is a discipline for understanding our experience, our way of being, what we truly care about and what motivates us, and so on.
Who is this for?
Because I practice both forms of Philosophical Counselling--pure philosophical conversation, and the combination of philosophy and psychotherapy--I see a wide variety of people for a wide variety of concerns. This includes:
--People who seek a purely reflective philosophical conversation, to make better sense of things.
--People who desire to cultivate wisdom and virtue, for the sake of a better life.
--People who want counselling, and who sense that a combination of philosophy with therapy may be even better for them.
You can read more about my approach here. You can read about making a booking here.
The present website emphasises my combination of philosophy and psychotherapy. See my main website here for my other services which focus on my more purely philosophical services, such as coaching in critical thinking.
