Philosophical Counselling
Welcome. My name is Matthew Bishop. I am a philosopher and a counsellor, and I combine the two. This is called Philosophical Counselling. I see people by Zoom or phone, in Australia and internationally.
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. On this website I convey why philosophy is for everybody, and how it can be essential for happiness. At the same time, I believe that philosophical and psychological growth depend on each other. So, in pursuit of this career, I studied Counselling and Psychotherapy to masters level, with the goal of integrating mainstream therapy into my philosophical counselling. For almost two decades, I then worked in a variety of counselling organisations, while also running a private practice specialising in Existential Therapy. All this constitutes a secondary, but vital, background to the philosophical counselling I offer to you.
As a philosopher, I am rooted in classical philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. The focus of classical philosophy is personal growth: an increase in wisdom, and in all the personal qualities that make you and your life better (the virtues). To pursue wisdom and virtue is to cultivate the head and the heart, or intellect and will. The overall consequence of this cultivation and transformation is a life of greater strength, goodness, happiness, meaning, and flourishing.
In essence, as a philosopher I help you transform yourself at a conscious level (mind and will) to develop a way of being that makes everything better. Of course, there are limits to our conscious awareness, and we have many psychological patterns that drive us. I draw on my therapeutic skills to help you at that level too. I believe it is a mistake of our culture to seperate philosophical and psychological growth, and I offer both.
Philosophical Counselling is for:
People who seek a purely philosophical conversation about some concern.
People who desire to grow in wisdom and virtue: the essential work of classical philosophy.
People who sense (often rightly) that Philosophical Counselling can help them, regarding those same problems they might otherwise have taken to mainstream therapy.
Therapists who want to deepen the existential or philosophical dimensions of their work.
You can read more about my approach here.
You can read about making a booking here. See also my other, central website here, where I describe my various projects, writing, and services.
Please note that Philosophical Counselling, and the Counselling and Psychotherapy in which I am trained, are very different to Psychology and Psychiatry. The latter are clinical practices, the former are personal growth services.
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. On this website I convey why philosophy is for everybody, and how it can be essential for happiness. At the same time, I believe that philosophical and psychological growth depend on each other. So, in pursuit of this career, I studied Counselling and Psychotherapy to masters level, with the goal of integrating mainstream therapy into my philosophical counselling. For almost two decades, I then worked in a variety of counselling organisations, while also running a private practice specialising in Existential Therapy. All this constitutes a secondary, but vital, background to the philosophical counselling I offer to you.
As a philosopher, I am rooted in classical philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. The focus of classical philosophy is personal growth: an increase in wisdom, and in all the personal qualities that make you and your life better (the virtues). To pursue wisdom and virtue is to cultivate the head and the heart, or intellect and will. The overall consequence of this cultivation and transformation is a life of greater strength, goodness, happiness, meaning, and flourishing.
In essence, as a philosopher I help you transform yourself at a conscious level (mind and will) to develop a way of being that makes everything better. Of course, there are limits to our conscious awareness, and we have many psychological patterns that drive us. I draw on my therapeutic skills to help you at that level too. I believe it is a mistake of our culture to seperate philosophical and psychological growth, and I offer both.
Philosophical Counselling is for:
People who seek a purely philosophical conversation about some concern.
People who desire to grow in wisdom and virtue: the essential work of classical philosophy.
People who sense (often rightly) that Philosophical Counselling can help them, regarding those same problems they might otherwise have taken to mainstream therapy.
Therapists who want to deepen the existential or philosophical dimensions of their work.
You can read more about my approach here.
You can read about making a booking here. See also my other, central website here, where I describe my various projects, writing, and services.
Please note that Philosophical Counselling, and the Counselling and Psychotherapy in which I am trained, are very different to Psychology and Psychiatry. The latter are clinical practices, the former are personal growth services.
