Under reconstruction: July 2025
This page offers a more detailed description of my Existential Therapy. I say "my" Existential Therapy because there are various quite different schools within that approach. Furthermore, a true philosopher (and hence philosophical therapist) does not merely follow theories and templates, rather they seek to live in a state of open attention to life, whereby they are constantly learning and growing. Through the years I have taken deep dives into the psychodynamic existential therapy of Irvin Yalom, the Logotherapy of Viktor Frankl, the Sartrean therapy of Betty Cannon, the radically phenomenological approach Ernesto Spinelli, the various Heideggarian approaches such as that of Boss, and Cohn, and so on. I am most influenced by "the British school" of Existential Therapy as led by Emmy van Deurzen. At the same time, I find many points of difference with that school, both as a philosopher, and as a working-class Australian.
Emmy van Deurzen defines Existential Therapy as "a philosophical approach to counselling and psychotherapy." That can mean various things. I practice Existential Therapy as a combination of philosophy with psychology. By psychology, I mean specifically the work of cultivating psychological insight and growth, which we do in Counselling and Psychotherapy. By philosophy, I mean an effort of intuition and rationality, and of the will, to see reality and to live well. These two disciplines differ in their focus and work, and yet they can be deeply complementary. With respect to living well, each discipline is lacking, insofar as it lacks the other.
I discovered philosophy as a rural, working-class, high-school drop-out. I went from working in a factory to studying and then teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere. I was drawn to philosophy because of its power to help us cope with life's suffering, to find meaning, and to make life better. By philosophy I mean classical philosophy above all: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, as well as the Stoics and so forth. Such philosophy is not passive abstraction or speculative chatter, rather it is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue. It is wholistic, it transforms our whole life, including the head, the heart, and the hands. This might sound strange to anybody who knows only the modern, university version of philosophy. People often contrast Western and Eastern philosophy, but that is a mistake: they should contrast modern Western philosophy on the one side, with classical Western philosophy, and Buddhism, and other philosophies, on the other. Personal transformation toward the true, the good, the beautiful, the just, toward flourishing as a human being...that is the whole point. Tht is what Socrates pursued, and what Plato and Aristotle refined. The word philosopher is ancient Greek and it means lover of wisdom. We cultivate wisdom and virtue because they are good in themselves, and because they lead to a life of strength, meaning, goodness, happiness, meaning, and flourishing. Such philosophy is for everybody. It meets a person where they are at, and challenges, encourages, and guides them to grow from there. When you read the dialogues of Plato you see this: Socrates walked through the marketplace, the city, and along the country roads, engaging people in conversation.
While I enjoyed teaching philosophy at university, it was not the place for such philosophy. What I wanted to do, as a philosopher, was speak with people one-on-one, bringing the insights and practices of philosphical reflection to their problems and goals in life. In short, I wanted to help people to live well, and to flourish as human beings. I was not sure how this would happen in practice; perhaps we would meet at a cafe, or I would hire an office. Certainly, I was sure there were enough people like me, who wanted this kind of growth, who wanted to live with depth, with meaning, who wanted to craft a genuinely good life. I would continue on my path of philosophical exploration and growth, and learn how to craft that into conversations that met people where they are at, that spoke to who they are, that helped them cultivate wisdom and virtue for living well. At some point I came across the Philosophical Counselling movement, and knew I had found my path.
In what follows, I will describe my study and experience in mainstream counselling and psychotherapy. I will then discuss classical philosophy--which is the core of my philosophical counselling--and how it is so vital for a good and happy life.
This page offers a more detailed description of my Existential Therapy. I say "my" Existential Therapy because there are various quite different schools within that approach. Furthermore, a true philosopher (and hence philosophical therapist) does not merely follow theories and templates, rather they seek to live in a state of open attention to life, whereby they are constantly learning and growing. Through the years I have taken deep dives into the psychodynamic existential therapy of Irvin Yalom, the Logotherapy of Viktor Frankl, the Sartrean therapy of Betty Cannon, the radically phenomenological approach Ernesto Spinelli, the various Heideggarian approaches such as that of Boss, and Cohn, and so on. I am most influenced by "the British school" of Existential Therapy as led by Emmy van Deurzen. At the same time, I find many points of difference with that school, both as a philosopher, and as a working-class Australian.
Emmy van Deurzen defines Existential Therapy as "a philosophical approach to counselling and psychotherapy." That can mean various things. I practice Existential Therapy as a combination of philosophy with psychology. By psychology, I mean specifically the work of cultivating psychological insight and growth, which we do in Counselling and Psychotherapy. By philosophy, I mean an effort of intuition and rationality, and of the will, to see reality and to live well. These two disciplines differ in their focus and work, and yet they can be deeply complementary. With respect to living well, each discipline is lacking, insofar as it lacks the other.
I discovered philosophy as a rural, working-class, high-school drop-out. I went from working in a factory to studying and then teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere. I was drawn to philosophy because of its power to help us cope with life's suffering, to find meaning, and to make life better. By philosophy I mean classical philosophy above all: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, as well as the Stoics and so forth. Such philosophy is not passive abstraction or speculative chatter, rather it is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue. It is wholistic, it transforms our whole life, including the head, the heart, and the hands. This might sound strange to anybody who knows only the modern, university version of philosophy. People often contrast Western and Eastern philosophy, but that is a mistake: they should contrast modern Western philosophy on the one side, with classical Western philosophy, and Buddhism, and other philosophies, on the other. Personal transformation toward the true, the good, the beautiful, the just, toward flourishing as a human being...that is the whole point. Tht is what Socrates pursued, and what Plato and Aristotle refined. The word philosopher is ancient Greek and it means lover of wisdom. We cultivate wisdom and virtue because they are good in themselves, and because they lead to a life of strength, meaning, goodness, happiness, meaning, and flourishing. Such philosophy is for everybody. It meets a person where they are at, and challenges, encourages, and guides them to grow from there. When you read the dialogues of Plato you see this: Socrates walked through the marketplace, the city, and along the country roads, engaging people in conversation.
While I enjoyed teaching philosophy at university, it was not the place for such philosophy. What I wanted to do, as a philosopher, was speak with people one-on-one, bringing the insights and practices of philosphical reflection to their problems and goals in life. In short, I wanted to help people to live well, and to flourish as human beings. I was not sure how this would happen in practice; perhaps we would meet at a cafe, or I would hire an office. Certainly, I was sure there were enough people like me, who wanted this kind of growth, who wanted to live with depth, with meaning, who wanted to craft a genuinely good life. I would continue on my path of philosophical exploration and growth, and learn how to craft that into conversations that met people where they are at, that spoke to who they are, that helped them cultivate wisdom and virtue for living well. At some point I came across the Philosophical Counselling movement, and knew I had found my path.
In what follows, I will describe my study and experience in mainstream counselling and psychotherapy. I will then discuss classical philosophy--which is the core of my philosophical counselling--and how it is so vital for a good and happy life.