Logotherapy in Philosophical Counseling Educational Program curriculum

“In Philosophical Counselling and Practices, Logotherapy is considered as one of the strongest philosophy based treatments. The facilitators from Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy, contribute great value to the training and participants, by introducing not only the fundamentals of logotherapy and the philosophy of Viktor Frank, but also various inspirational case studies.”

Riella Morhayim

What is Philosophical Counseling?

Philosophical Counseling started to be practiced in the early 80s, in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Israel, and later in Canada, the United States, England and South Africa. Nowadays, it is widely used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway and Mexico.

Although it could be regarded as a modern approach, the philosophical counseling has very strong foundations. Considering that throughout history, many rulers, emperors, kings and queens had philosopher mentors, it could be claimed that the techniques used by today’s philosophical counselors are based on the ancient philosophers who aimed to encourage people to think and question their assumptions and beliefs. 

Philosophical counseling enables you to look at problems from a broader perspective and focus on enhancing client strengths. It aims to support healthy individuals in gaining greater self-understanding and achieving peak performance. It can help individuals resolve existential concerns, relationship challenges, or moral dilemmas, thereby empowering them to lead more fulfilled and productive lives.

Philosophical Counselors are trained to ask good questions, questions that can help and assist you to discover the limits of your mind and your personal thinking patterns. 

This enables you to correct our thinking errors for richer, more productive and satisfying lives as well as give us the tools to solve our problems more confidently and to live more conscious and rewarding lives. In other words, a philosophical counselor will engage with you in a dialogue whose aim is to help you to examine your life and your philosophy of living more clearly and deeply to find new ways to resolve or manage your problems.
Just like Logotherapy, Philosophical Counseling is not about telling the interlocutors what to think, what to believe or what they should do. Instead, by conceptual analysis and logical reasoning, it allows them to understand their problems, analyze them in different ways, and find their own solutions.

Philosophical counseling an approach to counseling that uses philosophical insights and techniques to help people to:

Find  their unique answers to  their questions and solutions to their problems 

Get a deeper understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. 

Explore their personal values, beliefs, standards and goals.

Discover how to improve their level of self-confidence.

Uncover limiting patterns of beliefs, thoughts and behaviors.

Improve their self-concept: Build their self-worth and self-image, and self-esteem.

Philosophical Counseling Training Program

Designed for those interested in philosophical practices and who want to be qualified in this field at personal and professional levels. In other words, this program is suitable for those who have a personal interest in the Philosophical Counseling and Practices and want to apply it in their own lives (their questions and problems) as well as who want to specialize in this area and acquire philosophical counseling as a profession.

The aim of the course is to develop the ability to ask functional questions, make the most appropriate decisions and find solutions on their individual, social, ethical and professional problems. The training is structured to enable the participants to gain theoretical knowledge about the philosophical counseling techniques and deepen their practical experiences.

Logotherapy provides solid proof and a vision for all counselors, regardless of their theoretical framework, that philosophy is a beneficial tool in today’s societies. The fundamental premise of Logotherapy, that humans are driven to find a sense of meaning and purpose in life, is also central in philosophical counseling. In that sense, Frankl’s theoretical and practical approach on will to meaning and freedom, which is embedded in strong metaphysical, phenomenological, and existential philosophical attitudes, empowers, and inspires many philosophical counselors and practitioners. In addition, in the training programs, it is beneficial to explore the similarities and differences in how some philosophical techniques, such as, Socratic dialogue, Paradoxical intention, and Dereflection are commonly and beneficially used in philosophical practices and logotherapy.