What’s the difference between philosophical consulting, counselling and life coaching?

 Are you looking for a counsellor or psychologist? A practical philosopher might be what you are really looking for.

How is a philosophical consultant different from a counsellor or psychologist?

Whereas counselling is often considered “talk” therapy, that is, therapy that primarily focuses on talking through a problem, talking is just one element of the philosophical approach which sets out to dig deeper than what is already on a person’s mind and help them decipher the inner logic of an issue.

Psychologists view a person’s problems in a scientific way, employing ways of categorising mental disorders and looking for causal explanations. In contrast, the philosophical approach focuses on a person’s way of thinking, analysing their underlying logic, concepts and values. For this reason, philosophical consultants do not deal with mental health issues. 

Are you looking for a life coach? A practical philosopher might be what you are really looking for.

How is a philosophical consultant different from a life coach?

While a life coach will help you set and achieve goals, on top of this, a philosophical approach will help you explore your own worldview more deeply, question your values and assess how your beliefs relate to your actions and behaviours. It will expose you to different philosophies that can help you to expand your view of the world, open up more possibilities and thus live a more meaningful life.