FAQ
What happens during a session?
During the first appointment, I will ask you about your life, interests, and goals. We will figure out what concerns brought you to philosophical counseling. Thereafter, we will shape our subsequent sessions around these concerns, with the aim of clarifying them, assessing your thinking, exploring possible solutions, and designing a plan of action to help you cope with them more rationally. My task is to assist you in finding “your path” forward, not to impose any perspective upon you.
How long does philosophical counseling last?
Session lasts an hour. I recommend starting with three sessions (one a week) to give us enough time to get comfortable with each other, familiarize you with the process, and clarify the issue you wish to address. We will then determine how many more sessions might be needed to continue the quest on your own.
How do you conduct your sessions? Where do we meet?
All sessions happen on Zoom. I will send you a link to my Zoom room in an e-mail after you make an appointment. I recommend finding a quiet and private place where you can speak freely and with minimal interruptions. Before each session, make sure your camera and microphone works.
How much do you charge?
A one-hour session costs between $50 and $150, depending on your household income. To calculate your rate, take your household income (the combined income of those who you reside with), and multiply it by .1%. So, if you combined income is $90K a year, multiply by .001, and your rate is $90 for a one-hour long session.
To support students, I offer a discounted student-rate of $40/hr. Let me know if you are a student in need of a discounted rate.
How do I pay?
You pay directly after our session. I will email you an invoice that allows you to pay by credit card online. Please pay your invoice within 24 hours.
Do you work with groups?
I work with individuals only at this point.
Is philosophical counseling covered by health insurance?
Philosophical counseling is typically not included in health insurance plans. A main reason is that philosophical counseling is not about treating illnesses, but about assisting people facing “life problems” or wrestling with issues such as meaning, vocation, creativity, spirituality, moral dilemmas, etc. Accordingly, I do not participate in any health insurance provider network.
Why should I hire a philosophical counselor instead of a psychologist?
Philosophical counselors work very much like traditional psychotherapists and consultants. But instead of offering solutions based solely on their understanding of mental health or psychology, they offer solutions and guidance drawn from the writings of the great thinkers. These writings contain profound insights, methods, and philosophies of life designed to help those experiencing practical difficulties not linked to mental illness cope with them more rationally. For instance, there is an entire field of philosophy called “ethics” that explores moral issues. Stoic philosophers show us how to weather hardship; the existentialists advise on anxiety and how to confront and better manage our freedom. Logic-based therapy, a main modality of philosophical practice, offers a schema for exposing irrational beliefs and ways to replace them with more reasonable beliefs.
Who can benefit?
Anyone interested in achieving and maintaining a more meaningful and satisfying life can benefit from examining their experiences and consciousness through philosophical counseling. If you ever considered therapy or guidance to help you work through a particular issue, make a difficult moral decision, or are simply looking for self-understanding, you are a candidate for philosophical counseling.
Can philosophical counseling help me if I suffer from a mental disorder?
Philosophical counseling uses philosophy, its theories and ways of critical thinking, to help clients with common, human, life challenges such as midlife crises, loss, career changes, moral problems, work-related stress, and a host of other ones. Often, these problems can be addressed philosophically by helping the counselee examine and reassess his or her reasoning about such matters. However, there are other human problems that are the primary domain of psychological counseling. For example, those who have cognitive disorders (psychoses) or mood disorders (e.g., bipolar disorder, or major depression) may require medication and/or the causal approach used in psychological counseling. While people with such disorders can possibly benefit from philosophical counseling after or concomitant with psychological counseling, it cannot serve as an alternative or substitute for psychological counseling in such cases. If at some point during counseling it becomes evident that the specific problem you need help with may be rooted in a psychological disorder instead of inconsistencies in your reasoning or philosophy of life, I will refer you to a psychologist.
How does philosophical counseling differ from life coaching?
There is some overlap between life coaching and philosophical counseling. However, life coaches generally advise and assist clients in working toward their goals. Philosophical counselors understand that people are not always clear about what their goals are. They guide people in clarifying what is important to them and in formulating goals.
Are results guaranteed?
Philosophical counselors cannot make any unwarranted claims about the utility or effectiveness of their services. They cannot guarantee results. How much benefit a client derives from our sessions largely depends on how hard they work in internalizing the changes they need to make.
What happens if I am dissatisfied with the service? What is your cancellation policy?
If you are dissatisfied with my services, let me know so we can find a mutually satisfying way to move forward.
If you cancel your sessions less than 24 hours in advance, I will have to charge you for your session. If you need to cancel, please do so as far in advance as possible ( a week in advance is preferred). If you need to reschedule, I may be able to accommodate, so please ask before cancelling.
How is my privacy protected?
I will secure and treat as confidential all records and written documents obtained or produced in the course of providing services. I will not share such documents, or the content thereof, with other professionals without the counselee’s freely given and informed consent. I may use data obtained in the course of counseling for purposes of research, training, or publication. However, in such cases all identifying references are deleted or fictionalized in order to ensure client privacy and confidentiality.
Important Note on Privacy:
I will safeguard a counselee’s right to privacy by treating as confidential all information obtained from the counselee, except where disclosure is required by law or is justified in order to prevent imminent, substantial harm to the counselee or to others.
