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PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHYTHE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY IN PRACTICEwww.practical-philosophy.org.uk www.society-for-philosophy-in-practice.org |
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PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHYTHE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY IN PRACTICEwww.practical-philosophy.org.uk www.society-for-philosophy-in-practice.org |
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Wise Therapy: Philosophy for Counsellors
Tim LeBon
2001 London: Continuum,
pp. 208 ISBN 0–8264–5207–8 (pb)
£14.99
Practical Philosophy (Book Reviews) November 2001 Volume 4.2
Reviewed by: Peter B. Raabe
When it comes to writing about philosophy and counselling two approaches are possible: either a book can explain how philosophical counselling works as a discrete practice, or it can help counsellors in other fields of practice become more philosophical in their own approach. Alex Howard attempted to do the latter by offering a historical overview of philosophical themes; Lewis Shipper tried to do it by publishing a noteworthy series of 61 theme-driven philosophy workshops; Tim LeBon does it by means of topic-oriented discussions and practical suggestions.
To begin with, the book’s title, Wise Therapy, locates philosophical counselling firmly in the field of therapy where it belongs, and avoids the pointless semantic quibbling which squandered so much talented energy at its inception. LeBon’s stated goal is to examine the disparate philosophical elements found in a number of psychotherapies - such as cognitive-behaviour therapy, logotherapy, existential-phenomenological counselling, and philosophical counselling - and integrate them into a greater whole. In this way he is not necessarily promoting the practice of ‘philosophical counselling’ as yet another form of therapy to add to the hundreds already available, he is instead emphasising the usefulness of philosophical activity within any form of counselling. The book is one of the first three volumes of Regent’s College Psychotherapy and Counselling (SPC) Series which were published simultaneously. It is divided into two main parts titled 'Ethics' and 'The Emotions, Reason and the Meaning of Life', and holds six chapters, as well as a bibliography, a recommended reading list, a selection of web site resources and e-mail addresses, and an index.
The first chapter, which is the introduction, discusses the nature of philosophy and its relationship to counselling as found in cognitive-behaviour therapy, existential-phenomenological counselling, logotherapy, and philosophical counselling. Then Part 1 starts with a chapter which is not numbered but simply labelled 'Ethics'. It contains a short discussion of a very limited number of metaethical themes, including the problematic appeal to authority, relativism, and emotivism, and how these might be dealt with in counselling. The next chapter is numbered chapter 2 and is titled 'Well-being'. It deals primarily with personal values clarification and how counsellors might approach client issues in this area. Chapter 3, titled 'Right and Wrong', offers three very useful decision-making devices: a five-stage procedure LeBon calls 'Progress', a three-step 'life-design' exercise, and a seven-step method of pro and con reasoning LeBon calls the 'Charles Darwin method'. This chapter begins well enough with a discussion of classic ethical theories such as Mill’s utilitarianism, Kant’s deontology, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics, but it loses its focus somewhat when discussion shifts from making morally ‘good’ decisions to making ‘good’ decisions about non-moral issues such as career choices and travel plans.
Part 2 begins with chapter 4 titled 'The Emotions and Reason'. LeBon first offers not only a clear discussion of competing theories about the relationship between the emotions and rationality but a satisfying synthesis on which a counsellor can base practice. This includes a constructive critique of how cognitive-behaviour therapy, philosophical counselling, and existential-phenomenological counselling deal with the elements which they hold to be the causal power behind emotions. He then suggests how their dissimilar theories might be successfully integrated into counselling, and illustrates this with a case study. Although this chapter is informative, I found LeBon’s discussion of the LeDoux studies on the involuntary fear response in mice (as a counterpoint to the cognitive theory of the emotions) unconvincing and a rather trivial digression. The title of chapter 5, 'The Meaning of Life', was the first one to catch my eye when I skimmed the table of contents. Although the question, What is the meaning of life? is one of the primary questions raised whenever the word ‘philosophy’ is mentioned in casual conversations, it is also the most blatantly neglected in the philosophical literature. In fact in analytic philosophy circles this question is often summarily dismissed as manifesting a ‘category mistake’ and therefore being a ‘wrong question’. But LeBon considers it a serious and important question and begins with a rebuttal to Tolstoy’s argument that only a belief in God can make life meaningful. He then goes on to sort out the ambiguity inherent in the question, he challenges Yalom’s ‘engagement’ approach to avoiding meaninglessness, and finally he gives his readers 'The answer' as well as an example of how a counsellor might help a client who believes life to be distressingly meaningless.
The last chapter is titled 'The Counsellor’s Philosophical Toolbox'. It is a condensed review of the methods discussed previously and is a very practical step-by-step guide to a number of exercises which can be used by either counsellor or client to clarify values, make wise decisions, avoid the pitfalls of poor thinking habits, and so on.
LeBon has done a good job of offering practical approaches to some of the most important and vexing issues that arise in counselling. He is not afraid to add substance to the philosophy behind various therapies (such as cognitive-behaviour therapy), nor to dispute the arguments of philosophers (such as Nicholas Rescher’s definition of the 'genuinely rational person'), nor to highlight the problems inherent in the use of hackneyed philosophical phrases (such as when he points out that 'Other things being equal, getting what we want is a good thing: but ‘other things’ are not always equal' (34)).
My main criticism of this book is that there are several technical problems in the way the material is organised. For one thing there are an overwhelming number of headings, subheadings, and sub-subheadings. And their formatting is inconsistent. For example, the last paragraph on page 31 ends with the sentence, 'But the objective theory faces three serious objections' (full stop). On the following page are three numbered and italicised headings and a subsequent discussion of each. Then the last paragraph on page 33 ends with the sentence, 'IPT is such a promising theory because it combines the following three ingredients'. But on the next page the three headings are simply in a bold font similar to the previous subsection headings which leads to the mistaken perception that they are the headings to new subsections rather than the explanatory points promised on the previous page. This inconsistency occurs consistently throughout the book and may be an indication of just how difficult it is to take the complex and overlapping components of philosophy and counselling, simplify them, and segregate them under different headings. A different sort of inconsistency exists in the overall chapter layout: Part 1 starts with what appears to be a non-numbered six-page introductory chapter, but Part 2 begins immediately with a numbered chapter. Furthermore, to keep the formatting consistent, chapter 6, located in Part 2, titled 'The Counsellor’s Philosophical Toolbox', should have been presented as Part 3 since it is clearly not a continuation of the discussion of the emotions, reason and the meaning of life found in Part 2.
Of course these are criticisms about font choices and the way the book is organised, and not a criticism of the actual content. But I think if these problems were addressed in the next edition it would make following the continuity of the content much less confusing. Criticisms aside, LeBon’s book contains helpful suggestions, practical information, and useful examples, and would make a good addition to the library of any counsellors willing to allow philosophy to turn mere client sessions into wise therapy.
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