PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING TRAINING PROGRAM

THE DEEP PHILOSOPHY SCHOOL. Director: Dr. Ran Lahav

Program dates: September 2024 – April 2025.

TO REGISTER: write to us at Deep.Philo@yahoo.com

SUMMARY: This is a one-year training program that trains you to become a philosophical counselor. It is made of two halves: Basic training (September-December 2024), and intermediate-level training (January-April 2025). Each half gives students a separate certificate. The entire program is purely online, consisting of eight courses, each course 7 weeks long, two courses per term (term=7 weeks). Each course meets online once a week for 90 minutes, in the evening hours of Central Europe time. Thus, studies include two online meetings per week. Cost: 560 euro for each half-program (basic or intermediate), or 1120 euro for the entire program. Students without a philosophical background should take 2 additional courses in philosophy (40 euro per course). To register to the program, contact deep.philo@yahoo.com. The number of students is limited. Registration includes a payment of the first 100 euro of the cost.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Dr. Ran Lahav (PhD in philosophy, MA in Psychology, University of Michigan 1989) is one of the pioneers of philosophical counseling in the world. He taught philosophy and psychology at various universities; He initiated The First International Conference on Philosophical Counseling (1994) and co-organized it with Dr. Lou Marinoff; He published the first book in English on the topic (Essays on Philosophical Counseling, 1995); He was the first in the world to teach a university course on philosophical counseling, and taught it for 12 years; He published books and many articles on the topic, and gave numerous workshops and presentations around the world. For the past decade he has been leading his Deep Philosophy Group, devoted to philosophical contemplation.

PROGRAM GOALS: To give students basic knowledge and practicing skills, covering the theory, methodology, and practical methods of philosophical counseling. We envision “a wise and skilled counselor” who has both a coherent understanding of what he/she is doing, and the practical ability to lead an effective counseling process. We do not want “technicians” who know isolated techniques and nothing more, nor do we want “theoreticians” who can “talk about” counseling without practicing abilities. Theory and practice are both necessary and intimately connected.

THE BASIC PROGRAM (SEPTEMBER-JANUARY 2024) gives students basic knowledge and skills in philosophical counseling. Registration and payment for the program in August-September. At the end of this semester, students receive a certificate of basic training for Philosophical Counseling.

Interested students may continue to THE INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM (JANUARY-APRIL 2025): This training program gives students higher-level knowledge and skills in philosophical counseling. Registrationis and payment for the progrm in Januar 2025. At the end of this semester, students receive a certificate of intermediate-level training for Philosophical Counseling.

MAIN TOPICS OF STUDY (Theory, methods, case studies, guided exercises, practice):

(1) Lahav’s “Stepping out of Plato’s Cave” approach to philosophical counseling.

(2) Other approaches to counseling: psychological counseling, philosophical practices from the history of philosophy, contemporary approaches to philosophical counseling.

(3) Philosophical contemplation as a counseling tool.

TIME FRAMEWORK: The basic training program and the intermediate training program are one-semster-long each, each semester of 14 weeks. Four courses per semester, two courses in the first term of 7 weeks, and two courses in the second term of 7 weeks. Classes meet online twice a week, in the evenings Central European time. Each class is 90 minutes long.

The first semester (basic program) starts at the end of September. Registration to the program is between July 15 – August 31. Late registration is possible, but the number of places is limited, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

COST: 560 euro for each program (=for each semester, or 2 terms), which is 1120 euro for the entire one-year program. Payment should be made in full before each semester. For the first semester, the first 100 euro is due with the registration, and the rest of the payment is due in September. For the second semester, payment is due in January, before the beginning of the semester. (For those who need to take the two general philosophy courses: 40 euro per course.)

HOW TO REGISTER: Write to us at Deep.Philo@yahoo.com, and you will receive instructions how to register and pay.

CERTIFICATE: In December, upon successful completion of the basic training program, students will receive a Basic-level Philosophical Counselor certificate on behalf of the Deep Philosophy School, headed by Dr. Ran Lahav. We are a private school, and our certificates are not state-licensed. It is advisable to check with your local authorities what kinds of counseling you would be able to practice.

Upon completion of the intermediate program, in April 2025, students will receive an Intermediate-level Philosophical Counselor certificate.

INSTRUCTORS: Class meetings will be given mostly by Ran Lahav, and some might be given by international visitors from the PC world. Practical exercise meetings will be given mostly by experienced facilitators of the DP group.

REQUIREMENTS FOR JOINING THE PROGRAM: Those without a philosophy university degree (or its equivalent) will be required to take, in the first semester, two additional courses (7 weeks each) of general philosophy: (a) history of Western philosophy and (b) philosophical thinking. Each course will cost an additional 40 euro.

COURSES:

SEMESTER 1 – BASIC TRAINING PROGRAM (TERM 1a, TERM 1b):

  1. Variety of approaches to philosophical counseling. [History of PC, theory, methods, practical exercises]
  2. Philosophical practices from the past: ancient, medieval and modern philosophy. [Theory and practice]
  3. The “Stepping out of Plato’s Cave” approach to PC: Stage 1: The perimeter. [Theory, methods, case studies, guided exercises, practice]
  4. Philosophical contemplation as a counseling tool (I). [Methods and practice]

 

SEMESTER 2 – INTERMEDIATE TRAINING PROGRAM (TERM 2a, TERM 2b):

  1. The “Stepping out of Plato’s Cave” approach to PC: Stage 2: Self-transformation. [Methods, case studies, guided practice]
  2. Selected ideas from psychological counseling: psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential and humanistic approaches. [Theory, methods, expercises]
  3. Philosophical contemplation as a counseling tool (II). [Methods and practice in the context of counseling]
  4. Important elements in the counseling process. [Methods, guided exercises, practice]

 

FOR THOSE WITHOUT ACADEMIC PHILOSOPHY BACKGROUND:

  1. History of Philosophy in Term 1a, and Philosophical Thinking in Term 1b ( in parallel with the other studies).