Here are some Frequently Asked Questions. Have you got a question I haven’t answered?  Email me!

How is philosophical therapy different from other types of therapy?

Philosophical therapy is focused on self-knowledge, self-ownership, and personal integrity.  There are no drugs, no chemical imbalances, no books full of dogmas to memorise, or hidden political agendas.  The focus is helping the client to better understand themselves, their decisions, their feelings, their motives, their experiences, their options, their mindset, their desires, etc…

How does therapy over Skype work?

Initially, I was sceptical about doing Skype therapy at first myself.  I was concerned about the poor eye contact, or whether or not I could track a client’s body language and tone of voice accurately.  However, Skype also offers some advantages:

• It is cheaper for me, so I can charge less than other therapists.
• People from overseas or rural areas can have access to a therapist when in the past this wasn’t possible.
• A reason why so many people do not seek therapy is because they are so intimidated going out to see one.  With Skype they can stay in the comfort of a familiar environment.

Since starting Skype sessions I’ve found that modern webcams are perfectly acceptable for tracking a person’s body language and tone of voice.

Unfortunately, eye contact is terrible still.  I still have no idea where I should be looking.  However, although it might not be perfect, it is still much better than nothing at all.

Why are your prices lower than other therapists?

Because I use Skype, I have a much lower overhead than I would if I was hiring out a building to use.

Also, I don’t want my sessions to be prohibitively expensive.  One hour per week is not terribly helpful for most people.  I do not want to discourage my clients from booking two or three sessions per week.

Why do you recommend more than one session a week?

Self-knowledge requires time investment.  It is no different from any other skill or ability.  If you spend just one hour per week learning to read or to dance, it would take forever to finish learning how to read or dance. That is because after a week one often completely forgets what happened the previous session.  Having two sessions is a big improvement, and having three sometimes even better.  Four sessions usually brings on diminishing returns and generally is not worth the expense.

Self-knowledge, like any other skill, requires close supervision from the instructor in the early days.  Then as time goes by one becomes confident enough to take full control of one’s self-learning.  At which point a person doesn’t need a therapist anymore, they can teach themselves which is the desired outcome of philosophical therapy: self-responsibility.

How quickly can I expect results? How quickly will I know if this approach is right for me?

This is not an easy question to answer.  Obviously, different people have different needs and problems.  Some issues are more deeply buried than others, thus requiring more time to explore.  Adding to this; therapy can be quite confronting, especially if one isn’t used to having core beliefs questioned or certain emotions validated.  It’s understandable to interpret such uncomfortable experiences as the therapeutic process not working when in fact this feeling of discomfort is evidence of productive therapy.

You’re really opposed to anti-depressants, but I want to stay on mine. Are you going to judge me or nag me to stop taking them? Do you refuse to work with people on medication?

I have several clients who take or have taken anti-depressants.  Generally, I will ask them what they are taking, how long they have been taking it, why they are taking it, and how they feel about taking it.  I will not tell my clients what to do, nor pressure them to get off it.  My interest is in understanding why they are taking them so that they may be responsible for their decision to use them.

My understanding of the research is that going off an anti-depressant is rarely a simple matter.  Since I have no interest in being responsible for another person’s actions, I will leave this matter respectfully in their hands.  I certainly will not condemn or harass them for their decision.  It is their body, their money, and their choice.