A Personal Exploration of Counsellor Education

Abstract

The relationship between counselling psychology and philosophy is an important one that would be beneficially represented as a part of the education of counsellors. Counselling requires knowledge of theory, science, and practice. Further, it is my belief that counselling requires a deep understanding of fundamental themes of human experience, and the development of flexible ways of thinking and being. The study of philosophy represents opportunity to encourage this kind of education among counsellors. The importance of philosophy to the field of counselling psychology is immanent in the history of its development as a field of study. It is also an inherent part of the work of prevailing theorists such as Carl Rogers and Sigmund Freud. There are many philosophical works, which are relevant to the study and practice of counselling psychology. Some of these works are explored herein. It is my belief that the education of counsellors could expand its curriculum to more significantly include the study of philosophy and encourage related critical discourse within classrooms. Opportunity for the implementation of this idea will be explored as a part of this thesis.