Welcome. My name is Matthew Bishop. I offer Philosophical Counselling. I live in Australia and see people by phone and Zoom.
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. I have spent my professional life as a philosopher and counsellor, helping people to make sense of life and to grow in the qualities that make life good.
Philosophical Counselling
My philosophical counselling is rooted in the classical tradition--Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and so on. The classical tradition is deeply contemplative, but equally it is deeply practical. It is a path for cultivating wisdom and virtue.
Wisdom helps you to see life and human nature clearly, and to discern meaning and value. The very practical side of wisdom helps you to navigate daily life, and to direct your particular life well, in a complicated world of other people and situations.
A virtue is any good personal quality which you cultivate, which makes you and your life better. It is similar to modern psychology's concept of a strength. Virtues include courage, compassion, fortitude, rationality, creativity, and so on. The consequence of cultivating wisdom and virtue is a life of increased mental strength, meaning, goodness, happiness, and flourishing.
This website is focused on the philosophical counselling I offer, including related practices such as coaching in critical thinking. You can read more here.
Existential Therapy
Alongside Philosophical Counselling, I offer "a philosophical approach to counselling and psychotherapy" known as Existential Therapy. This is a form of Philosophical Counselling, but one which draws on, and blends in, the insights and practices of psychotherapy. In essence, it is a combination of philosophical reflection and psychological work. It is a rich alternative for those who might otherwise seek mainstream counselling or psychotherapy. You can read about it on my other website which is focused on Existential Therapy.
Critical Thinking
Later in 2025, I will begin to coach people in Aristotelian logic, or what is often called critical thinking. The point of such coaching is to help you become a clearer, more rational, more skillful, more creative thinker. Importantly, I am concerned that this transformation of your mind flows into your heart and hands, your emotions and actions. Our culture sets up reason and emotion in competition, but that is based on an error. Each is limited, each teaches the other, each is a vital part of the whole. We are all very deficient in reason, in ways that greatly undermine our lives. That is a ridiculous state of affairs, because rationality is a set of skills we can all learn. A logically skillful intellect, and a life shaped by that, makes for greater happiness, goodness, and success in the world. It also gives something to our worl, which is sorely in need of people with deep hearts and deep intellects. See here for more.
It was while teaching philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere that I decided to become a philosophical counsellor. I have spent my professional life as a philosopher and counsellor, helping people to make sense of life and to grow in the qualities that make life good.
Philosophical Counselling
My philosophical counselling is rooted in the classical tradition--Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and so on. The classical tradition is deeply contemplative, but equally it is deeply practical. It is a path for cultivating wisdom and virtue.
Wisdom helps you to see life and human nature clearly, and to discern meaning and value. The very practical side of wisdom helps you to navigate daily life, and to direct your particular life well, in a complicated world of other people and situations.
A virtue is any good personal quality which you cultivate, which makes you and your life better. It is similar to modern psychology's concept of a strength. Virtues include courage, compassion, fortitude, rationality, creativity, and so on. The consequence of cultivating wisdom and virtue is a life of increased mental strength, meaning, goodness, happiness, and flourishing.
This website is focused on the philosophical counselling I offer, including related practices such as coaching in critical thinking. You can read more here.
Existential Therapy
Alongside Philosophical Counselling, I offer "a philosophical approach to counselling and psychotherapy" known as Existential Therapy. This is a form of Philosophical Counselling, but one which draws on, and blends in, the insights and practices of psychotherapy. In essence, it is a combination of philosophical reflection and psychological work. It is a rich alternative for those who might otherwise seek mainstream counselling or psychotherapy. You can read about it on my other website which is focused on Existential Therapy.
Critical Thinking
Later in 2025, I will begin to coach people in Aristotelian logic, or what is often called critical thinking. The point of such coaching is to help you become a clearer, more rational, more skillful, more creative thinker. Importantly, I am concerned that this transformation of your mind flows into your heart and hands, your emotions and actions. Our culture sets up reason and emotion in competition, but that is based on an error. Each is limited, each teaches the other, each is a vital part of the whole. We are all very deficient in reason, in ways that greatly undermine our lives. That is a ridiculous state of affairs, because rationality is a set of skills we can all learn. A logically skillful intellect, and a life shaped by that, makes for greater happiness, goodness, and success in the world. It also gives something to our worl, which is sorely in need of people with deep hearts and deep intellects. See here for more.
