Welcome. My name is Matthew Bishop. I am a philosopher, and a counsellor and psychotherapist. This website is a unifying directory for all my work as a philosophical counsellor.
I studied and taught philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere. Rather than pursue a lifelong university career, however, I decided that as a philosopher I would work one-on-one with people. My motivation reflected my sense of what philosophy is: the pursuit of wisdom and virtue, a discipline for living well.
I am rooted in the classical tradition of philosophy that centres on Plato and Aristotle. Such philosophy provides guidance for cultivating one's mind and heart; for becoming good, experiencing what is good, and making life good. Such philosophy helps you become wise, strong, capable, and good, which also leads to greater meaning, happiness, success, and flourishing.
Twenty years ago when I set about on this path as an independant philosopher, I took up studies counselling. The plan was to combine counselling with philosophy, to offer Philosophical Counselling. That is the centre of my practice today. On the way, however, I developed an interest in psychotherapy in its own right, and worked for years in mainstream therapy, alongside my continued philosophical work. I no longer work in mainstream therapy, I focus purely on Philosophical Counselling, but that background serves as in indispensable source of knowledge, skill, and therapeutic intuition, for the work that I do today.
I see people by phone and Zoom both in Australia, and internationally. You can contact me at [email protected] What follows is a list of my services and current projects.
My projects and services:
Philosophical Counselling
I offer Philosophical Counselling. You can read more on another website. That includes an associated approach called Existential Therapy.
Character Formation
Philosophical Counselling is more open-ended, more exploratory, in the way that is common both to deeper therapy and to philosophical exploration. I offer another service called Character Formation, which is more a form of tutoring and training. Character Formation is for people who want a course of reading and coaching, for cultivating their mind and character. I guide people, one-on-one, through a course of reading focused on critical thinking and virtue ethics, as well as other areas of classical education and formation. This is more than consumption, however; I coach people in the active cultivation of the skills and qualities set out in that reading.
Think of Character Formation as providing the education and training that everybody should receive, but does not, on the classical Western model--the ideal of Plato and Aristotle. This cultivation of intellect and character gives you the competency to craft a deeply good and happy life. You can read more here.
Blog
I used to have a popular blog about philosophy and psychotherapy, but over the last few years I have removed all old writing from the web, as some of it is decades old and represents earlier phases in my thought. In 2025 I plan to upload quite a bit of new writing. That will be on the above websites. I will also be uploading to this blog with a series of writing that introduces readers to the psychology and metaphysics of Plato, Aristotle, and the tradition that is built on them.
I studied and taught philosophy at The University of Melbourne and elsewhere. Rather than pursue a lifelong university career, however, I decided that as a philosopher I would work one-on-one with people. My motivation reflected my sense of what philosophy is: the pursuit of wisdom and virtue, a discipline for living well.
I am rooted in the classical tradition of philosophy that centres on Plato and Aristotle. Such philosophy provides guidance for cultivating one's mind and heart; for becoming good, experiencing what is good, and making life good. Such philosophy helps you become wise, strong, capable, and good, which also leads to greater meaning, happiness, success, and flourishing.
Twenty years ago when I set about on this path as an independant philosopher, I took up studies counselling. The plan was to combine counselling with philosophy, to offer Philosophical Counselling. That is the centre of my practice today. On the way, however, I developed an interest in psychotherapy in its own right, and worked for years in mainstream therapy, alongside my continued philosophical work. I no longer work in mainstream therapy, I focus purely on Philosophical Counselling, but that background serves as in indispensable source of knowledge, skill, and therapeutic intuition, for the work that I do today.
I see people by phone and Zoom both in Australia, and internationally. You can contact me at [email protected] What follows is a list of my services and current projects.
My projects and services:
Philosophical Counselling
I offer Philosophical Counselling. You can read more on another website. That includes an associated approach called Existential Therapy.
Character Formation
Philosophical Counselling is more open-ended, more exploratory, in the way that is common both to deeper therapy and to philosophical exploration. I offer another service called Character Formation, which is more a form of tutoring and training. Character Formation is for people who want a course of reading and coaching, for cultivating their mind and character. I guide people, one-on-one, through a course of reading focused on critical thinking and virtue ethics, as well as other areas of classical education and formation. This is more than consumption, however; I coach people in the active cultivation of the skills and qualities set out in that reading.
Think of Character Formation as providing the education and training that everybody should receive, but does not, on the classical Western model--the ideal of Plato and Aristotle. This cultivation of intellect and character gives you the competency to craft a deeply good and happy life. You can read more here.
Blog
I used to have a popular blog about philosophy and psychotherapy, but over the last few years I have removed all old writing from the web, as some of it is decades old and represents earlier phases in my thought. In 2025 I plan to upload quite a bit of new writing. That will be on the above websites. I will also be uploading to this blog with a series of writing that introduces readers to the psychology and metaphysics of Plato, Aristotle, and the tradition that is built on them.