Publications
I am the author of Wise Therapy, a book about how to use philosophy in
counselling and psychotherapy. It integrates ideas from philosophy and
philosophical modes of psychotherapy into an integrated therapy programme.
Therapists, counsellors, philosophers and
those interested in counselling and philosophy will all find it of interest.
Over the last 10 years I have also contributed
numerous articles, some serious, some humorous, for a variety of publications
including Philosophy Now, The Philosophers Magazine and Counselling
News. A selection of these articles are available free on this website.
Wise Therapy by Tim LeBon
Postscript
(written September 2005)
Contents
Excerpt
Critical Acclaim
Click here to purchase Wise Therapy from
amazon.co.uk
I wanted to write the sort
of book that I would myself find useful as a therapist and counsellor. Since reading Plato and J.S. Mill in my
early undergraduate days in Oxford I have been convinced that philosophy has a
big contribution to make to wise living.
Although philosophy is notorious for providing more questions than
answers, the deeper I looked into the main topic areas of relevance to
psychotherapy and counselling, the more I became convinced that a coherent,
plausible and illuminating answer to key questions could be derived
Read more …
Blog
Tim LeBon's new Personal Development through Philosophy and Psychology Blog.
Free Will - a lesson taught to me by my kids
“If you choose not to decide you still have
made a choice”
“Free Will” by Rush
My kids, aged 6 and 4, and I
had just had a really great time at the park. As we drove towards our house, we
were basking in the satisfaction of time well spent. But I’d seen us
metamorphose too often from the Waltons at their best to the Simpsons at their
worst to be complacent. Right then I could even picture what would happen if
fate was left to take its course. In the nick of time, it occurred to me that
sharing a thought experiment with my kids might just make a
difference.
“I can see the future …”, I announced dramatically as we
turned into our road.
“I see you both rushing to the front door. You are
fighting with each other to get there first. You both get upset, even more so
when you try to tell Mummy about your adventures at the same time. And you know
what happens next? Rather than being interested in what you are saying, as you’d
hoped, she tells you off for squabbling. In ten minutes time, we will all be
miserable.”
“But you know it doesn’t have to be like that.” I added,
almost as an afterthought. “I can see another future. Instead of rushing to the
door, you follow me quietly out of the car. Then you take it in turns to tell
Mummy. This time, she is interested in what you are saying. In ten minutes time
we will all be as happy as we are now.”
“Which future would you like?” I
ask. “It’s up to you.”
“The first one!” my 6-year-old replied,
inevitably. But that didn’t discourage me. And sure enough, reality turned out
to be closer to my second alternative. Doh! I’m not Homer Simpson after all…
Read more ...
Newsletter - Personal Development through philosophy and psychology
Regular articles by
Tim LeBon - personal development in the news, featured thinker ,
featured quotations, personal development techniques discussed. Free
resource for all interested in personal development
Personal Development Through Philosophy and Psychology
Newsletter Issue 1
By Tim LeBon
Welcome to issue 1 of
a newsletter designed both to entertain and inform. Today we discuss a
new survey on pensioner's regrets, J.S. Mill, whose bicentenary fell
this year and the Serenity Prayer, the wisdom of which originates in
Stoic philosophy. I hope you find these articles interesting and useful
in your own journey of personal development.
Featured Personal Development
Thinker
-
J.S.
Mill
Featured Personal Development Quotation - The
Serenity Prayer
John Stuart Mill
was arguably the most important British philosopher of the 19th
century. With an estimated IQ of 192, he was way ahead of his time in
his advocacy of women's rights and his principle that we should be free
to do what we like as long as it harms no-one else is still often
quoted in many a modern debate.
For personal development through philosophy, Mill can help in three
ways.
1) Consider the Consequences
Consequentialism
is the idea that you base your decision-making on the consequences of
your actions. Should you say the kind thing or the unkind thing? Should
you give to charity or not? Should you continue to smoke or give up? If
John Stuart Mill were here to advice you , he would say "consider the
consequences". This is a very simple, forward-looking and helpful piece
of advice- try it and see!
2) Value happiness - both your own happiness and other
people's happiness
Everyone
wants happiness, and, Mill tells us, they are right to do so. Mill
considered happiness to be the good, but his philosophy was more subtle
than the old Epicurean ideal of just valuing pleasure. First, Mill and
his fellow utilitarians thought that it is everyone's happiness that
should be improved - not just your own. Try to make other people and
yourself as happy as possible. Secondly, Mill did not think all
pleasures equal - hence his famous "better Socrates dissatisfied than a
fool satisfied" adage, This brings us to his third idea.
Read more
Below is a selection of the articles I have had
published in the last 10 years.
Philosophical counselling
Philosophical Counselling: A career dilemma
Michael
is a twenty-five year old student in the final year of his philosophy Ph
D. He writes "I am now
contemplating whether to try to become an academic or to go into business. I
really would like to have a go at being
a philosopher but realise that opportunities are few, and I may well have to go
abroad. Moreover some of my friends from undergraduate days - who were
less able academically - have started
to earn serious money in the city, and
to my surprise I find myself being a little envious. Can you suggest any insights that might help me ?"
Read more …
Practical Philosophy
An Atheist’s
Values – Forty Years On
What philosophy book has made the
most lasting impression on you? For me, it is a book that I read whilst an
undergraduate, but it wasn’t a book on the official reading list. My tutor
introduced it to me with these words: ‘This is a book I like myself. The author
does have some slightly dotty ideas. For instance he
thinks that we should be cautious about employing Roman Catholics in the
civil service because their main allegiance is to Rome. But I like the
book.’ I don’t know whether the health warning was to encourage me to read it
or in case I turned out to be a Christian fundamentalist, but it had the effect
of making me rush out to buy it.
Read more …
Humour
The Existentialist
Greyhound
It was one of those Saturday nights between
the Boat Race and the Lords' Test when Yours Truly was at something of a loose
end. Out of the b. , Pongo Twistleton rang me to say that he and his Uncle Fred
were going to the dog track that night, and would we care to join them ? Well,
as the poet said, you only live once, so off we toddled to the White City.
As it happened Jeeves had invited a couple
of French chums over for the weekend - cheerful chaps, ate lots of fish, so
they came with us. Pongo's Uncle Fred got us all in for nothing by claiming
they were visiting French diplomats, he and Jeeves were members of the Cabinet,
and me and Pongo were their assistants. Not a bad start, eh what ?
Read more …
Academic
What use is philosophy to the counsellor?
Philosophy is about
clarifying, questioning and exploring. Although it has tended to be applied to
"big" questions like the meaning of life, there is in fact no limit
as to its subject matter. Now suppose we apply philosophy to a client's life.
Counsellors can facilitate the clarification of the client's world, the
questioning of their assumptions and the exploration of the alternatives they
face.
Read more …
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