MAY 2022
INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION OF PEACE, CO-OPERATION, AND PHILOSOPHY
This INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION of PEACE, COOPERATION, AND PHILOSOPHY penned by distinguished philosophical practitioners throughout the world casts a bright light on the challenges that lie ahead in the quest for world peace and the multiple roles that applied philosophy can play in meeting these challenges. The pandemic, global unrest, climate change, poverty, oppressive, anti-democratic government regimes, and now a war in Ukraine that has created a humanitarian crisis cannot go unexamined by the world philosophical community. Nor can the latter stand idle while countless human lives, and indeed the very survival of planet, hang in the balance. This Declaration posted HERE (English translation follows Spanish translation) is a manifesto intended to serve as a catalyst to ignite cooperation toward world peace before it is too late. The National Philosophical Counseling Association is proud to join the The Educational Center for Autonomous Creation in Philosophical Practices (CECAPFI) along with other world philosophy and philosophical practice organizations in endorsing the Declaration and its timely, crucial, message and mission.
Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D.
Executive Director
National Philosophical Counseling Association (NPCA)
MARCH 2022
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING ASSOCIATION AND MEMBERS OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING AND CONSULTANCY, WEST UNIVERSITY OF TIMISOARA, ROMANIA
REGARDING THE RUSSIAN INVASION INTO UKRAINE
In the past week, the world community has witnessed senseless atrocities and bloodshed of innocent civilians in the invasion of Ukraine, a free, democratic, and sovereign nation, by Putin-led Russia, a vast military power whose armed forces far outnumber those of Ukraine. Targets of the invasion have reportedly included kindergartens, hospitals, schools, patrimony, civil administration, university and apartment buildings, among other vulnerable populations. Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, has attempted to justify such indiscriminate, disproportionate and unprovoked use of military force as an attempt to “de-nazify” Ukraine, claiming without evidence, that there has been an ongoing “genocide” in Eastern Ukraine by the Ukrainian government of those who speak Russian; this being quite ironic, since the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is himself a Jew who has family members killed in the Holocaust.
The National Philosophical Counseling Association is joined by the Master of Philosophical Counseling and Consultancy, West University of Timisoara, Romania in condemning this invasion of a sovereign nation along with its grotesque violations of international law. As a community of philosophers who seek to teach others to use reason and philosophical wisdom to overcome destructive emotions and behavior, and to aspire to virtue, we stand united in calling out such blind hostility and savagery along with its violations of human rights. We applaud the determination, resilience, and courage of the Ukrainian people and its President in standing firm against such blights on respect for human life and dignity. Said Aristotle, “First comes the courage of the citizen-soldier; for this is most like true courage … because it is due to virtue; for it is due to shame and to desire of a noble object (i.e. honour) and avoidance of disgrace, which is ignoble.” The Ukrainians have laid down the gauntlet to us all to emulate and join with the virtuous, to condemn the vice of those who cowardly seek self-aggrandizement at the cost of innocent human lives and suffer thereby the indignity of dishonor.
We hereby invite other professional organizations that embrace human freedom and dignity to join us in supporting the Ukrainian people against this senseless and brutal attack on the values that unite us all as human beings. We also wish to express our deep sympathy with our Russian colleagues (philosophical practitioners, and other professionals and intellectuals, victims of the oppressive regime) facing censorship and arrest.
FEBRUARY 2022
NEW BOOK OUT! “Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Those Who Say They Can’t” by ELLIOT D. COHEN
Dr. Elliot Cohen’s new book is a self-help workbook titled “Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Those Who Say They Can’t: A Workbook for Overcoming Your Self-Defeating Thoughts.” It just came out from Routledge. To buy the first edition of the book and to find out more about it click here.
JANUARY 2022
Conference Schedule
Our Conference Schedule is now available for viewing on-line. Click on the image below to view and download!
DECEMBER 2021
KEYNOTE ADDRESS – “Field Notes of a Philosophical Counselor” by JON MILLS
We are excited to announce our KEYNOTE ADDRESS speaker for the 4th International Conference on Philosophical Counseling Practice….
KEYNOTE ADDRESS — “Field Notes of a Philosophical Counselor” by renowned psychoanalyst and philosopher, Jon Mills.
And delivering the PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS will be…
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — “What is Emotion? A Logic-Based Approach” by founder & director of NPCA, Elliot D. Cohen.
For more information or to register for this conference visit our Conference page.
NOVEMBER 2021
Call for Papers: 4th International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice
Papers should be of approximately 25 minutes’ reading time. Please submit abstracts (of at least 100 words) or panel proposals to the NPCA Eastern Division Coordinator, Samuel Zinaich, Jr., Ph.D. at the email address below BY January 5th, 2022 (though the closer to Dec. 15th the better). Persons who wish to serve as commentators should also contact Samuel Zinaich, Jr.
Papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice have the opportunity of being peer-reviewed for publication in the International Journal of Philosophical Practice.
Please submit abstracts of papers for presentation by email to: Samuel Zinaich, Jr., Ph.D. zinaich@pnw.edu
OCTOBER 2021
NPCA in Vice: Philosophy as Therapy
A fantastic article by Shayla Love in Vice that explores philosophical counseling, its relationship to psychology, and the history of the two major philosophical counseling organizations in the United States — NPCA & APPA. Read the article here!
SEPTEMBER 2021
Overcoming OCD Using Philosophy
Focusing on moral obsessions, in this brief video Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, creator of Logic-Based Therapy (LBT), and principle founder of philosophical counseling in the United States, examines the logic, phenomenology, and neurology of obsessiveness, and explains how philosophy can change the neural pathways that generate obsessions. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/33zG4NdCBNg!
(This video is not a substitute for therapy or clinical diagnosis. Obsessions may also be due to underlying problems other than OCD.)
4th International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice
The National Philosophical Counseling Association (formerly the American Society for Philosophy, Counseling, and Psychotherapy) will be holding a virtual conference via Zoom on a variety of topics relevant to philosophical practice on February 11th & 12th, 2022. The 4th International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice will feature roughly 20-22 speakers. Learn more & register here!
AUGUST 2021
Book Establishes Milestone in Philosophical Counseling
Since it’s inception in 1992, the NCPA has maintained the complimentary and mutually supportive relationship between philosophical and psychological counseling. Now, NPCA founder and creator of Logic-Based Therapy (LBT), Elliot D. Cohen, has reached an historical milestone in demonstrating this thesis with the publication of his new book from Routledge, Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions for Self-Defeating Beliefs: Helping Clients to Overcome the Tyranny of ‘I Can’t’.
First derived from Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the world’s first form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Cohen has spent several decades building the philosophical edifice of LBT. In this latest book, he has injected LBT back into CBT from whence it came in the light of contemporary neuropsychology to produce an even more powerful form of philosophical consultation, while giving counselors with mental health credentials the philosophical tools (logical form, rigor, and philosophical content) to help their clients tackle a myriad of challenges, from phobias and anger control issues to OCD and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
AUGUST 2021
In this discussion, Logic-Based Therapy founder, Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, and Philosophical Health International founder & researcher at Uppsala University, Luis de Miranda, discuss philosophical health and philosophical counseling. Watch the video here!
MARCH 2021
The India Centre for Logic-Based-Therapy and Consultation is established under the MOU between Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College and Logic Based Therapy and Consultation Institute, USA. For more information visit here!
JANUARY 2021
OUR CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IS NOW LIVE for viewing and download! Go to our conference page for more information OR download our conference schedule HERE.
DECEMBER 2020
We are delighted to announce that the International Journal of Philosophical Practice is now open-source and published by the Philosophy Documentation Center. Learn more here! Copies of the articles may be downloaded from the Philosophy Documentation Center website, distributed and used for scholarly and professional purposes but may not be sold without the express permission of the Editors.
DECEMBER 2020
If you have questions, please contact Samuel Zinaich, Jr., Ph.D. at zinaich@pnw.edu
SEPTEMBER 2020
FIRST INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR SERIES ON PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING, Department of Philosophy, Panjab University Changigarh
This lecture was part of a grant to Panjab University, Chandigarh, India from the Indian Counsel of Philosophical Research. Click here or on the image to view the video!
Thank you to Dr. Shivani Sharma, Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Panjab University, for her kind invitation to participate in this lecture series. — Dr. Cohen
AUGUST 2020
CALL FOR PAPERS: 3rd International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice – **EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION OF OCT. 1, 2020**
Some topics of particular interest include:
- The future of philosophical practice
- Ethics of philosophical practice
- Philosophical practice and psychotherapy
- Logic-based therapy & consultation
- Philosophical practice and the pandemic
- Philosophical practice and Stoicism
- Philosophical practice and Buddhism
- Philosophical practice and Indian philosophy
JULY 2020
CALL FOR PAPERS: 3rd International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Practice
Some topics of particular interest include:
- The future of philosophical practice
- Ethics of philosophical practice
- Philosophical practice and psychotherapy
- Logic-based therapy & consultation
- Philosophical practice and the pandemic
- Philosophical practice and Stoicism
- Philosophical practice and Buddhism
- Philosophical practice and Indian philosophy
Please submit abstracts of papers for presentation by email to: Samuel Zinaich, Jr., Ph.D. zinaich@pnw.edu
November 2019
LECTURE IN SWEDEN ON METAPHYSICAL SECURITY & VIRTUAL REALITIES WITH ELLIOT D. COHEN, PHD.
Join the Meet-Up Lecture in Sweden (Friday, November 29th — 1pm-3pm)
Can Humans Find Security in Augmented and Virtual Realities?
Logic-Based Therapy (LBT), a mode of philosophical counseling Cohen invented beginning in the mid 1980s under the auspices of CBT founder, Albert Ellis, takes metaphysical security (acceptance of reality itself) as a sin qua non for human happiness. According to LBT, people suffer disabling anxiety, depression, crushing guilt, and destructive anger because they feel insecure about reality (metaphysical insecurity). The goal of LBT is accordingly to help people overcome irrational thinking that leads to metaphysical insecurity and to help build constructive, philosophical thinking that promotes metaphysical security.
The digital/neural age of technology presents new challenges to obtaining metaphysical security. The amalgamation of AI with human intelligence through neural implants, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other emerging technologies are on the precipices of altering the characteristics of reality as it is constructed. Reality outside this new construction is uncertain, not always within human control, imperfect, not always aligned with our preferences, not always fair, and difficult or frustrating. In contrast, in augmented or virtual reality, things may appear to be entirely predictable, controllable, aligned with our preferences, requiring little or no effort at attaining knowledge, etc. Applying the tenets of LBT, this lecture will examine the implications for attaining metaphysical security in this brave new world of advancing technologies.
Join the Meet-Up Lecture in Sweden (Friday, November 29th — 1pm-3pm)
Örebro University – Humus – F139
June 2019
CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE NPCA EASTERN DIVISION MEETING OF THE APA IN PHILADELPHIA, PA IN JANUARY 20120
The National Philosophical Counseling Association is seeking papers, panel proposals, and commentators on a topic relevant to philosophy and counseling for its meetings that will be held in conjunction with the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, January 8, 2020 to January 11, 2020 at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, 201 North 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. For more information click here. To view the “Call for Papers” Guidelines, click here.
June 2019
FOUNDER OF LOGIC-BASED THERAPY ON THE REBT ADVOCATES
Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, founder of Philosophical Counseling and collaborator with Dr. Albert Ellis, was a guest on the REBT Advocates in June. He discussed his new book “Making Peace With Imperfection: Discover Your Perfectionism Type, End the Cycle of Criticism, and Embrace Self-Acceptance” and explored similarities and differences between REBT, Philosophical Counseling, and Logic-Based Therapy. Watch the video here!
June 2019
LOGIC-BASED THERAPY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM TO BE HELD IN FALL OF 2019 FOR CONSULTANTS & COUNSELORS
The NPCA and the Institute of Critical Thinking will hold a certification program for Logic-Based Therapy (LBT) in the Fall of this year at Purdue University Northwest. Certification opportunities will be available for both consultants and counselors. Learn more and register for the program here!
June 2019
LOGIC-BASED THERAPY AT UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CHILE IN TALCA, CHILE
Dr. Elliot D. Cohen conducted a workshop on Logic-Based Therapy at Universidad Autónoma de Chile in Talca, Chile via electronic technology. The two hour lecture, Q&A, practicum and panel of experts was organized by Professor Pablo Palma Soza, a professor of psychology and a certified logic-based therapist in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Universidad Autónoma. The attendees were faculty and students of psychology who are interested in LBT as a modality of practice. The participants learned the basics of LBT and the six-step method and were afforded an opportunity to practice the modality.
There is a strong growing interest in LBT in Chile, and this workshop promises to be the first in a series of collaboration between the University and the National Philosophical Counseling Association. — Dr. Palma Soza
May 2018
DR. ELLIOT D. COHEN RELEASES NEW BOOK: “MAKING PEACE WITH IMPERFECTION”
Being a perfectionist can affect almost every decision you make, and every action you take — which can lead to perpetual stress. In this informative and practical resource, author NPCA founder Elliot D. Cohen reveals eleven types of perfectionism, and gives readers the tools and skills they need to move past this distressing mind set before it leads to chronic stress, anxiety, anger, or even depression.
Using strategies grounded in evidence-based rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), readers will discover: (a) how perfectionism is actually a result of irrational beliefs, (b) how to challenge these beliefs, and (c) how to replace negative thoughts with compassionate ones.
Learn more about Making Peace with Imperfectionism: Discover Your Perfectionism Type, End the Cycle of Criticism, and Embrace Self-Acceptance here.
August 2018
NPCA FOUNDER PART OF FIRST PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE WORKSHOP IN HISTORY ON MAINLAND CHINA
Human beings encounter a variety of challenges both psychological and spiritual in nature. This 3-day workshop — the first philosophical practice workshop in history on mainland China — was initiated and hosted by the Beijing Cultural Development Research Institute of Beijing Normal University. Four speakers from across the globe were invited to discuss the path and method of saving lives with philosophy, including founder & executive director, Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, who delivered a 2-hour online lecture. Learn more here…
August 2018
LOGIC-BASED THERAPY FEATURED IN TRAUMA PSYCHOLOGY NEWS
In a recent article in Trauma Psychology News, Dr. Elliot D. Cohen discusses his work and the promise of Logic-Based Therapy’s helping people with PTSD. In the process, the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) of the brain — which has been linked to value-based decision-making and regulation of negative emotions — is explored.
One study of the vmPFC utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has helped to refine the nature of the reasoning process by which such activities as value-based decision-making proceed, especially in contexts involving negative emotions (Goel & Dolan, 2003). Such research suggests that a cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approach that identifies the logical structure of patients’ reasoning involving emotional content may be more aligned with the way the vmPFC operates in performing the latter functions than an approach that does not directly identify such reasoning structures. — Trauma Psychology News
Enter Logic-Based Therapy — a form of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) which identifies patients’ emotional reasoning dispositions. Read more here…
June 2018
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR: THE INSTITUTE OF CRITICAL THINKING GETS A NEW NAME & OFFERS A NEW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
We are proud to announce some recent changes to The Institute of Critical Thinking. First, in order to reflect a more precise picture of what it is that we do and offer, The Institute of Critical Thinking is now called the Logic-Based Therapy and Consultation Institute.
Second, we are thrilled to report that we have a new certificate program available. In addition to our LBT and LBC Certificate Training Programs, we are now also offering a Leadership Certificate Program.
There is evidence that emotional intelligence may be as important in building strong leadership skills as IQ. Here is an article featured in Psychology Today about how logic-based training can help you improve your leadership skills.
Our Leadership Certificate program is a six-week, online program aimed at helping you increase your “soft skills” related to emotional intelligence through the six-step Logic-Based Method used in Logic-Based Therapy (LBT) and Logic-Based Consultation (LBC).
Learn more about our new program and download the application here or e-mail us at info@instituteofcriticalthinking.com.
May 2018
REALCLEAR: WHY SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA SAY ‘WHAT THE F**K’
Worry and anxiety are not our friends. This was the focus of a May 2018 article in RealClear magazine by Christian Chensvold. What merits come from throwing our hands up? Stepping back from our obsessiveness with control? And re-evaluating the demands we place on ourselves and the world around us? According to the author….just maybe doing these things will help you improve your performance.
This thinking is very much in line with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Logic Based Therapy which draws on the wisdom of Stoicism (and other philosophies) to show that the way to bring about personal change is by understanding that its not so much the things in life that happen to you, but our interpretation of those things. According to NPCA & LBT founder Dr. Elliot D. Cohen — who was interviewed for this article — “If you say I must be perfect, well you’re not going to be…so you’ll place unrealistic demands upon yourself and you’ll fall flat on your face. You’ll create your own stress just by the way you think.”
When it comes to performance…by taking a step back and saying ‘what the f**k’, this does not mean that no care is involved. You can still “take an interest in” the results. In this sense, you can still care. But “worrying about the results” is a different matter. Worrying about the results implies a stress over things that have not yet happened. This can cause worry and anxiety and negatively affect your ability to participate in an activity to your fullest potential. By saying ‘what the f**k’, avows Chensvold, “we can free our mind from stiffening stress over future results and get in tune with the process, with the moment, which is driven by subconscious-driven skills honed from practice and experience, uninhibited by conscious worries about results.” Read more here…
August 2017
TELL WALTER: AN APP TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR FAULTY THINKING
What is it? An app that help you identify errors in thinking and confront problems of everyday living.
How does it work? Having a bad day? Now you have a free and friendly mobile app that can help! Write or dictate a quick message to Walter and see what advice he can give you about improving your thinking.
Many everyday hassles are a result of faulty thinking. You get angry and say something to your significant other that you later wish you could take back. You decide to do something just because others are doing it, and end up regretting it. You make unrealistic demands on yourself or others, and it backfires. You think the worse, and do something stupid. You needlessly berate yourself or others, and put yourself, or others, for needless torment. Face it, how you think shapes the way you look at things, and this, in turn, affects how you act and feel. If your thinking contains faulty thinking errors known as “fallacies,” you can react in very self-defeating ways. The good news is you can learn how to spot these fallacies in your own thinking and in others; so you can do a better job avoiding fallacies and the stress they generate.
So, download Walter now, tell him what’s on your mind, and let him be your very own, personal thinking coach! Available on itunes & google for iphones & Androids!
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tell-walter/id1248681654?mt=8
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.TellWalter.TellWalter&hl=en
March 2017
LOGIC-BASED THERAPY AND EVERYDAY EMOTIONS: A CASE-BASED APPROACH
Dr. Cohen’s latest book latest book on the philosophical practice modality of Logic-Based Therapy is now available in paperback!
Beginning with an examination of the relationship between philosophical and psychological practice, Cohen shows how philosophy (its methods and theories) can be applied, through the practice of LBT’s six-step method, to help people confront the emotionally-laden problems of everyday life with courage, temperance, empathy, prudence, and the other “Guiding Virtues” of LBT.
In non-technical language, accessible to students of philosophy and psychotherapy as well as professionals in these fields, Cohen artfully builds a mutually cooperative, competent, and compassionate bridge between philosophical and psychological practice. Learn more, order this book in paperback, and/or view content.
October 2016
PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING & NPCA IN THE PRESS!
Olivia Goldhill discusses the growing popularity of philosophical counseling and interviews Dr. Elliot D. Cohen in the October issue of Quartz! Read the article here!
May 2016
CALL FOR PAPERS
The National Philosophical Counseling Association (formerly the American Society for Philosophy, Counseling, and Psychotherapy) is seeking papers, panel proposals, and commentators on a topic relevant to philosophy and counseling for its meetings that will be held in conjunction with the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Baltimore MD, January 4-7, 2017. Proposals for other types of presentation are also welcome!
Papers should be of approximately 25 minutes’ reading time. Please submit paper abstracts (of at least 100 words) or panel proposals to the NPCA Eastern Division Coordinator, James Stacey Taylor, at the address below BY JUNE 5th, 2016. Persons who wish to serve as commentators should also contact Dr. Taylor.
Papers presented at the NPCA meetings have the opportunity of being peer-reviewed for publication in the International Journal of Philosophical Practice.
Please submit abstracts of papers for presentation by snail mail or email to:
James Stacey Taylor
Department of Philosophy
The College of New Jersey
2000 Pennington Road
Ewing, NJ 08628
jtaylor@tcnj.edu
February 2016
IN MEMORIAM
We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our friend, colleague, and renowned Israeli Philosophical Counselor Dr. Shlomit C. Schuster.
An extremely gifted philosopher and historian of philosophy, her talents as a philosophical practitioner were brought home through her powers of empathy, genuineness, and respectfulness. She did not simply practice philosophy; she exemplified it in her personal as well as professional life. Read more about Dr. Schuster’s amazing life and scope of impact.
LOGIC-BASED THERAPY AND EVERYDAY EMOTIONS: A CASE-BASED APPROACH
In this latest book on the philosophical practice modality of Logic-Based Therapy, LBT inventor and practitioner, Elliot D. Cohen develops both theory and practice of LBT within the context of accessible, engaging, and illustrative cases involving everyday emotions, such as anxiety, worry, guilt, anger, and sadness.
Beginning with an examination of the relationship between philosophical and psychological practice, Cohen shows how philosophy (its methods and theories) can be applied, through the practice of LBT’s six-step method, to help people confront the emotionally-laden problems of everyday life with courage, temperance, empathy, prudence, and the other “Guiding Virtues” of LBT.
In non-technical language, accessible to students of philosophy and psychotherapy as well as professionals in these fields, Cohen artfully builds a mutually cooperative, competent, and compassionate bridge between philosophical and psychological practice. Learn more, order this book, and/or view content.
January 2016
KEYNOTE SPEAKER & WORKSHOP
On November 13th 2015, Dr. Gale S. Cohen & Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, Founder of LBT & Executive Director of The National Philosophical Counseling Association, presented keynote addresses at the International Conference on Philosophical Counseling & Humanities Therapy in Taipei, Taiwan. Gale presented on “Logic-Based Therapy for Victims of Domestic Abuse,” and Elliot presented on “Ethical Boundaries of Philosophical Practice: Logic-Based Therapy and the NPCA’s New Practice Standards.” On November 14-15, they conducted the LBT workshop leading to primary certification. Both events were a great success!
December 2015
IN MEMORIAM
We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our friend, colleague, and National Philosophical Counseling board member, Dr. Leon Pomeroy. On November 19, 2015, Leon was in an automobile accident. On November 24, he died from his injuries.
Leon was one of four original post-doc fellows at Albert Ellis’ Institute for Advanced Study in Rational Emotive Therapy. This former president of the Robert Hartman Institute was the type of renaissance person who capably and comfortably moved between philosophy and psychology and between experimental psychology and counseling psychology. Read more about Leon’s personal and professional accomplishments.
To view prior announcements click here.