(NEW) One-day online courses "Foundation of Philosophical Counseling" (before the conference)
A set for one-day online courses
"Foundation of Philosophical Counseling" is announced, dedicated to
the use of unique authoring techniques. The leader of courses is Ora
Gruengard (Israel) - PhD, Shenkar College (Ramat Gan), the President of the Israeli Association for Philosophical Practice
(with Lydia Amir). Ora Gruengard is practicing philosophical
counseling since 1992. Her approach reflects her conviction that a critical
exploration of tacit presuppositions, values and fallacies can help individuals
cope with confusions, dilemmas and crises in their personal life as much as
professional communities - including philosophical counselors - in their
theoretical research and practice.
Ora Gruengard studied philosophy at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem (Israel) and also the Universies of Lille and of Paris
(France). She worked for a while (in France and in Israel) in economic
research, but was mainly engaged with philosophical research. Ora Gruengard dedicated years to a critical
exploration of the philosophical presuppositions, latent values as well as
methodological problems in historiography and hermeneutics, social sciences and
psychoanalysis.
Message from the author of the courses to the participants:
Will you participate in the Saint Petersbourg conference this year?
If you do - I invite you to participate in my courses - "If Hamlet were my counselee.." Where each active participant is invited to describe briefly how, according to his approach he would deal with a famous literary protagonist. The idea is to compare alternative approaches to figures that are known to others, and they are not students that are eager to please or provoke etc. I believe that famous literary figures are interesting candidates. I choose protagonists with an international reputation. Yet I think that their com-patriots may see aspects that outsiders might miss, and therefore need your help with regards to a figure that was invented by somebody with whom you share, at least partially, a cultural background. Other participants would be invited to comment from their perspective, and it may be an occasion to learn something about the importance of cultural perspective.
The questions that comes to my mind are:
How do you think he/she would describe his/her problem and problem-situation (or, if the world "problem" deters you - his/her reason for looking for philosophical counseling)?
How do you conceive his/her problem (or whatever induces him/her to come to you as a practitioner)?
Would you accept the role of his/her counselor? Why?
How would you describe your role to him/her in terms that he/she may understand?
What would you ask him/her? Why?
Would you have any direction or purpose in mind (i.e., that fits his/her specific case)?
What do you suspect would not fit?
Would you hesitate to (what)? (some of the figures may be suicidal, others - murderers or otherwise self/other harming)
Would you consult with others? why?
When you would feel that the counseling was/was not beneficial? In what respect?
I invite you to suggest additional questions or
omission of questions.
Bibliography
Gruengard Ora: "Dialectical Ways of Coping with Dilemmas", Philosophical Practice, Journal of the APPA, Vol. 8, No. 3, November 2013
Gruengard, Ora: "The Need to be Needed". In Luisa de Paula and Peter Raab, editors: Women in Philosophical Counseling, London, Lexington Books, 2015, 99-119
Gruengard, Ora: "Philosophical and Cultural Pluralism". in Alexander Fatic and Lydia Amir, editors: Practicing Philosophy, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. 102-126
Gruengard, Ora: "Dialogue and Catastrophe". Journal of HumanitiesTherapy, Vol 7 no. 2 Kangwon, Korea, 2016, 37-61.
Gruengard, Ora: "An Unwritten Philosophical Autobiography." International Journal of Philosophical Practice, Vol 4, No 2, Fall 2016, electronic edition, 1-14
Gruengard, Ora: "Knowledge and Understanding of Others and Self". In Detlef Staude and Eckhart Ruschmann: Understanding the Other and Oneself. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018. 140-153
Gruengard Ora: "Philosophical Biography: Its Relevance to Philosophical Practice", Philosophical Practice, Journal of the APPA, Vol. 13, No. 3, November 2018, 2213-2221
Gruengard, Ora: "How to Train Philosophical Counselors", Journal of Humanities Therapy, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2018, 63-78