Can philosophical counseling be a special profession to be recognized in Romanian society?

Abstract

The paper is based on a research that refers to a professionalization solution applicable in Romania, as a result of a mediation process, carried out only hypothetically and starting from the analysis of a phenomenon, the philosophical practice, this being continued with the study of some advantages but also criticism expressed by philosophers, practitioners and specialists from other fields, in which each has arguments and interests alike, for which the proposed solution can be considered as a possible hypothetical agreement, resulting from the said mediation process. The study took into account models created in other countries of the world, as well as the experiences of other practitioners in the field, aspects that confirmed the regulatory trend but also an implicit recognition of the profession of philosophical counselor, now distinct from the philosophical practitioner, which we believe can be successfully applied in Romania as well.

Full text

Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024:
pages. 1-23. ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 1
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Vasile Hațegan
1
Abstract: The paper is based on a research that refers to a
professionalization solution applicable in Romania, as a result of a
mediation process, carried out only hypothetically and starting from the
analysis of a phenomenon, the philosophical practice, this being continued
with the study of some advantages but also criticism expressed by
philosophers, practitioners and specialists from other fields, in which each
has arguments and interests alike, for which the proposed solution can be
considered as a possible hypothetical agreement, resulting from the said
mediation process. The study took into account models created in other
countries of the world, as well as the experiences of other practitioners in
the field, aspects that confirmed the regulatory trend but also an implicit
recognition of the profession of philosophical counselor, now distinct from
the philosophical practitioner, which we believe can be successfully
applied in Romania as well.
Key-words: philosophical counseling; philosophical practice;
mediation; regulation; profession;
1
PhD, President APCFE, Lecturer at “Aurel Vlaicu” University from Arad, Romania,
E-mail: vasile.hategan@uav.ro

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 2
Introduction
A few years ago (2015) I started a research approach in this field
from the position of a beginner, who tries to understand a phenomenon
manifested in recent years in the world, regarding some practices of
philosophy, expressed in the form of counseling applied for the benefit of
the individual. The concern for an applied field of philosophy was
completed through a doctoral thesis supported and published in Romania
(Hategan, 2018) in which I analyzed the professionalization potential of
the field, also putting myself in the role of a mediator, a fact that helped for
me to be able to analyze the identified dilemmas or controversies, being at
the same time a positioning that imposed a neutral attitude, in order to
reach some conclusions on the positions expressed. From the role of
mediator, I identified similarities between philosophical counseling and
the recognized and regulated profession of mediator, both in Romania and
in other countries of the world, a fact that encouraged me to propose the
regulatory model of mediation and for the new applied concept of
philosophy, respectively philosophical counseling. Maintaining the
assumed neutral attitude, we identified the advantages, but also the
existing interdependencies, in an attempt to come to the support of those
who want to do more to bring philosophy closer, for the benefit of the
human, and thus regaining the ground almost lost or appropriated by other
fields. In my study I presented a professionalization solution applicable to
Romania, as a result of a mediation process, carried out hypothetically, and
which started from the analysis of a phenomenon, continued with the
study of some advantages but also some criticisms expressed by
philosophers, practitioners and specialists from other fields, in which each
has arguments and interests alike, a fact for which the proposed solution
can be considered as a possible hypothetical agreement, resulting from the
mediation process. Of course, we also considered models created in other
countries, as well as the experiences of other practitioners in this field, all
of which were aspects that led indirectly to a confirmation of the
regulatory trend, towards a recognition of the profession of philosophical
advisor, but one that is different from the philosopher, as profession.
The final dilemma of my doctoral research was expressed in the
form of a simple question: Is philosophical counseling an impossible
profession? and the answer was one of support for the approach, in the

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 3
sense that philosophical counseling can be a special profession that
deserves to be regulated; statement that confirms the chosen title of the
doctoral thesis completed and publicly presented in 2018, in which the
course necessary for philosophical counseling is presented: from practice
to profession. (Hategan, 2018)
About the need for a new profession
In order to find a necessity regarding the implementation of a new
profession, we started the research carried out with the following
question: Can it the preliminary completion of some basic studies in
philosophy be a requirement for access to the new profession?
In search of an answer, I started from the observation of the access
requirements in the liberal professions, and implicitly in the case of the
study, where I concluded that the level of training required for a liberal
profession is given by the completed higher studies. For the new
profession of philosophical counselor, which is to be recognized and legally
regulated, the same study conditions will apply as a basis for the
preparation and training of the future specialist, followed by a
specialization internship in the field of philosophical counseling. At this
moment in Romania, two-year master's courses are organized, and
through which the training program achieve the professional skills
necessary for a practitioner in the new field of philosophical counseling.
But as with any master's program, the general rule of access for this
type of program also applies in this case, the course being intended for all
graduates of higher education, regardless of the undergraduate
specialization followed. From the observation made during the research
(being carried out within the master's program organized in Timișoara in
2015), I noticed that there are participants who come from other fields of
training, other than philosophy, and who had some difficulties in the first
year of studies adaptation (including adaptation to learning in English)
being forced to make a greater effort to develop a philosophical thinking
or to understand and work with various philosophical concepts, useful for
the future specialist. This study program, carried out during two years of
master's studies in the specialization of philosophical counselor, we
believe can ensure the necessary conditions for the participants in the
training program for the future professional. During the observation

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 4
studies, we identified the fact that there are areas that can be easily
assimilated by the future counselor, especially by those participants who
have a foundation of studies in psychology, and those who already have the
information necessary to train a counselor, but who still remain in the
group of those who make an effort to accumulate basic knowledge in
philosophy. In order to improve the training program, I think it would be
necessary to periodically survey the participants and the program
managers, in order to identify any possible requirements or establish the
necessary corrections. But as a liberal profession also includes free access
to it, we believe that compliance with minimum higher education
requirements cannot be sufficient to train these necessary skills for the
future specialist, a fact that also requires the completion of certain levels
of specialization for this field. In accordance with this requirement, a
shorter specialization variant than the one currently proposed at the level
of a master's program can be developed in the future, by accepting the
possibility of training based on a short-term training program, carried out
in accordance with the training norms professional training of adults, with
the inclusion of the training program in the postgraduate level with a
minimum limit of training hours required for the professional
specialization. Corollary, there are also cases where those interested in the
new profession come from higher education graduates, with a degree in
philosophy, and related master's studies, who could more easily follow a
short-term training internship, by participating in postgraduate programs
of specialization in the new emerging profession.
This approach to professional training open the way for the
establishment of new post-graduate training programs, where the
philosophical practicians can be selected as trainers and practitioners
from among the newly established occupations, to work alongside other
specialists in adult training. The university education units can also
diversify the activity in the field of specialized training, by establishing and
promoting postgraduate programs, necessary for the new profession.
Both the master's programs currently existing in Romania (at the
University of Timisoara and the University of Bucharest), as well as the
future postgraduate specialization programs in the field, will be subject to
the rules defined by the Romanian university education law (2023), to be
certified by the national body of professional representation, which will
indirectly confirm, through the notice given to the university at the

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 5
establishment of the program, the access to the profession, for the
graduates from the training and specialization programs thus defined.
The proposed approach can be yet another confirmation of the
opening of philosophy to the applied field, of philosophical practice, by
granting training facilities to the university field, as defined in the
regulation of the occupation of philosophical advisor, this being already
recognized in 2022 and registered in "National register for the
classification of occupations", the assigned code (263311) being one
specific to the occupational category in the field of philosophy, which is
headed by the occupation of philosopher (263301).
The approach has beneficial effects on the entire training activity
within the new profession, firmly eliminating any monopoly tendency in
the field of training a philosophical advisor, the training attribute being left
to the competence of all universities in Romania, interested in developing
such specialized programs. Our approach to the regulation and recognition
of the profession of philosophical advisor can be beneficial to the field of
philosophical practice, with an important impact on current graduates of
Romanian philosophy faculties, who can acquire another qualification, one
with real chances to practice and obtain income, differently than they have
done so far. A schematical presentation for the stages of the recognition of
the profession, are shown in the figure below:
Fig. no.1. Proposed stages in the formation and regulation of the
profession of the philosophical counselor
National Professional Institution
Professional
organization
-Code of
ethics
Continuous
professional
training
Professional association
Promotion,
profession
recognition
Professional
regulation
Training programs
Master program Postuniversity course

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 6
The first stage of the regulatory process was the establishment of
training programs that can be organized at the level of higher education
(master's and postgraduate). The next stage is represented by the
professional association, intended for specialists, with the promotion and
recognition of the new profession, and the legally established association
already has activities in the preparation of the registration documentation
of the newly established occupation, as a necessary stage for legal
regulation in Romania. The last stage is represented by the recognition of
the association as a national professional body, with the mission of
continuing the process of professional organization, emphasizing
continuous professional training, having the active role of permanent
coordination of the activity of practitioners and increasing the prestige of
the new profession.
About the skills of the new profession
The profession of philosophical counselor also implies the need to
be the depository of specific professional skills, which are the basis of their
professional training, acquired or learned during the initial specialized
training process. The unique trainer of skills in this new applied field of
philosophy is the university education system that manages the training
programs, for all the proposed forms, which can be completed with other
programs that can be included in the continuous professional training
process. I consider it possible that in the regulation of the new profession,
the regulatory authority of the profession can accept other alternative
professional training programs that meet the national requirements for
training and development of the skills and abilities necessary for the
profession.
But until that moment, we have two master's programs approved
by the Romanian Ministry of Education, being registered in the "National
Register of Higher Education Qualifications" (RNCIS). The same approval
and registration requirements will be applied to the post-graduate
universities courses to be established by various universities in the
country, at the initiative of the professional association already established
(founded in 2016 as the Professional Association of Philosophical and
Ethical Counseling -APCFE).

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 7
In the mentioned study I found some concerns on the part of
practitioners to define or determine the tasks that a philosophical
counselor needed, the requirements necessary to achieve them and what
skills or competences can he acquire, through the basic training, aspect
which will define access to the new profession. Of course, some skills are
already developed in the training programs of philosophy, but now we
have the situation in which people who have completed undergraduate
studies in other fields, other than philosophy, can have access to the new
profession, and who can develop specific skills useful to a philosophical
advisor; and for philosophy graduates it will be a good way to improve
their knowledge and develop and amplify these skills. Here is also a
conclusion on the philosophical skills acquired through philosophical
knowledge, and necessary for the profession, expressed as follows:
"Philosophical competence, understood as an increased reflective
capacity, then becomes the distinctive competence of all those
professions dealing with complex human systems, in which not only
the ability to reflect, but especially to help others to reflect
constitutes a necessary condition for the effective exercise of the
profession itself" (Frega, 2005, 82).
Other views liken philosophy and philosophical counseling to an
art, defined in Raabe's Handbook of Philosophical Practice, which refers to
Catherine McCall's view that "practical philosophy is not a skill but an art".
Regarding this aspect, Peter Raabe asks himself a question to which he has
not yet found an answer:
"If there is a difference between the 'art' of philosophical counseling
and the 'skills' resulting from combining the techniques and
procedures of philosophical counseling with the aptitudes and
personalities of philosophers?" This issue has not received much
attention in the philosophical counseling literature” (Raabe, 2001).
It is necessary to develop the professional skills specific to a
specialist in philosophical counseling, without which his actions can be
difficult for professional success.

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 8
Peter Harteloh has a study of philosophical counseling skills,
making a classification of the skills acquired through this type of practice,
which he defines metaphorically as: the art of questioning, the art of
interpretation and the art of understanding. The author of the study
analyzes what are the tasks to be followed, along with the requirements
that must be met to achieve them, and places all these elements in relation
to the three types of competences, which can thus be obtained through the
new profession (Harteloh, 2010).
If we refer to the tasks that fall to a specialist in philosophical
counseling, we can highlight the most important ones, such as: facilitating
thinking and reflection processes through thinking exercises, reading
some texts from philosophy, improving dialogue and communication,
clarifying problems or dilemmas, applying the concepts of philosophy in
everyday life, clarifying personal experiences and developing an own
lifestyle, changes in thinking and attitude towards certain states or events
(Harteloh, 2010). In the requirements chapter, through which these tasks
can be fulfilled, we also find other aspects: the use of dialogue, the use of
suitable questions, listening and interpreting a problem in philosophical
terms, the use of logic, bringing to attention some concepts, texts or
theories from philosophy, the use of examples from philosophy, the
explanation of some philosophical texts, empathy with advice and
creativity in counseling. These are just some of the skills that a specialist in
philosophical practice must learn, in the exercise of the counseling
profession.
For the realization of a professional training program, I believe that
it must also contain other elements, such as: the academic study of some
texts from philosophy, by going through an indicated bibliography;
learning the Socratic dialogue and other philosophical research
techniques, both individually and in groups; studying some biographies,
but also interpreting one's own biography; using real-life examples or
using recommended narratives, developing critical thinking and creativity;
learning the elements of philosophical reflection or meditation, the art of
questioning and argumentation; elements of logic and communication.
Here are the more important groups of skills, where in the first
place we have philosophical skills, which refer to the philosophical
knowledge necessary for an advisor in this field, who needs to create a
thinking style based on philosophy.

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 9
Another type of competence derives from psychopathology, that is,
a specialist must easily distinguish specific cases of mental disorders, in
which case they will decline the competence or request the agreement of
the therapist in the field.
In order to carry out their mission of philosophical counseling, the
specialist must develop some skills to guide the thought processes
necessary for the client, to help them recognize the meanings and values
by which they are guided, or to stimulate the need to do philosophy or even
for individual philosophical reflection.
Returning to the philosophical skills necessary for the profession of
philosophical counseling, they were presented in detail by Stefania
Contesini, who refers to five groups of skills, namely: conceptualization,
argumentation, judgment, evaluation and moral sensitivity. Regarding the
field of philosophy applied in organizations, Contesini refers to other
necessary philosophical skills, such as: the analysis and exploration of
concepts derived from management, the use of rhetorical strategies,
dialogue and communication, the application of ethics and the resolution
of conflicts, including ethical ones (Contesini , 2016). Another presentation
of the skills necessary for a philosophical counselor was given by the
practitioners Paolo Cervari and Neri Pollastri (2010), who list the
philosophical skills, being divided into classes of skills, followed by social
skills and ethical or even psychological skills, which they argue that they
are essential to the application of the philosophy within an organization.
I believe that all these professional skills necessary for a practical
philosopher, regardless of whether he is called a consultant, advisor or
facilitator, can be used with the same potential within individual or group
counseling, or applied at the level of smaller communities or categories,
but with their adaptation to the concrete conditions of practice. Taking into
account the types of competences provided in the "Romanian Methodology
- elaborated by CNCIS" which defines the Matrix of the National
Framework of Qualifications in Higher Education, about the
documentation for the approval of professional training programs,
master's and postgraduate programs, that must be prepared, having as a
model the professional and transversal competences provided in that
matrix. The analysis of these requirements reflect the existence of two
types of competences, the professional ones, which contain the necessary
knowledge and skills acquired in the training process, and the second

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 10
group contains the transversal competences, which interfere with
elements of personal development, social interaction, including the
personal responsibility.
Since we are analyzing a new profession, applied to the field of
philosophy, it must also contain some professional skills specific to
philosophy, derived from it. The training and initial training programs in
the new profession will include, in addition to the necessary knowledge of
philosophy and other disciplines related to the profession, as well as the
development of practical skills necessary to solve problems or life
situations subject to counseling. Staying with the skills necessary for
philosophical counseling, analyzed by Cervari and Pollastri, who identified
the classes of argumentative skills, which generate practical philosophy
skills, in the following order: logical, linguistic-communicative, critical,
analytical, hermeneutic, demonstrative, systematic, evaluative, reflective,
creative (Cervari, Pollastri, 200). Of course, the development of a skills grid
remains a future topic for practitioners, but also for those who will work
in the training and professional training process, without which a
profession cannot exist. The elements presented here can only be a
premise for the continuation of this extensive process of regulation and
approval of training and training programs in the new profession, which
they can soon become realities.
Assessments resulting from research
The research project started from a series of questions that
graduates of undergraduate courses in philosophy have upon completing
their studies, namely: What can I do with my graduation diploma? How can
I put it in value? But to the answer to these questions, which we all intuit,
we must also add the data of a sad reality that shows us that only a very
small percentage of the graduates of the faculties of philosophy can later
put to value the knowledge they acquired during their university studies,
to find a job in the field in which they learned and to work as philosophers,
and implicitly to have an income from the practice of this profession. But
let's ask again: What is the real cause of this impediment, which philosophy
graduates face more and more often? From the answer to this question, I
learned that there are few jobs in research, the same is the case with
teaching positions in philosophy, in Romania the philosophy class is often

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 11
eliminated from schools or transferred to optional subjects, and in
universities the number of students in this specialization is in continuous
decline. But doesn't Romanian society need philosophers or philosophy
practitioners?
It seems that the curriculum also discouraged any attempt to put
philosophy into practice, being oriented towards learning philosophical
tools, mainly academic, which tend towards theorizing, conceptualizing
and abstracting. In the same study, I identified in some practitioners in
applied philosophy numerous references and references to famous
philosophers, to currents of philosophy that can be used by practitioners
to form and develop useful skills and necessary for the new concept of
philosophical counseling, and I conclude the ideas that have arrived at, that
support the research, as important steps on the way to the regulation of
the new profession. If we study the elements of historiography regarding
the appearance in the contemporary world of the first philosophical
counseling offices, we will notice the fact that the first to take the initiative
were philosophers, we are referring here to the profession of philosopher,
acquired through university training.
Thus there appeared the first premises that generated the initiative
to put philosophy into practice, namely: the model of philosophical
practices manifested in antiquity; various philosophical works that refer to
the need to put philosophy into practice, and last but not least the
appearance of some psychotherapeutic practices that took elements from
philosophy in their way of working, which they then attributed to
themselves as their own applications, here we refer especially to the
disciplines of psychology and psychiatry, which have taken over ideas and
practices specific to philosophy. Another premise that influenced the new
current of philosophical practice was the natural need of philosophers to
support themselves, especially those who have specific education and
training in the field of philosophy, but who did not have the chance to apply
for a position within an institution academic or educational, in order to
manifest as a professor of philosophy, a situation that a large part of
graduates with a degree in philosophy face and who are put in a position
to requalify for other fields of activity, adapting to a dynamic and
competitive economy. The next category of people interested in this
applied field were some therapists or specialists in various forms of
counseling or people in the didactic field, who, in addition to training in

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 12
their current profession, had a university training with a degree in
philosophy, but who for various reasons they did not capitalize on the
knowledge of philosophy acquired.
With the emergence of these distinct philosophical practices, some
of the philosophers who went on to other qualifications expressed an
interest in returning to philosophy; some braver ones have separated their
therapies or specializations from their philosophical practices, which they
have developed distinctly, within the implementation stream of
philosophical counseling, as an activity distinct from any therapeutic,
didactic, or counseling practice. I believe that this segment of practitioners,
with a double training, have a great advantage in the application of
philosophical counseling, in the sense that they can more easily identify the
limit in which they can act as philosophical counselors, a limit that makes
the difference between philosophical practice and therapeutic practice, to
solve a life situation of the advised person. Not by chance, in the training
program of the philosophical counselor were also included ways to identify
pathologies specific to psychology or psychiatry, in order to identify the
limit up to which they can act, without interfering with the necessity or
requirements of a therapy applied to the advised case.
It is also recognized that there are no contraindications to the
practices of philosophical counseling, if we look through the lens of their
application to people undergoing various therapies, and the collaboration
between the philosophical counselor and a doctor or therapist can be
beneficial to the person who manifests a certain pathology. Perhaps not by
chance, professor Lou Marinoff gave a more special title to his book of
philosophical practices, namely: Plato not Prozac!, as a metaphorically
expressed exhortation to prioritize applied philosophy instead of specific
medications (Marinof, 2000).
A final category of people interested in learning and developing
practical skills in philosophy are the specialists who train in philosophical
counseling and who are people with basic training in various other
specializations other than that given by a bachelor's degree in philosophy,
people who need a specialization in a new applied field, philosophical
counseling. The solution for this group of people is to train in the
profession of philosophical counselor following one of the proposed
training programs (master's or postgraduate program), as a distinct
specialization in the field.

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 13
For the category of philosophers interested in this applied field, as
well as that of philosophers who have been requalify in other fields, but
who show an intention to return to philosophy, we propose as a form of
preparation and training in philosophical counseling the completion of
short-term programs, such as postgraduate, to be recognized both by the
qualifications authority, but also by the professional body established to
regulate the profession. This last training option could also be applied to
people who hold a doctorate in the field of philosophy or humanities, who,
in order to be recognized as specialists in the new profession, could follow
a specialization in the field by applying for a postgraduate training
internship. I believe that researchers who have acquired the title of Doctor
of Philosophy with a specific theme of philosophical counseling can meet
the necessary and sufficient conditions from the start to have direct access
to the profession, based on the doctoral research completed in the field,
and they can follow specialization internships, as part of continuing
professional training programs. Here is a schematic presentation of the
proposed solution to be applied in Romania for access to the profession of
philosophical counselor, according to the figure below:
Fig. no.2. The solutions for access to the new profession of
philosophical counselor in Romania
Graduate in
Philosophy
Ph.D. in
Philosophy
Graduate
in other fields
Post-university
courses (two)
Master
program
Romanian philosophical
counseling association
Philosophical
Counseling
Practice

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 14
From the point of view of training and professional training in the
field, we believe that the proposed training programs must be developed
strictly in the university environment, after their approval by the
specialized authority, namely the National Framework of Higher Education
Qualifications - CNCIS, followed by the professional organization that
proposed the regulation of the new profession. After entering the
profession, it will be necessary to organize a continuous professional
training system based on well-defined criteria, in which practitioners have
the opportunity to train continuously, through various forms of training
organized through the professional organization that will regulate and
represent the profession.
Let's not forget the criticism expressed by some philosophers who
claim that the place of philosophy is only at the academic level, and who
had opinions and reactions against the practice of philosophy in this form
of philosophical counseling, one of them being Gerd Achenbach himself,
considered in Europe the founder of counseling philosophical, he
considered that no specific regulation of philosophical practice is
necessary. This positioning supports the idea that a philosopher can freely
practice any form of philosophical practice, considering that the profession
of philosopher is already regulated and unanimously recognized in the
world. Through this approach, I believe that the profession of philosopher
is strictly protected, in order not to allow access to philosophical practices
except for philosophers, having as an indirect effect the fact that all those
tendencies to practice philosophy will be kept active within other
specializations or fields in which they will use and adapt, in an unapproved
way, techniques and methods specific to the applied philosophy, to be
presented as part of their own therapy or counseling procedures.
With this approach, the so-called professional plagiarism practiced
by some categories of specialists from various therapies or methods in the
field of counseling or training is facilitated, being a plagiarism tacitly
accepted by philosophers, perhaps not voluntarily, but only as a result of
an inaction towards the initiative to build and recognize the new
qualification, specific to the applied philosophy. We also note that this
position highlights another major impediment, caused by the fact that the
training curriculum for a philosopher contains few elements intended for
learning and developing practical philosophical skills, of the type acquired
by a practitioner in philosophical counseling, or the curriculum proposed

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 15
for students from philosophy does not contain enough disciplines
dedicated to philosophical practices, to be assimilated to those proposed
in the new profession. But if the specialization in the new profession will
be done only through postgraduate or master's programs, this fact will
implicitly lead to a specialization of the profession, which has a major
advantage, in the sense that both philosophy graduates and those from
other specializations with a degree, starting from the premise that
university programs, master's or postgraduate, are unanimously
recognized in the world and which can be assimilated to any training and
specialization program, being fully accepted in the new profession.
Now we also assume the role of a mediator between the two
positions presented, one being the one through which philosophers
support a practice in this form of philosophical practices, these remaining
strictly in the field of specialization of a philosopher, and the second
direction is that of regulating a new profession with open access and other
specializations in other fields, but only after completing some training and
specialization programs, to which I referred previously.
Through the proposed solution, we thus bring a solution to both
positions, without harming any of them, and the role assumed by the
mediator is to insist on reaching an agreement on the two positions
expressed, with real benefits to philosophy, as well as applied, for
philosophical counseling. With the ending of this conflict, sometimes
smoldering and undeclared, but often manifested by both sides, the result
of the mediation may have the effect of opening the way for the regulation
of the new profession, of philosophical advisor, and will remove any
interpretation or suspicion of plagiarism that may arise in both camps.
Through the proposed mediation, we will manage to build a more
respected image of applied philosophy, manifested through the new
profession of philosophical advisor, to be unanimously recognized by both
specialists and philosophers.
Another specific application of mediation, hypothetically applied in
research, was the mediation of the positions sometimes expressed among
the practitioners of philosophical counseling: some being for the practice
of philosophical counseling strictly by philosophers with a license in the
field, who also support the fact that excessive regulation of to another
profession, other than that of a philosopher; and the second position being
those who support the possibility of practicing philosophical counseling by

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 16
means of specialists specifically trained in philosophical counseling,
training to which people with a license in other fields can also have access,
but who can specialize through training in the new profession. This second
category includes all those who come from related therapies, who already
apply the philosophy in their practice, in various ways, and people who
want to specialize, by going through training and specialization programs,
similar to the training courses organized by US professional association
APPA (appa.edu).
The hypothetical mediation of the two approaches resulted in the
generation of an acceptance from both presented categories, through
which both possibilities of access to the new profession can be accepted,
by accepting the fact that the proposed training or specialization program
is imperatively necessary and useful. Thus, these diametrically opposed or
contradictory approaches can cease, as they are not beneficial to the
application of philosophy for people, and the proposed regulation will
bring added value to philosophical practices, which are currently practiced
in various ways or personal interpretations.
The construction of a unitary regulatory system can create the
premises for a permanent supervision of new forms of practice, which can
be recognized and regulated, and the recognized status of the profession
will also change the public perception towards philosophical practice.
I believe that the regulatory process will lead to a natural selection
of specialists interested in practicing philosophy under this new form of
philosophical counseling, leaving the place dedicated to philosophy of the
academic type, and without affecting in any way the respect it has earned
over the centuries. Also, the new profession that I support can become a
successful liberal activity, recognized and regulated in our country, which
will keep a permanent connection with philosophy, as a permanent source
of inspiration, and philosophy can in turn more actively support
development and recognition of the new profession. Philosophical
counseling can even have the role of a child, with whom the parent, here
philosophy, can be proud and whom it can support and guide permanently.
I am for the introduction of continuous professional training within
the new profession, as an active element to improve the activity, to
stimulate permanent research in the applied field of philosophy, in which
academic philosophy will have an important role, by developing new
specialization programs or by the action of collecting, interpreting and

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 17
presenting research results in the new applied field. Collaboration and
cooperation are the elements that can be followed, and which will
eliminate the current trends of criticism and contradictory debates, which
can have indirect effects on philosophy.
Maintaining the positioning in the area of the mediation process, I
noticed that a practitioner in philosophical counseling applied to groups,
like the philosophical cafe or other group meetings, where the practicing
philosopher or the specialist in philosophical counseling has an active role
as a facilitator of the practice, as so does a mediator in a mediation process.
A similar approach takes place in individual counseling, where the
practitioner indirectly also develops a mediation process, which can take
place between his client and his problem or dilemma.
Based on these observations, we studied some specific
characteristics of a mediation process, in comparison with the studied
philosophical counseling practices, reaching the conclusion that there is a
closeness and similarity between the two processes, that of the mediation
of a conflict by a specialized mediator and that of philosophical counseling
by a qualified specialist in this field. Thus, we tried to show the similarities
between the analyzed philosophical counseling concept and the existing
mediation process, which is already accepted as a regulated liberal
profession in Romania (Hategan, 2019). Starting from the similarities
between the two processes, I also studied the organization and regulation
of the mediator profession, which I consider to be a particularly useful
source in the process of regulation and organization of the new profession
and qualifications analyzed, that of a philosophical advisor, and the
regulatory process can successfully follow the model already established
for the regulation of the mediator profession, with the necessary additions,
specific to this activity.
The regulation of the profession only establishes in the most
practical way what are the rights and obligations of the practitioner, their
way of working, but also how they can be represented. These elements lead
to the realization of a desired recognition of the profession, which can be
opposed both by those who practice it and by the beneficiaries, to whom
the proposed new philosophical practice is addressed, being different from
any therapy or counseling in the field. This fact will generate the correct
and legal premises for the development of the new profession, of the type
of a liberal profession, achievable by approving the profession, by

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 18
establishing the professional association, as a professional body for the
representation and supervision of the profession, following the
elaboration of the ethical code of the profession, of the norms of
professional deontology, necessary for the recognition of any profession,
being also a form of trust and safety of the quality of the service offered.
Like any recognized liberal profession, philosophical counseling will have
all its characteristics, here we mean including ensuring the secrecy of the
meeting and protecting the information derived from the counseling
process, with immediate effect in creating a professional prestige.
Membership of a professional body recognized by the state can be
beneficial for each practitioner, in the sense that it indirectly offers a real
guarantee to the recipient of these practices, the client who will turn to the
philosophical advisor, being also an indirect recommendation of his
services. When a graduate wants to act on the basis of a qualification or
skills legally acquired within the national education system, they need a
recognition of their qualification, which can be opposable to everyone, and
which gives them the right to value the skills and knowledge accumulated,
in a legal framework and protected by the state, through the forms of
recognition of qualifications and professions.
Practitioners' registration in professional associations will bring
them independence of their practice, both in relation to the state, which
will ensure immediate recognition, but also in relation to other professions
or qualifications. I believe that the approach of establishing some
university training and training programs in this new field is particularly
useful and important for the training of future specialists in philosophical
counseling and we propose that the training and specialization programs,
such as master's or postgraduate, can be developed in as many university
centers as possible in Romania, thus encouraging the active participation
of philosophy teachers from the country and established practitioners in
the field. We thus support the need for the first postgraduate level courses
to come to the support of graduates with a degree in philosophy, to not give
up on putting into practice the knowledge of philosophy acquired during
their initial studies. These philosophers, withdrawn or disillusioned with
their very choice of philosophy, will now have a real opportunity to return
and specialize in philosophical practice, so necessary for the common
people, a fact that will bring the philosophy graduates a certain personal
satisfaction, manifested both in a material and professional form, being

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 19
also an incentive to reactivate them as philosophers, to become active
participants in philosophical debates, even at an academic level, through
the permanent training programs they will participate in the new
profession.
This opportunity will also be beneficial for university philosophers,
offering them the opportunity to actively participate in the creation of
training programs in the new specialization, as a challenge to research the
procedures or work techniques proposed in the new field of philosophical
counseling, but also by putting practice of philosophy, for the benefit of a
person who had no direct contact with philosophy, in any of its forms of
expression. It is time for each side to prove that it is truly concerned with
seeking and preserving the wisdom of humanity, now in a form that is
necessary and useful to the common people, just as the philosophers of old
did. Through this approach, which we consider constructive from many
points of view, the role and importance of philosophy in human life will
increase, that is to say, it will return among people and for people,
facilitating a wider access to the treasury of wisdom held by philosophy.
In all the situations presented, about manifested confrontations,
our approach remains one of mediation, in the sense that we demonstrate
an attitude of clarification on the divergences that have arisen, followed by
collaboration and cooperation on various levels, which can lead to the
elimination of any disputes or adversarial debates, with the realization of
real benefits in both directions. A similar approach, viewed from the point
of view of mediation as a process, is for the sometimes more tense
relationship manifested in various occasions or situations, between
academic philosophy and philosophical counseling, emphasizing the need
manifested by philosophical counseling to call upon and rely on academic
philosophy, which can actively participate in the realization of the training
and improvement programs of the new profession that is taking shape. In
the study there are practitioners who support the thesis that only a
philosopher can best exercise the profession of philosophical advisor,
among which are noted: Gerd Achenbach, Ran Lahav, Neri Pollastri; on the
other hand, they are practitioners who claim that this profession can be
exercised by a specialist trained in philosophical counseling, and who can
also come from other specializations, other than philosophy. In this area,
Lou Marinoff is positioned, a philosopher who advocates for the training of
specialists from other fields of activity, based on a training program agreed

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 20
in the profession; being followed by Peter Raabe, in the field of psychology
by his primary qualification. I am still in favor of the need for mediation, in
the sense of not wasting time with various confrontations of ideas and
opinions on this topic, with the acceptance from both sides of the fact that
the promotion of the profession can advance without divergences, and in
the training project and qualification in the new profession, both career
philosophers and specialists from other fields will have access, who will
follow one of the proposed forms of professional training.
In the proposal regarding the organization of these training
programs, I insist that they be organized only at the university level, with
the participation of specialists in the teaching of philosophy as well as
philosophers from the academic area, together with practitioners
specialized in the new profession. These proposed training programs may
be subject to accreditation by the specially qualified institution for
university programs (CNCIS), from the point of view of the professional
skills delivered at the end of each training program, which will give greater
weight to the new qualification.
The 2022 regulation that took place in Romania, by including the
occupation of philosophical counselor in the "Classification of occupations
in Romania" has become a real form of recognition of the new occupation,
being a natural premise for the legal development of this activity, in
accordance with the characteristics specific to a liberal profession.
If we refer to all the controversies related to the regulation and
development of a specific profession of philosophical counseling, they can
lead us to an erroneous conclusion, that of being categorized as an
impossible profession. This classification can be based on several
arguments, such as the opinion of those who place philosophical
counseling in the category of a profession without an object or without a
well-defined goal, and others place it in the category of a profession that
has not defined its rules and methods specific, opinions that were
generated by different currents of opinion manifested even among
practitioners. Returning to the main characteristics of the presented
philosophical counseling, we can conclude that this new practice
represents another way of doing philosophy, that of moving towards a
form of dialogue with other people, giving up the philosophical solitude of
the past. Philosophical dialogue remains the main characteristic of
philosophical counseling, as a practice that takes place between two

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 21
people: between a philosopher and a non-philosopher or between a
specialist in applied philosophy and a person who wants to learn to outline
their own philosophy of life. Although not therapy, philosophical
counseling can have therapeutic effects, in the sense that it resolves or
clarifies the subject's problems; it can also be considered a helping
profession, in the sense that it provides advice and help to a person; or it
can teach them to do philosophy, being a counselor through the help
offered; and the fact that it solves certain problems does not mean that it
is a result service, but it can be repaid like any service rendered to a person.
Considering these characteristics, philosophical counseling can be
considered a special profession that deserves special regulation.
This approach to the exercise of some philosophical practices now
brought "to light" detaches itself from any form of interpretation on the
proposed new skills, eliminates any confusion that can be made with the
occupation of philosopher or with other therapies that also use
philosophical practices, thus eliminating any improvisation from any
direction or even a possible offense that can be indirectly brought to these
established and recognized professions. Practically, there is a passing into
legality of some practices that until now were assumed indirectly and
undeclared by other occupations.
Thus, philosophy put into practice is and can become useful for the
benefit of any person, starting from the age of conscious childhood to old
age, and through philosophical counseling it can come to the aid of any
person who wants to learn to philosophize. We support the exhortation
expressed previously, that of learning to live a normal happy life with the
help of philosophy, thus making a transition from analytical and theoretical
philosophy, often manifested only at the academic level, to a philosophy
put into practice and applied for the benefit of as many as possible persons
on this planet, for the benefit of ordinary people seeking wisdom, and who
can actively participate in the realization the professional training
programs so necessary in the new profession.
Conclusions
In this paper, I have outlined what can be the path to be followed in
Romania for the implementation and recognition of a new professional
occupation, an initiative that can be subject to a regulatory procedure by

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 22
law, so that philosophical counseling is included in the category of liberal
professions in our country. The procedure for the recognition of this new
profession requires a good knowledge of the necessary procedures and
requirements, as well as the possibilities to be followed by those interested
in this endeavor. I recommend to those involved in the process of
regulation and recognition of the profession of philosophical counselor
that throughout this process they collaborate within the team, to show
openness to suggestions from other entities, and from practitioners in
philosophy or those who seek to work in counseling, aiming to maintain
and the development of the primordial connection with academic
philosophy, from which it originates.
I believe that the whole process of regulation of the proposed
philosophical counselor profession can be permanently improved with
ideas, opinions or solutions, from those who have accumulated experience
in philosophical practice or from those from the university environment
who are active in the area of training in applied philosophy, but also from
graduates of already existing training programs.
A collaboration of all the factors involved can lead to the rapid
realization of the recognition of this new profession, using the proposed
regulatory models, and thus highlighting the existing training potential in
Romanian university education, giving a real chance to those graduates of
a license in philosophy to be able to do more with all the accumulated
knowledge, but also in support of those who have a certain connection with
philosophical practices and who will be able to activate in a regulated and
recognized form within the Romanian society.
I strongly believe that it is an opportune time for philosophy to stop
standing aside, to become actively involved in the life of the city, as
Socrates and other philosophers did in antiquity. The need for some
philosophical practices is obvious, all that remains is to apply them
through philosophical counseling, to make philosophy more useful to
people, organizations and communities. I believe that the ultimate test of
the proposed solution of professionalization can be verified in fact, by
applying the new concept of philosophical counseling in real life, with
specialists trained and dedicated to this new field of philosophy, which can
now be put to the benefit of people.

Vasile Hațegan
Can philosophical counseling be a special profession
to be recognized in Romanian society?
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 4, issue 11, 2024
ISSN: 2783-9435 © IRCEP pg. 23
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