Next Program: July 25-27, 2025
Schedule: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day (New York time)
Location: Online, via Zoom platform
Eligibility
To enroll in the program, it is necessary to become an Adjunct or Affiliate Member of the APPA. Adjunct Memberships are offered to holders of an earned M.A., ABD or Ph.D. in Philosophy, or Licensura in Hispanic countries. Affiliate Memberships are offered to recognized co-professionals in other counseling fields, e.g. law, pastoral counseling, psychiatry, psychology, social work etc. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. The APPA reserves the right to limit enrollment of Affiliate Members in order to accommodate Adjunct members on a priority basis. Every effort will be made to accommodate all eligible members who wish to participate.
Enrollment
Once you have joined APPA as an Adjunct or an Affiliate Member, you may enroll here as follows:
- Pay-in-advance option: the program fee is $900 for Adjuncts, and $1,200 for Affiliates ($USD)
- Installment option: a deposit of $300 for Adjuncts, and $400 for Affiliates, reserves your place.
Balance of $690 for Adjuncts, and $920 for Affiliates, is payable one week prior to the program.
Cancellation Policy
- Pay-in-advance refund: If cancellation is made up to 2 weeks before the start of a program, payment will be refunded, less a $100 administrative fee. If a cancellation is made within 2 weeks of the start of a program, payment will be refunded, less a $200 administrative fee.
- Installment refund: If cancellation is made up to 2 weeks before the start of a program, deposit will be refunded, less a $100 administrative fee. If a cancellation is made within 2 weeks of the start of a program, deposit will not be refunded, but can be applied to future program.
Required Readings
There are required readings for the program, which are in English. The readings will be emailed to participants, at no charge, when they enroll. There is also a required textbook, which must be purchased.
Language of Instruction
The Program will be conducted in English.
Travel and Accommodation (In-Person Events Only)
Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation.
Program Structure
Primary Certification Training in Philosophical Counseling
Outline of Three-Day Program
Day One: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (New York time)
1. Greetings, Introductions
2. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology
3. Philosophical Practice Today
Lunch
4. Theories, Resources, Techniques
5. Client Suitability
6. Useful Methods and Skills
7. Summary, Questions, Discussion
Day Two: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (New York time)
8. Code of Ethical Practice
9. Demonstration of Counseling Session
10. Participant Practice Counseling Session
Lunch
11. Participant Practice Counseling Session
12. Records, Case Histories, Practice Administration
13. Summary, Questions, Discussion
Day Three: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (New York time)
14. Legal Issues of Going into Practice
15. Philosophical Counseling as a Business
16. Building a Practice
Lunch
17. Marketing, Networking, Advertising
18. Putting it All Together
Graduation
Session leaders: Vaughana Feary, Lou Marinoff, Rick Repetti
Vaughana Feary, Ph.D., taught philosophy and interdisciplinary Humanities at Southern University in New Orleans from 1979-1987. From 1987-2000 she taught Philosophy and Women’s Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. She is a founding Vice President of APPA, past President of the ASPCP, President and CEO of Education Inc., and Program Director for Excalibur Center for Applied Ethics. She has pioneered programs for correctional facilities, hospitals, and corporations, and has published seminal articles and book chapters.
Lou Marinoff, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He is founding president of the APPA. He has served as Faculty of the Institute for Local Government (University of Arizona), and the World Economic Forum (Davos and Geneva). Lou has authored several books, including Plato Not Prozac (HarperCollins, NY 1999), Philosophical Practice (Academic Press, NY, 2001) The Middle Way (Sterling, NY 2007), and The Inner Philosopher (with Daisaku Ikeda, Dialogue Path Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012).
Rick Repetti, Ph.D. is Professor of Philosophy at CUNY, Vice President of APPA, Meditation Instructor for the Vervaeke Foundation, author of The Counterfactual Theory of Free Will (Lambert 2010) and Buddhism, Meditation, and Free Will (Routledge 2019), editor of Buddhist Perspectives on Free Will (Routledge 207) and The Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation (2022), and author of dozens of articles on Buddhism, meditation, agency, self, and related topics, 50+ years meditation and yoga practitioner, and 3 decades meditation and yoga instructor.
Testimonials
Hi Lou!
It’s Mackenzie Groff from this weekend’s certification program. I just wanted to write to you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the absolutely PHENOMENAL program you just led. It will be something I profoundly cherish forever.
Thank you for your incredible depth of knowledge, inspiring wisdom, wonderful sense of humor, contagious positive energy, the list goes on and on. As you know, I’ve been dreaming of becoming a philosophical counselor for a very long time and seeing your passion and belief in the vision of it every day just confirmed that I was right to seek this path. I honestly cannot thank you enough. I hope you have a magnificent sabbatical and it is everything you need and more!!
Please take care and know you are making a massive difference in the world just by being you!
All the best,
―Mackenzie Groff
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Dear Professor Marinoff,
I hope this email finds you well. My name is Jonathan Carroll, living in Owensboro, Kentucky, and I was a participant in the most recent APPA philosophical practitioner certification training. I’m writing to express my profound gratitude for your life’s work, your insightful thinking, prolific writing, and the intellectual mentorship you’ve provided throughout the certification process.
Your contributions to the field of philosophical practice have been truly inspiring and have significantly shaped my understanding and approach to this discipline. The depth and breadth of your work continue to be a guiding light in my professional development.
Your work continues to be a source of inspiration and learning for me and countless others in the field.
Warm regards,
―Jonathan
Dr. Jonathan Eric Carroll, KLPC, NCPC, NCCE,
ACPE Psychotherapist
APPA-Certified Affiliate Philosophical Practitioner
The Clinic @ The Montgomery, LLC.
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Dear Professor Lou Marinoff,
I hope this email finds you well. I am Dr. Snigdha Ketan Chavan, and I was fortunate to be your student in the certification course in Philosophical Counseling offered by the American Philosophical Practitioners Association and the Philosophical Practitioners Association India. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the invaluable knowledge and skills you shared during the course, which have profoundly shaped my career aspirations.
I look forward to the possibility of learning from you again and benefiting from your wisdom.
Warm regards,
― Dr. Snigdha Ketan Chavan
Congrats to our 2024 and 2025 graduates!
