Where can one find a counselor who specialises in philosophical counselling in Taiwan? Not a traditional psychotherapist but one who uses philosophy with his clients. Please email me gbongiovi@hotmail.com.
Philosophical counseling?
Why do I feel depressed? How should I know? How can anyone know why they feel depressed? Sure, depression could be the result of chemical imbalance in the brain, but I don’t even know if I’ve got a brain, do I? I mean, we’ve all been told we have brains and I’ve seen representations of brains in the media, but I’ve never actually seen my brain. How would I know if there’s a chemical imbalance? For all I know there may be a void in my skull. Perhaps that’s the cause of my depression. Or maybe I’m not depressed at all. Maybe I don’t even exist. Perhaps my depressed persona is only a figment of someone else’s imagination. There’s this guy out there imagining me and imagining I’m depressed, but it’s all just a picture in his head – a bunch of neurons firing in someone else’s head. I don’t exist at all, so all I need to do to stop my depression is get this guy to imagine the end of my depression. But if I’m just a vision in his head, how can I communicate with him to make such a request? Any action I take is only the result of his volition, not mine, so I can’t send such a message, can I? But, then again, that’s a stupid theory. I know I exist. If I pinch my arm I fell pain – I can’t be just a specter in someone else’s mind, can I? Would I feel such pain if I were not real? I suppose I could. Perhaps he’s just imagining I feel pain. How can I know? Does it matter? If I’m not real – if I’m only a figment of his imagination – then my depression is not real, it doesn’t exist. Does my depression exist? Hell, I don’t know. It sure seems real, but how can I tell. . . .
Is that how it works? 
Well that’s Mother Theresa for you.
ah philosophical counseling. I’ve read a bit about it but not a whole lot. Then again psych and philosophy were my college majors.
All cultures throughout their history and regions have had a very wide range of beliefs. It’s very interesting learning about how different people viewed the world. It can be very helpful.
You can google it and find organizations and leads. For the fun of it, maybe you can meet some people familar with the history of philosophy and become friends.
You could also try some books and start exploring. Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy is very entertaining.
about Chinese culture, I’ve been reading some stuff like Granet’s Chinese Civilization. Granet was a student of Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology. I don’t know much about sinologues but I imagine he’s one of the most important.
If you’re interesting in something to help you deal with change, tarot or the I Ching could be of some help. It seems the Egyptians (and perhaps others) used Tarot to become a whole person. If you can deal with any type of change, that’s not bad. Carl Jung’s introduction to the first English (or was it german) translation of the I Ching is an interesting read. Heraclitus is good too.
As far as western culture, Nietzsche’s Geneology of Morals could be a big eye opener.
Maybe try contacting Dr. Chien-Chi Lu at Huafan University (luuching@cc.hfu.edu.tw). You could also inquire at the Community Services Center (836-8134, 2838-4947) to see if they can put you in touch with someone. Philosophical counseling (哲學諮商) is such a new field, though, that I’d be surprised if there are more than a handful of practitioners here.