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Therapeutic Philosophy:
A Counseling Alternative for Women in Prison

Yolanda Angulo
Centro de Estudios Genealógicos, para la investigación de la cultura en México y América Latina, A. C.

Introduction

Whenever we speak about the need for a better world, almost naturally one cannot help thinking about those projects that can make such world come true. Immediately, we visualize an ocean of possibilities, among which we must select one or several, provided they are viable, because we are fed up with utopias.

In this paper I shall explore some of the basic features of therapeutic philosophy as guidelines to develop a Pilot Plan to be applied to the inmates of the CERESO in Cd. Juarez, Chih. The purpose of such plan will be to take care of certain inner needs of women in prison, and study, at the same time, the power relations that make possible the commission of the crimes that led them to jail. In other words, we must find out up to which point, therapeutic philosophy can constitute a useful tool in the individual level, to help inmates to overcome emotional conflicts, find the meaning of life and articulate those conflicts, in the theoretical field, to the new forms of “criminal subjectivity”, emerging from the rise of drug traffic, which is the misdemeanor due to which most women go to prison.

I. Basic features of philosophical therapy

What it is. The general framework of therapeutic philosophy is as follows: a philosopher, specialized in such therapy, helps a person or group to overcome some problems of existential nature. Both the philosopher and the person being counseled must meet certain requirements. The therapist must be trained in the application of certain techniques aimed to solve problems. The client or person who needs help must be able to solve his/her problems by his/herself or with the counseling of another person. Philosophical counseling is needed when problems become more complex, like value conflicts, existential contradictions or lack of meaning of life. Notwithstanding, such problems must not be so deep as to fall into the category of pathologic, because in this case, they require other type of help.

How it works. According the Canadian researcher Peter Bruno Raabe, the guidelines required by the philosopher to apply this therapy, are as follows:

He/she must develop a normative theory
He/she must be able to report actual practices
He/she must be able to limit the specificity of his/her practice and differentiate it from others.

To sum up, therapeutic philosophy includes a theory, praxis and a method. In order to apply such therapy to a specific human group, such as women inmates in prison, certain adjustments must be made, due to the focus I have been using in other related works, namely, one aimed to understand the various forms of current feminine subjectivity. Thus, and since we are speaking about the genealogical approach, the triad form by the three elements of such therapy would be transformed as follows:

1. A theory that could be an archeology of language

2. A practice. Besides the one concerning counseling, one must also consider power relations.

3. A method, which may well coincide with some sort of Foucaultian hermeneutics

1. Theory

One of the most frequent problems that rise in the theoretical discussion of counseling philosophy is about the function of philosophy itself. Some philosophers see this trend as one way of “vulgarizing” or minimizing philosophical discourse. Nonetheless, such approach is closely related with some kind of constraint suffered by philosophy due to the triumph of modern rationalism. In this tradition, as Richard Rorty points out, philosophy turned away from life’s problems, became professionalized due to its highly specialized discoursed, which only a few could understand. But this has not always been the case, for philosophy since its early days, has been closely related to existential human problems. There are multiple examples of such philosophical praxis, as we will see below.

2. Practice

During the course of the last decades, a trend called philosophical counseling emerged, with the purpose of reinforcing the individual’s autonomy, upgrading his/her reasoning capabilities. This is not to be construed as a teaching/learning process, as some philosophers understand it, for such process is additional to the therapy itself. Philosophical counseling introduces the individual in the philosophical research, providing guidelines to carry on a self-introspection, thanks to which he/she will be able to solve certain existential conflicts. For reasons such as this, I would like to stress the fact that this is primarily a philosophical task and not a therapeutic one, aimed to helping people, and not a therapy with philosophical resources or tints.

Associated with the foregoing, the question whether this kind of practice is in fact a therapy, can be posed. The answer may be affirmative provided such term is used in a different sense than treating “abnormal” people, that is, pathological cases, in order to make them “normal”. On the one hand, from the genealogical approach we have adopted, the categories of normal and abnormal are severely questioned criticized and, thus, transformed or left out of the discourse. On the other hand, counseling philosophy is not an issue of solving relationships of cause-effect, but rather to introduce a different one: reason-action. Philosophical counseling can also be considered a therapy because people that have subjected themselves to such therapy report improvements in their emotional state and morale, as well as in their everyday performance. All these improvements must be confirmed in the Pilot Plan herein discussed.

Now, if the word therapy (therapeia), derived from the Greek term therapeuein, means to cure or heal, such healing in Ancient Greece included the psyche, namely, the spirit or the soul. According to Raabe, therapeia also meant “service”, so in this sense, the relationship doctor/patient was understood as dynamic, not as a mere application of healing techniques by the physician (Raabe, 205). The foregoing leads us to the task of revitalizing the idea of a relationship in which both actors exert some sort of power on each other, but always with well-defined purposes. So we must try to reinforce the idea of a relationship in which both actors exert certain power on each other, but always with well-defined purposes. In this tenor, Marcuse poses that: “The philosopher is not a physician: his job is not to cure individuals, but to comprehend the World in which they live… Such clarification may well fulfill a therapeutic task, and if philosophy would become therapeutic, it would really come into its own.” (Marcuse, in Raabe 203)

From the foregoing quotation one can deduce not only the descriptive nature of counseling philosophy, but some kind of normativity derived from a conception of philosophy which is not satisfied with the task of explaining or interpreting the world, but intends to exert a real influence both on individuals as well as societies.

The “healing” process is thus aimed to open subject matters and discussions about the world, the society and its performance, the relationships among individuals, being, truth, life, etc. In such scenario, both parties approach problems such as unhappiness, moral and existential conflicts, loss of sense of life and similar cases.

3. Method

Raabe focuses the discussion on the problem of whether phenomenology or hermeneutics are best as a method for philosophical counseling and if it should include a teaching/learning process. Not all counselors agree that philosophical counseling has a method, so this leads us to the need of clarifying what is to be understood as method. If it we were looking for a foundation on which to build the process of the therapy, I would argue that there is no method or that there should be no method, because otherwise we would be returning to the force jacket imposed by modern rationalism. If, on the contrary, by method we understand a procedure to build a Weltanschaung, as a starting point for discussion, then, there is, or should be, a method. However, even in such case I would like to substitute the notion of method by that of an approach, thus turning away from the idea of method imposed by modern science and philosophy.

II. Fundamental elements of Philosophical Counseling

Raabe points out eight elements required for philosophical counseling:

1. Philosophical inquiry. To begin, some philosophical counselors urge for a “worldview interpretation”. But, this is really the end of the inquiry, even though in the beginning such worldview is in an “embrionary” state.

2. Minimal Competence of the Client . The person that submits to Philosophical Counseling must have a minimum capability of autonomous and critical thought, in order to talk about her principles, behavior, decisions and, experiences, and must be able to change theoretical frameworks with critique and creativity. Raabe is very clear on this issue:

“If philosophical counseling is all about a philosopher assisting his client in a philosophical examination of her own life and her own thoughts, and if the client is to do so competently, then she must be willing to develop the requisite philosophical reasoning skill.” (Raabe, 207)

3. Cooperation relationships . A vision of existence and human nature is required. Due to the social nature of human beings, every exteriorization, self-knowledge and identity is given within the framework of intersubjectivity, that is, in the multiplicity of relations that we establish with others. The metaphor used to describe such relationships during the process of Philosophical Counseling, is the one of the dance, because, one person leads, but it takes two to produce harmony.

4. Adaptation of Academic to Philosophical Counseling. This is a delicate point, because nowadays there is much resistance and prejudice to accept certain forms of applied philosophy. Thus, one must avoid the prejudice that without an intricate, obscure and practically unintelligible language, there is no philosophical discourse. But, this is really a problem and an additional task for professional philosophers, for they must learn to write philosophy in a form comprehensible to ordinary people. The problem that rises is: must philosophy become popular in order to reach broader audiences, or must it remain in the restricted sphere of academic discourses?

Many examples in the history of philosophy show the existence of an attitude that would support simple language, especially in former times. Famous cases are Socrates, Seneca, Aristotle, Hume, Locke, etc.

Maybe the most important critique to the hyper-specialization of philosophy is that the use of un-comprehensible technicalities for most people, keeps it away from the problems of individuals and society, confining itself to deal with technical problems of its own discourse (Raabe, 211). As we have mentioned, Rorty has pointed out this phenomena, suggesting that we must break those bondages that confine philosophy to a few illustrated spheres that leave aside social problems that are considered vulgar, keeping it away from life.

From the foregoing controversy one must ask about the nature and function of philosophy. ¿Is it –or should it be— an activity for philosophers and only for philosophers, or should it be aimed at society’s benefit? The answer will depend on the function one attributes to it. In the history of philosophy there are examples of discourses the language of which are un-comprehensible and of others clearly worried with social problems, written in a more straightforward, unsophisticated language and broadly read.

In the specific case of philosophical counseling, philosophers must be able to articulate complex problems in a language the client understands, without simplifying philosophy to the extent of turning it banal.

5. Learning process. During therapy, the philosopher becomes a sort of teacher, because he introduces the philosophical discourse required to help the client in each specific case. The client, in turn, learns to argue, to recognize her problems, to clarify them, thus being able to develop her creativeness and capability of critique and self-critique.

6. Schedule. The agenda must be wide, flexible as well as discourses and philosophical issues.

7. Change and “Progress”. This is one of the most controversial issues. ¿Must philosophical counseling look for changes? ¿With what criteria shall we talk about progress? It is impossible during the dialogical process not to produce changes, both in the client as in the therapist. Consequently, the goal is change, that is, the improvement of the client and the benefits this must provide her. Thus, the notion of progress shall be given by the client who will report to feel better, happier, having achieved a better understanding of her problems, having solved family issues, and, most of all, her place in society.

8. Method. Finally, it is necessary to become conscious that there is not one sole method for philosophical counseling, so it will be up to the philosopher the application of various approaches, because experience shows that it is impossible to adhere strictly to one, due to the diversity of problems and people who seek help.

From all the aforementioned, some aspects are pertinent to the pilot plan to be applied in the CERESO of Ciudad Juarez, with little modifications, while others are either superfluous, and thus, dispensable, or require substantial adaptations.

III. Raabe’s Four Stage Model

Raabe has developed, throughout his practice, a four-stage model:

1. It is a kind of free brainstorming session during which the counselor listens to the client’s worries and the client, in turn, becomes familiar with the sense of philosophical counseling.

2. The counselor intends to solve immediate problems as an expert, in order to transmit to the client some argumentation techniques.

3. The counselor more clearly becomes a teacher that helps the client to develop her reasoning capabilities and the required philosophical elements to achieve greater autonomy, so that she will be able to carry out self-inquiry.

4. The client is able to transit from an everyday interpretation of her problems to a more philosophical one, to question the values and assumptions of her Weltanschaung, in order to act in life with a greater degree of consciousness. Now she will be able to make a decision on the basis of reflection and information, until philosophy becomes a form of life.

IV. Adaptation of Philosophical Counseling to more specific Problems in a different Context

There are several notions about the function of philosophy. One, which is clearly related to modernity, according to which, philosophy is destined to clarifying language or terminological problems of its technical vocabulary. According to another tradition, philosophy should be linked to life and result in social changes. Examples of the latter are critical philosophy and Philosophical counseling.

Now, Anglo-Saxon philosophical counseling is focused on individual support, as psychoanalysts, psychologists or psychotherapists do. However, it seems to me that in Latin American or non-developed countries, it would seem rather superficial to remain at that level, because urgent needs make us look for new paths. Consequently, we must opt for certain type of philosophy that seeks for economic, political and cultural changes.

From the experience obtained in the course of the investigation about women in prison, the need to combine the social and individual approach appeared. The purpose is to take advantage of the results of the theoretical and field work in order to help those women subjects of the inquiry, and at the same time contribute to social change.

Inmates of the CERESO show certain features that make them viable candidates for a group therapy, which one could well call “communitarian philosophical counseling”, due to the elements in common, which overcome some of the disadvantages of group therapies where isolated individuals, with very little common interests or problems, gather.

In the literature of philosophical counseling, corporality does not seem to play an important role. However, due to the special characteristics of the subjects of the pilot plan, any type of therapy would be incomplete if it would focus on some type of philosophical reflection that leaves aside materiality, namely, notions like social practices, body and subjectivity.

The genealogical-archaeological approach would also contribute to reconstruct the conditions that propitiated the emergence of certain forms of subjectivity that did not exist before. In this case, the feminine “criminal subjectivity” referred to, specifically emerges in the context of the maquiladoras and drug traffic boom in the whole country, but in a more intense manner in the northern border. This implies, at the same time, the need to detect the power networks spread in all contemporary societies and their subsequent games of knowledge and truth that circulate in the various social spheres. The foregoing culminates in new forms of objectification (what it is said in discourses) of women whose way of life and subsistence fall outside the legal frameworks and socially accepted practices, and new forms of subjectivity (what kind of new subjects have emerged from such discourses and practices).

To conclude, taking Raabe’s proposal into account, philosophical inquiry and the minimal competence required represent no problem. Regarding the relationship client/counselor, first we must abandon the word “client”, because it will not be the case of an office and its customers in a labor relationship, but a social service to which women must attend to voluntarily. Consequently, the adaptation of philosophical language must be more radical, due to the profile of the group and its socio-cultural characteristics.

In this scenario, the need to provide special attention to the learning/teaching process is stronger, process that must take place in a mutual respect and interaction environment. Finally, the change that will take place is expected to go beyond the existential problems usually dealt-with in those countries where philosophical counseling is more popular, because in our country, the context of such problems is a very intense social problematic. So, the change at the individual level through the communitarian philosophical counseling is expected to have an impact in a change of social and discoursive practices, required for a better world.

Bibliography

Foucault, Michel, Vigilar y castigar, Siglo XX!, México.

Foucault, Michel, Hermenéutica del sujeto , La Piqueta , Madrid .

Foucault, Michel, Arqueología del saber , Siglo XXI, México.

Foucault, Michel, Los anormales, FCE, México.

Marinoff, Lou, A Therapy for the Sane, How Philosophy can Change your Life, Bloomsbury , New York , London , 2003.

Rabe, Peter, Philosophy of Philosophical Counsenling, PhD Thesis, University of British Columbia , 1999.

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