Philosophical perspective

The Philadelphia* Association is unique in the world of British psychotherapy in its insistence upon the need for a simultaneous engagement with both the fields of psychotherapy, particularly psychoanalysis, and philosophy, particularly phenomenology. (Other influences have included Buddhism, anthropology, aesthetics and the practice of art.)

A sceptical stance

Our approach is a sceptical one, questioning what is too often taken for granted, particularly the many theories, whether psychiatric or psychotherapeutic, that are used to explain mental suffering and emotional distress. We are not a school of psychoanalysis or psychotherapy and we do not promote any one theoretical model or subscribe to any dogma. Rather, we advocate a thoughtful approach to the practice of therapy and a questioning of the cultural norms and assumptions that may be implicit in a person's suffering or in accepted ways of making sense of it.

Thoughtfulness leading to insight

We do not claim any particular treatment or type of therapy as being the correct or only way of dealing with mental or emotional distress. We do believe that psychotherapy offers a time and a place for a thoughtfulness that is often missing from people’s lives, and that in the relationship that unfolds in psychotherapy individuals may gain perspective, insight and understanding.
The thoughtfulness we advocate can only come, we believe, through an engagement with philosophy especially that within the sceptical tradition.

*Philadelphia (Greek): brotherly or sisterly love.
'I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it'. (Revelations 3.8)