In today's post, and next week's follow-up, Sorin Baiasu, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Liverpool-Oxford-St Andrews Kantian (LOSAK) Research Centre at the University of Liverpool, and Luke Jordan, Clinical Lead at NHS Compass Manchester (Later Life CERN Pathway) and an MBT, SCM and RO-DBT practitioner, introduce their new interdisciplinary project on philosophy and mental well-being.
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| Sorin Baiasu |
Globally, we are going through a mental health crisis. In 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that over 1 billion people were living with mental health disorders. In the UK, in 2021/22, the National Health Service (NHS) spent 12 billion pounds on mental health – 8% of the entire NHS budget (comparable to the amount allocated for the treatment of cancer). The total spend on mental health in 2025/26 increased to almost £14 billion.
At the same time, we are experiencing a psychiatrisation of society and a medicalisation of mental disorders, both with their own risks, including shifting the attention from the political aspects of the mental health crisis to individual coping.
In response to this predicament, authors sometimes point to philosophy as a non-medicalised approach, distinct from traditional psychotherapeutic methods and potentially replacing or complementing them. Moreover, with the emergence, in the 20th century, of philosophical counselling/practice, which sometimes presents itself as an alternative to psychotherapy, philosophy appears as having a potential positive influence on societal well-being.
The focus of our current interdisciplinary research is not directly on philosophy as an alternative for, or complement to, traditional psychotherapy; nor are we concerned with the related questions of philosophical counselling’s potential to ‘revitalise’ philosophy and possibly even change its self-understanding.
Our experience has shown that philosophical themes emerge systematically in psychotherapeutic interventions, confirming already existing views that mental health professionals would benefit from professional development training in philosophy.
To address this need, we began to discuss continuing professional development (CPD) sessions on philosophical themes repeatedly raised by later-life patients. These include concerns about death, the meaning of life, justice, desert, virtue or the value of ignorance. We formulated the hypothesis that CPD sessions focusing on philosophical topics, led by a researcher with formal training in philosophy, may meet distinct training needs of the mental health workforce.
In February 2026, we designed and delivered a CPD session to nurses, psychologists and social workers in the NHS. The session focused on the topics of fear of death and conceptual analysis, and it involved teaching and discussion of these themes.
The session fully met our expectations and confirmed our working hypothesis. Members in the audience said they felt more comfortable approaching topics such as death and the meaning of life with their clients, citing newfound understanding and skill in supporting clients to be curious about how they may develop their own philosophical ideas. Staff felt less pressured to ‘find an answer’ to the philosophical issues that their clients experience, but more able to work alongside them as a guide.
The attendees felt it important that philosophical issues were not dismissed in clinical interactions, as may be typical in medical settings, instead emphasising the need to take philosophical problems seriously and welcoming collaborative discussion with clients. A further presentation of the event was made to the wider psychological workforce by two NHS members of staff who had attended our CPD event. In that presentation, they expressed the need for further training in philosophy.
At the same time, we are experiencing a psychiatrisation of society and a medicalisation of mental disorders, both with their own risks, including shifting the attention from the political aspects of the mental health crisis to individual coping.
In response to this predicament, authors sometimes point to philosophy as a non-medicalised approach, distinct from traditional psychotherapeutic methods and potentially replacing or complementing them. Moreover, with the emergence, in the 20th century, of philosophical counselling/practice, which sometimes presents itself as an alternative to psychotherapy, philosophy appears as having a potential positive influence on societal well-being.
The focus of our current interdisciplinary research is not directly on philosophy as an alternative for, or complement to, traditional psychotherapy; nor are we concerned with the related questions of philosophical counselling’s potential to ‘revitalise’ philosophy and possibly even change its self-understanding.
Our experience has shown that philosophical themes emerge systematically in psychotherapeutic interventions, confirming already existing views that mental health professionals would benefit from professional development training in philosophy.
To address this need, we began to discuss continuing professional development (CPD) sessions on philosophical themes repeatedly raised by later-life patients. These include concerns about death, the meaning of life, justice, desert, virtue or the value of ignorance. We formulated the hypothesis that CPD sessions focusing on philosophical topics, led by a researcher with formal training in philosophy, may meet distinct training needs of the mental health workforce.
In February 2026, we designed and delivered a CPD session to nurses, psychologists and social workers in the NHS. The session focused on the topics of fear of death and conceptual analysis, and it involved teaching and discussion of these themes.
The session fully met our expectations and confirmed our working hypothesis. Members in the audience said they felt more comfortable approaching topics such as death and the meaning of life with their clients, citing newfound understanding and skill in supporting clients to be curious about how they may develop their own philosophical ideas. Staff felt less pressured to ‘find an answer’ to the philosophical issues that their clients experience, but more able to work alongside them as a guide.
The attendees felt it important that philosophical issues were not dismissed in clinical interactions, as may be typical in medical settings, instead emphasising the need to take philosophical problems seriously and welcoming collaborative discussion with clients. A further presentation of the event was made to the wider psychological workforce by two NHS members of staff who had attended our CPD event. In that presentation, they expressed the need for further training in philosophy.