Certified Memberships
are offered to experienced philosophical practitioners--client
counselors, group facilitators, or organizational consultants--who
meet APPA requirements. Certified Members are listed in
the APPA Directory of Certified Practitioners, and are eligible
for referrals and other professional benefits. Certified
Members are bound by the APPA Code of Ethical Professional
Practice, and are committed to regular professional development.
There are three ways to become a Certified
Member of the APPA: by invitation, application, or training.
• Invitation: In consultation with its Boards of
Professional Examiners and its National or International
Advisory Boards, the APPA may invite recognized or experienced
philosophical practitioners to become Certified Members.
Distinguished practitioners may be invited to join the
APPA Faculty.
• Application: Experienced philosophical practitioners
of counseling, facilitation or consulting who satisfy
APPA requirements may apply to become Certified Members.
For detailed application criteria, please
click here.
• Programs for Adjuncts: The APPA conducts programs
for Adjunct Members who seek certification as counselors,
facilitators or consultants. The APPA is working to establish
accredited University programs in philosophical practice.
• Programs for Affiliates: The APPA conducts programs
for Affiliate Members who seek Certified Affiliate status
as counselors, facilitators or consultants. The APPA is
working to have these programs accredited as CEUs.
Training Programs
The APPA offers intensive certification
training programs in counseling, facilitation and consulting.
Completion of a Level I (primary) program satisfies the
APPA training requirement for primary certification as
a counselor, facilitator or consultant. Completion of
a Level II (advanced) program satisfies the APPA training
requirement for full certification as a counselor, facilitator
or consultant. All certification training programs are
conducted or supervised by APPA Faculty. Members are notified
of schedules and fees by mail and e-mail; pertinent program
data are also posted at our website, under "Programs."
Programs have been held in New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Argentina, England and Italy. Programs may
be scheduled in other locations according to demand.
The APPA is committed to professional
virtues of expertise, excellence and integrity. Inasmuch
as the APPA pursues official recognition of client counseling,
its certification standards in that category are the most
stringent. All Certified Members are bound by the
APPA Code of Ethics.
Level I & II Training for Counselors:
Level I counseling programs are introductory.
They cover the basics of philosophical counseling, address
the most frequently asked questions, and provide the tools
necessary to start a practice. Those who complete Level
I training may engage in practice with a primary certificate,
under supervision from fully certified practitioners.
Distanced supervision is conducted via submissions of
audio-taped counseling sessions or written case studies,
with taped or written analyses from supervisors.
Level II counseling programs are advanced.
They are intended for practitioners who have completed
Level I training and who have practiced under supervision
for at least one year. Level II programs cover special
problems encountered in practice, analyze specific cases,
sharpen the skills of practitioners, and hone marketing
strategies. Those who complete Level II training are eligible
for full certification.
Level I & II Training for Facilitators:
Level I facilitation programs are introductory.
They cover the basics of practicing philosophy with groups
outside the classroom, and provide the tools necessary
to establish a Philosopher's Café in a bookstore
or other public venue. Participants engage in a Nelsonian
Socratic dialogue or other formal philosophical method
of group facilitation. Those who complete Level I training
receive primary certificates.
Level II facilitation programs are
advanced. They are intended for practitioners who have
completed Level I training, who have moderated public
forums, and who have participated in at least a second
full Socratic dialogue or other formal philosophical method
of group facilitation. The theory of Nelsonian Socratic
dialogue is explored in depth. Those who complete Level
II training are eligible for full certification.
Level I & II Training for Consultants:
Level I consulting programs are introductory.
They cover the basics of practicing philosophy with organizations,
including basic principles of organizational and corporate
structures and the relevance of philosophical skills and
principles to organizational contexts. A specific methodology
will be taught, chosen from the empirically established
inventory of reliable, marketable philosophical consulting
tools. Those who complete Level I training receive primary
certificates.
Level II consulting programs are advanced.
They are intended for practitioners who have completed
a Level I program, and/or who have demonstrable experience
as philosophical consultants. A second specific methodology
is articulated and explored in depth. Those who complete
Level II training are eligible for full certification.
Scopes of Practice
Certified Members have demonstrated professional
competency in the following scopes of practice:
• An APPA Certified Counselor is able
to help individual clients, through techniques and skills
of philosophical analysis and dialogue, to manage or resolve
personal, logical, teleological, axiological, conceptual,
existential or ethical problems adversely affecting their
lives; and to recognize problems outside the scope of
philosophical counseling and make referrals to appropriate
professionals.
• An APPA Certified Facilitator is
able to moderate public philosophical discussion groups,
and is familiar with philosophical principles of small
and large group facilitation, conflict resolution, and
the dynamics of consensual, adversarial, and formal group
discussion formats (e.g. Nelsonian Socratic dialogue).
• An APPA Certified Consultant
is able to render philosophical services to organizations
by virtue of familiarity with philosophical principles
of corporate structure, management and strategic planning,
as well as familiarity with a range of philosophical skills
and methodologies applicable to organizations.
Certified Affiliates are not Certified
Philosophical Practitioners; rather, are co-professionals
with abiding philosophical interests.
• An APPA Certified Affiliate
is a practicing professional in a recognized (e.g. licensed,
certified, registered, etc.) field other than philosophy,
with its own scope of practice (e.g. medicine, psychology,
law, social work).
• An APPA Certified Affiliate sustains interests
both in philosophical aspects of his or her given field,
and in philosophical applications within it.
