Philosophical foundations of spiritual counseling

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the philosophical foundations of spiritual counseling and, in this direction, to examine the contributions of the perspective based on philosophical sources to the field of spiritual counseling. In this context, it is underlined in the study that philosophy is considered necessary for the care of the soul by going to the basis of the practical philosophical tradition and that it is carried out as a thinking activity that embraces spirituality, not denying it. In the study, which deals with Ancient Greek philosophy and Islamic moral metaphysics, which are perceived as a guiding and pleasing discipline, philosophical teachings and themes that will provide a theoretical basis for modern spiritual counseling practices are emphasized. In this study, in which the value of philosophical thinking in spiritual counseling, the ambiguities of the modern individual and the search for spirituality, the relationship of philosophy with religion and spirituality are discussed, the problem of evil, which is one of the main problems of the philosophy of religion, is examined in the context of the client's relationship with God. As a result of this research, which is the first study that looks at the field of spiritual counseling from a philosophical perspective in Turkey; (i) spiritual counseling and guidance has philosophical foundations; (ii) that spiritual counselors who provide spiritual counseling can benefit from philosophical knowledge in terms of both reaching the aims of the counseling and the techniques they use; (iii) In the field of spiritual counseling, it has been determined that philosophical sources can be used in terms of techniques deemed necessary to question whether a real therapeutic understanding can be achieved between the spiritual counselor and the client, and to realize this therapeutic understanding and interpretation.