Overview
Cultivating Therapeutic Virtues for Real-Time Clinical Practice
Therapy unfolds in conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and emotional unpredictability. The most essential therapeutic capacities—courage, patience, humility, timing, attunement, compassion, and the ability to stay with the unknown—cannot be mastered through theory alone. They develop through lived experience.
The ancient Greek philosophers understood these capacities as virtues: ways of being that arise through the manner in which we respond to challenge and complexity.
This three-part webinar series brings the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle directly into contemporary therapeutic practice. Each session explores how their insights can help modern clinicians cultivate the virtues required to meet clients in the immediacy of their lived worlds.
APS / NZPsS member: $450 ex GST
PACFA member: $450 ex GST
ACA member $450 ex GST
Non-member: $500 ex GST
10.00 CPD Hours
APS CPD - Approved
PACFA CPD - Approved
ACA CPD - Approved
Workshop topics
Webinar 1 — Socrates
The Courage to Not-Know Perplexity, Inquiry, and the Therapeutic Encounter
Webinar 2 — Plato
Seeing What Matters Vision, Values, and the Conditions of Therapeutic Insight
Webinar 3 — Aristotle
Virtue and Therapeutic Practical Wisdom Judgement, Timing, Responsiveness, and Character
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this workshop series participants should be able to:
– Work with perplexity as a productive therapeutic mood
– Practise disciplined not-knowing
– Ask questions that reveal deeper world-disclosures
– Hold steady when the client (or therapist) becomes confused or unsettled
– Recognise the “shadows” that shape therapeutic perception
– Reflect on the values and assumptions guiding your practice
– See beyond diagnostic or narrative projections
– Orient your therapeutic work toward what genuinely matters for the client
– Refine therapeutic timing (knowing when to speak or stay silent)
– Work skilfully with irreducible ambiguity
– Strengthen your therapeutic character and presence
– Navigate complexity with attuned, ethically grounded judgment
Target Audience
– Psychologists
– Psychotherapists
– Counsellors
– Social workers
– Philosophical practitioners
– Reflective and experiential practitioners
– Coaches with an interest in existential or philosophical foundations
Testimonials
You have a gift of making complex philosophical thinking easier to understand and apply to daily life.
I thoroughly recommend Steven’s workshops. His ability to illuminate the link between philosophy and psychological practice has enriched and deepened my work as a psychologist.
I would love to know if you are offering anymore PD related or group work in the future.. have thoroughly enjoyed the Thursday night content over the last month, thank you!
I enjoy every minute of your 'lecturing' I wouldn't refer to it as lecturing. I think you have a lovely conversational style.
I absolutely loved the course and to say it has given me new perspectives is a gross understatement. It is has started me on a long, fascinating journey that I will continue throughout my career. Thank you.
I so much enjoyed the opportunity to do this seminar . It was fascinating, affirming and integrative for me.
Condensing all of these philosophical reflections into 10 meaningful hours of insights is impressive. It has been a blessing for me to have been able to learn from you. Thank you so much for your wisdom.
Thank you so much again for an absolutely lovely opportunity to dive in deep. … Such a blessing to have been taught through such an experiential program. This was also my most enjoyable PD sessions to date!
Dr Steven Segal
Dr Steven Segal is a registered and practising Psychologist. He was appointed Associate Professor of Management at Macquarie University, Sydney where he taught psychology and philosophy in the context of management and leadership.
Dr Segal has conducted professional development workshops in a range of areas including leadership, education, psychology and psychotherapy. He brings a unique combination of psychology, philosophy, management education and leadership to enable professionals at all levels to develop their practice.
Themes which have driven his interest in psychology and philosophy include anxiety and depression. He has always been focused on the practical application of philosophy which gives him an additional and helpful lens in his practice as a psychologist. Utilising philosophy, he enables clients to gain insight into themselves and the social context in which they live. He has an action orientated view of philosophical reflection and believes that action and reflection form an ongoing cycle on the psychotherapeutic journey.
Dr Segal’s Masters and PhD focus on educational frameworks for working with anxiety and despair. His most recent research project focused on the challenging psychological experiences involved in management and leadership development.
He has published two books which both deal with anxiety and emotion in the context of management:
- Business Feel and Management Practice, and
- Creative Destruction: Existential Skills for Inquiring Managers, Researchers and Educators.
He has edited books including Face to Face with Management Practice and been the section editor of the Handbook on Managerial Philosophy. Dr Segal has published over 30 peer-reviewed scholarly articles in a range of disciplines including philosophy, psychology, and management.
Format
– 3 workshops – 2 hours each
– Live interaction + Q&A
– Optional readings provided
– Recordings available for registrants
– Certificate of completion provided
Dates: Thursdays 16th, 23rd and 30th April 2026
Times: 6:30 – 8:30pm