VIRTUE, WELL-BEING, AND COUNSELLING: AN ARISTOTELIAN APPROACH TO HOLISTIC THERAPY

Abstract

By integrating virtue ethics into counselling, therapists can guide individuals toward self-awareness, ethical decision-making, and emotional stability. Ultimately, adopting a virtue-based perspective in counselling offers a transformative framework for fostering long-term well-being and personal fulfilment. This article explores the intersection of virtue, well-being, and counselling through the lens of Aristotelian ethics, emphasizing a holistic therapeutic approach. Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia, or human flourishing, provides a foundation for understanding well-being as a function of moral and intellectual virtues. Unlike contemporary counselling models that focus primarily on symptom management, an Aristotelian approach integrates ethical character development, rational reflection, and emotional regulation to foster long-term psychological health. This perspective suggests that well-being is not merely the absence of distress but the active cultivation of virtues such as courage, wisdom, and temperance. Holistic therapy, grounded in Aristotelian thought, views the individual as an integrated whole, balancing reason, emotions, and social relationships.