Philosophical consultant Kerry Tobin uses her training in philosophy to help people solve their everyday problems. She is bringing her skills to Lakewood Public Library where she will guide people through a Socratic dialogue that will try to answer the questions, “What is fellowship?” and “What is unity?” You can come to one or both of these programs which will take place in the Main Library Auditorium on Saturday, April 5 and Saturday, April 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Through collective thinking, people can find out what they have in common by exploring their own experiences. Participants will also discuss how unity and fellowship are can be applied to the Lakewood community.

After reading Plato Not Prozac! by Lou Marinoff, Kerry decided to put her degree to practical use and she became a certified philosophical counselor. Philosophical counseling is more common throughout Europe and has only recently been used in the U.S. Tobin thinks that philosophy is reappearing because traditional religion doesn’t play as big a role as it used to in people’s lives. While traditional psychoanalysis deals with the way someone functions emotionally, philosophical counseling deals with a person’s higher intellectual reasoning ability. The method that Kerry uses to question her clients enables her to peel away the layers to get to the truth. This technique allows the client to examine his or her belief system and get a clearer sense of their purpose in life.

Kerry was born in New York and received her Master of Arts in Philosophy from Cleveland State University in 2000. She got her Certificate in Client Counseling from the American Philosophical Practitioners Association in Palermo, Sicily.

Kerry is currently a teacher at a local college and works as a project consultant for an art program. She is available for individual and group sessions and she does consulting work for a variety of businesses.