Philosophical midwifery (Grimes)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Pierre Grimes, Regina L. Uliana · 1960 · Southern California

What it is

Philosophical midwifery is a non-clinical form of philosophical practice, not a psychotherapy. Grimes (1924–2024), a philosophy teacher in Southern California, developed it as a Socratic dialectic method for understanding the problems people meet in pursuing excellence in life. It grew out of his…

Format

• Format as published. Grimes practised one-to-one dialogue ("Socratic Midwifery" in Southern California since the 1960s) and taught the method in group seminars and courses. The APPA course is 10 hours, online, capped at 12 participants, open to APPA members, with Q&A moderated by Nancy Grimes and…
• The method's published architecture. The APPA course divides PM into five parts, which is the best open outline of the method:

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status (one line). The 1998 book contains a validation study by Uliana built on two case studies; controlled trials. Philosophical midwifery is not a treatment for mental disorder and is not presented here as one.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Endings that leave clinical needs unmet. Working if the client has a plan in their own words.
• Rumination dressed as reflection; self-criticism in the notes. Working if notes become more curious and less condemning.
• Intellectualising as avoidance; reading lists replacing inquiry. Working if it strengthens the client's sense of ownership.
• Insight treated as cure; disappointment when the pattern recurs. Working if the client catches the pattern earlier over time.
• Method drift; the inquiry displacing treatment of symptoms. Working if symptom work continues and the inquiry adds understanding.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.