Philosophy for children (Lipman)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp · 1968 · Montclair

What it is

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is an educational programme, not a psychotherapy. Matthew Lipman began writing philosophical novels for children in 1968, ran his first classroom trial in 1970–71, moved to Montclair State College in 1972, and co-founded the IAPC there with Ann Margaret Sharp in 1974.…

Format

• Session format. In the EEF trial schools usually ran one session a week, often in place of a literacy lesson. The sources fix no session length. The ten SAPERE stages:
• Lipman's original format was simpler: children read aloud a passage of a novel in turns, raise questions, choose one, and inquire with a facilitator, drawing on the manual's discussion plans and exercises. The picture-book version runs read-aloud, questions, choice of one question, dialogue,…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• P4C has no phases of treatment. Its structure is (i) a training pathway for facilitators and (ii) a repeated session format.
• Facilitator training. SAPERE Level 1 (Foundation) is a two-day course with six modules: experience, theorise, plan, facilitate, evaluate and apply P4C; outcomes include taking part in a community of philosophical enquiry, facilitating with procedural questions, planning simple enquiries and evaluating one's own thinking. An Advanced Level 2 exists. In the EEF trial, all staff had two days of Level 1 and schools then…
• What the psychotherapist does with it: (a) facilitates P4C-style inquiry with children or families where trained (SAPERE and IAPC both run facilitator training); (b) borrows its procedures (question-generation, reason-giving, procedural questioning) inside child, family or group therapy; (c) consults with parents and schools about a child who is struggling in P4C sessions or whose difficulties surface there; (d)…

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?
• 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?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• 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

• a single voice setting the frame. Working: several distinct positions appear.
• warm-ups that become the whole session. Working: the group settles and attends.
• review used to praise or blame individuals. Working: the group sets its own next target.
• framing P4C as a substitute for assessment or support. Working: an assessment is booked.
• the adult's views steering conclusions. Working: adult talk falls and peer exchanges rise.

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.