“Philosophical counselling” became an established practice in late 20th century. Its main purpose was to resolve troubles of life through philosophy. To ordinary people, philosophy is a difficult and unrealistic discipline; however, in Socrates’ time, philosophy had practical application in life, and “philosophical counselling” is the revitalization of this tradition of philosophical application.
Chinese Confucianism has emphasized practice since the times of Confucius and Mencius. Neo-Confucianism of Song and Ming was concerned with the “mind-nature theory,” but scholars at the time did not just engage in empty talks about “mind and nature;” they focused more on how to practice righteousness for the attainment of “unity of Heaven and men,” in order to enter the realm of sages.