Acting for Virtue: Using Ancient Principles in Contemporary Counselling Practice

Thomas M. Edwards PhD & Cosimo Chiera PhD (Contributing editors)

Ancient wisdom, contemporary counselling — a clinically grounded exploration of how virtue can shape assessment, case conceptualisation and therapeutic practice.

What if the missing link in effective counselling is not technique, but character?

For thousands of years, philosophers, religious traditions and communities have reflected on the virtues that help people live meaningful and flourishing lives. Yet modern counselling has often focused more on symptoms, diagnoses and interventions than on the qualities that enable individuals, families and communities to thrive.

Acting for Virtue brings ancient wisdom into contemporary counselling practice. Contributing editors Thomas M. Edwards and Cosimo Chiera bring together experienced counsellors, psychologists, supervisors, educators, researchers and community advocates to examine how Courage, Diligence, Wisdom, Honour, Justice and Kindness can inform assessment, case conceptualisation and therapeutic intervention.

Across fourteen chapters, contributors explore a virtues-based cognitive model and the character of the therapist and supervisor before turning to clinical applications including narcissism, adolescent identity, depression, trauma, addiction, couples and families, cross-cultural counselling, spirituality, honour and shame, identity in community and community wellbeing.

The book is designed for reflective professional use. Client stories and vignettes, insight questions, clinical questions, activities and practical counselling skills are integrated throughout. Five appendices provide additional assessment resources, including a Client Virtue Profile and the Wisdom Wheel.

Rather than treating virtue as an abstract philosophical idea, Acting for Virtue presents it as a living framework for helping clients build meaning, resilience, connection and purpose.

Inside the book

• A virtues-based cognitive model for counselling practice
• The virtuous therapist and the virtuous supervisor
• Clinical applications to narcissism, adolescent identity, depression, trauma and addiction
• Virtues-based work with couples and families
• Cross-cultural counselling, including work with Muslim clients
• Religion, spirituality, meaning-making, honour and shame
• Identity, community and community wellbeing
• Client vignettes, insight questions, clinical questions and practical counselling skills
• Five appendices with client assessment tools and the Wisdom Wheel

Who it is for

Counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, supervisors, counselling educators and students, and other helping professionals interested in character, meaning, resilience, therapeutic relationships and new ways of conceptualising client change.

About the contributing editors

Thomas M. Edwards PhD is a counsellor, educator and researcher with qualifications in behavioural neuroscience and counselling. He is Counselling & Human Services Program Lead at CHC, an honorary researcher at Whitley College (University of Divinity), a counsellor at Crossway Lifecare Ltd, and serves on the ACA Board of Directors (2026–2029).

Cosimo Chiera PhD is a Senior Lecturer at Chisholm Institute with qualifications in applied science and a PhD in mathematics.

ISBN 978192311081

Paperback, 310 pages

Released October 2026