The importance of a counselor's philosophical point of departure is emphasized. Viewing the self as "a conscious, free, and responsible decision-making actor in a world of substantial and self-transcendent meanings and purposes" is suggested as the core of a definition that uses an existentialist point of departure. In the light of this definition, four specific inadequacies of counseling that uses a natural-scientific point of departure are identified and discussed: 1) it is overreductionistic; 2) it reinforces the view of self as "helpless victim"; 3) it disregards the importance of transpersonal concerns; 4) it ignores the importance of conflicting world views between therapist and client.