Short answers, pulled from the story.
Gerd B. Achenbach is a German philosopher born on the 11th of February 1947 in Hameln. He is known for founding the world's first philosophical practice in 1981, which established philosophical counseling as a contemporary movement in practical philosophy.
Achenbach founded the world's first philosophical practice in 1981. That same year he also received his doctorate in philosophy under Odo Marquard.
Philosophical counseling is a form of consultation offered by practitioners with a doctorate or master's degree in philosophy. It is provided either in lieu of, or in conjunction with, more traditional psychotherapy, positioning philosophy as a practical tool for personal reflection rather than solely an academic discipline.
According to scholar Shlomit C. Schuster, Achenbach maintains that philosophy is really understood only through its practice, through a personal empathic experience and intellectual cultivation of the subjects of thought.
Achenbach received his doctorate in philosophy under Odo Marquard in 1981.
Practitioners of philosophical counseling ordinarily hold a doctorate or, at minimum, a master's degree in philosophy. This standard developed as the field grew from Achenbach's founding practice in the 1980s.