Born in 1905, Viktor Frankl grew up learning the theories of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler.
Having graduated from the University of Vienna Medical School in 1930, he became the Director of the Neurological Department of the Rothschild Hospital.
In 1942, however, his life abruptly changed when Frankl and his family were deported to a Nazi concentration camp.
While struggling to survive in the Nazi camp, drawing from his experiences and observations, he developed the theory of logotherapy, which claimed that through a search for meaning in life, individuals could endure and overcome suffering.
Who Developed Logotherapy?
Logotherapy is a form of psychotherapy developed by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. The word “logos” in Logotherapy refers to meaning or purpose, emphasizing the central focus of this therapeutic approach.
Frankl believed that humans are motivated by something called a “will to meaning,” which corresponds to a desire to seek and make meaning in life.
“Inasmuch as logotherapy makes him aware of the hidden logos of his existence, it is an analytical process” (Frankl, 1984, p. 125).
Viktor Frankl coined the term logotherapy based on his belief that the search for meaning, even amidst suffering, can constitute a potential solution to human suffering.
Logotherapy has been recognized as a scientifically based school of psychotherapy by the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Society (Schulenberg, Hutzell, Nassif, and Rogina, 2008).
Fundamental Properties
At the heart of Frankl’s philosophy are three essential properties (Rajeswari, 2015):
- Every person possesses a healthy core.
- The main focus is on enlightening a person about their inner resources and providing them with the tools to use their internal core.
- While life offers purpose and meaning, it does not assure happiness or fulfillment.
Finding Meaning
Logotherapy holds that finding meaning in life is a primary motivational force for individuals.
It emphasizes that life can have a purpose even in the face of suffering and that individuals can find meaning through their attitudes, choices, and actions.
The primary goal of Logotherapy is to help individuals discover and pursue their unique sense of meaning and purpose in life.
It explores existential questions, such as the search for meaning, values, and personal responsibility.
Logotherapy holds that human beings are driven to find purpose and meaning in life.
It offers three distinct ways whereby one can discover meaning in life (Devoe, 2012):
- Creative value: By creating a work or accomplishing a task.
- Experiential value: Receiving something from the world through appreciation and gratitude. By fully experiencing something or loving someone.
- Attitudinal value: By adopting a certain attitude toward inevitable suffering.
Frankl held that life includes suffering and that a human being’s ultimate freedom lies in his or her responding correctly to the given circumstances, including those which have engendered pain.
Furthermore, Frankl believed that one could discover meaning in one’s existence by finding one’s unique role in life. An oft-cited incident that further clarifies Frankl’s approach was an elderly general practitioner’s encounter with Frankl (Cuncic, 2019).
The elderly man was struggling with depression following the loss of his wife. After Frankl showed him how his wife’s death had actually spared her from losing him, the elderly man saw how his own experiences had preserved his wife from the same.
The new perspective imbued his suffering with meaning and significantly relieved his depression.
Logotherapy emphasizes the importance of self-transcendence, connecting with something greater than oneself, and finding significance in relationships and societal contributions.
“Finding meaning or the will to meaning is the primary motivation for living….the meaning that an individual finds is unique to each person and can be fulfilled only by that one person.
Frankl emphasized that the true meaning of each person’s life must be discovered by activity in the world through interaction with others, not solely through introspection.
Challenging a person with a potential meaning to fulfill evokes the will to meaning.” (Graber, 2004, p. 65).
Logotherapy Assumptions
As do all forms of psychotherapy, logotherapy possesses a set of underlying assumptions which cannot be conclusively proven (Reitinger, 2015):
1. Body, Mind, and Spirit
Human beings are made up of the body (soma), mind (psyche), and spirit (noos). Frankl held that while we have a body and a mind, the spirit is who we are, our identity and essence.
While Frankl’s theory was not derived from theology, his assumption herein departs from atheistic materialism and shares striking similarities with certain religious views.
2. Life Has Meaning Even in The Most Miserable Circumstances
This assumption represents an acknowledgment of a higher order in the world: an order that transcends mere human laws. Consequently, even an objectively terrible situation can offer meaning.
“If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete” (Frankl, 1984, p. 88).
3. Humans Possess a Will to Meaning
Logotherapy proposes that humans have a will to meaning, which means seeing meaning in pain can prepare the individual for suffering.
This assumption embodies a significant departure from one’s will to achieve power and pleasure. It posits that the discovery of meaning is one’s primary motive for living.
The will-to-meaning is “the basic striving of man to find and meaning and purpose” (Frankl, 1969, p. 35).
4. Freedom to Find Meaning
Under all circumstances, individuals are free to activate the will to discover meaning. The salutary amendment of one’s attitude toward inevitable suffering can enable one’s will to discover meaning under any circumstance.
This assumption draws heavily upon Frankl’s own experiences in the Nazi camps.
5. Meaning of the Moment
An individual’s response determines the meaningfulness of the individual’s decision. By heeding the values of society or following one’s conscience, one can find meaning in one’s decisions.
This assumption is associated with the meaning of the moment in practical daily living rather than the ultimate meaning.
6. Individuals Are Unique
In response to the various demands of life, human beings experience unique situations. Additionally, they are constantly seeking meaning.
Logotherapy Techniques
Therapeutic Goals
- To awaken the client’s sense of responsibility and meaning.
- To help the client discover their true identity and place in the world.
- To help the client pursue what really matters in life.
- To make life better for self and others.
Three techniques used in logotherapy include dereflection, paradoxical intention, and Socratic dialogue.
Dereflection
Dereflection in logotherapy is a technique used to shift a person’s focus away from their own problems or symptoms by redirecting their attention towards meaningful goals or activities, thus reducing self-preoccupation and facilitating a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Dereflection, based on self-transcendence, seeks to redirect one’s attention from oneself or one’s own goals toward others.
This technique posits that when one is self-absorbed and is struggling with issues in one’s life, one can significantly improve one’s situation by altering one’s focus and being concerned about those around.
For instance, if one is struggling with one’s finances, the logotherapist might ask the patient to focus more on the people he or she is working to provide for rather than constantly thinking of how the problem is affecting him or herself.
Paradoxical intention
Paradoxical intention in logotherapy is a technique where a client intentionally engages in or exaggerates the symptom or behavior they wish to change, aiming to reduce anxiety or overcome the issue by confronting it directly.
Paradoxical intention is employed primarily to overcome fear by anticipating the very object of one’s fear. For instance, with humor and ridicule, one may wish for the very thing one is afraid of to remove fear from one’s intention.
This practice would likely result in reducing the symptoms as well.
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue employs a method of self-discovery to demonstrate to the patient that the solution to the patient’s problem is actually within him or her.
The logotherapist herein would use the patient’s words by listening carefully for patterns to help the patient discover new meanings in his or her own words.
In addition to the above three, attitude modification can be implemented. This technique primarily focuses on altering one’s attitude toward a situation rather than amending one’s conduct.
A patient who has suffered a loss might be directed to adopt a new attitude toward the misfortune to process the situation better.
Critical Evaluation
Frankl believed in turning tragedy into triumph and past guilt into life-changing progress. Drawing primarily from his personal experiences, his approach aimed at enabling individuals to tap into their own inner resources to transform adversity.
By today, however, more than mere anecdotes testifies to its efficacy. Much theoretical and empirical research has been conducted on logotherapy (Schulenberg, Hutzell, Nassif, and Rogina, 2008).
In 2016, a systematic assessment of evidence related to logotherapy was conducted, and the following were among its findings (Thir & Batthyány, 2016):
- A tendency of patients with disorders to have a lower meaning of life.
- A Correlation between the search for & the presence of meaning and satisfaction in life.
- A relationship between the search for & the presence of meaning and resilience.
- The effectiveness of logotherapy for depressed children and early adolescents with cancer.
- A Correlation between the presence of meaning and suicidal thought in individuals suffering from cancer.
- The effectiveness of logotherapy in decreasing job burnout.
Critics have accused Frankl of using his time in the Nazi concentration camps to advance his specific brand of psychotherapy (Reitinger, 2015). Additionally, some have contended that Frankl’s support came only from religious leaders.
Moreover, the existentialist psychologist Rollo May argued that logotherapy resembled authoritarianism because the therapist seemingly dictated solutions to the client (May 1969).
In his criticism, May did not clarify whether he was critiquing Frankl’s approach as a therapist himself or an aspect that characterized logotherapy itself. Frankl, in fact, contended that logotherapy actually teaches the patient to be responsible.
Furthermore, although Frankl’s logotherapy has enjoyed acceptance from many religious communities, it has not been utterly rejected by the scientific community. On the contrary, as shown above, logotherapy, sometimes combined with other approaches, is still practiced today.
Finally, while it can be granted that Frankl may not have discovered logotherapy without his experiences in the Nazi camps, there is no evidence to even faintly suggest that Frankl proactively sought out his torturous ordeal so he could be credited with a novel brand of psychotherapy.
Key Takeaways
- Logotherapy is a scientifically based school of psychotherapy based on the belief that the search for meaning, even amidst misery, can constitute a potential solution to human suffering.
- Meaning can be found by creating a work, loving someone, or adopting a modified attitude toward inevitable suffering.
- Three techniques used in logotherapy include dereflection, paradoxical intention, and Socratic dialogue.
- Logotherapy is used today for various purposes, including addiction, pain and guilt, anxiety, grief, and depression.
References
Costello, S. J. (2019). Applied logotherapy: Viktor Frankl’s philosophical psychology. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Devoe, D. (2012). Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy: The search for purpose and meaning. Inquiries Journal, 4(07).
Bulka, R. P. (1978). Is Logotherapy Authoritarian? (1978). Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 18 (4), 45–54.
Logos | philosophy and theology | Britannica. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/logos
Graber, A. V. (2004). Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy: Meaning-centered counseling. Lima, OH: Wyndham Hall.
Frankl, V. E. (1984).
The will to meaning;: Foundations and applications of logotherapy. World Pub. Co
Frankl, V. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning.
May, R. (1969). Love and will. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Rajeswari. (2015). Logo therapy. Narayana Nursing Journal 4 (4), 6-9.
Reitinger, Claudia. (2015). Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy from a philosophical point of view. Existential Analysis. Existential Analysis, 26 (2), 344-357.
Schulenberg, S. E., Hutzell, R. R., Nassif, C., & Rogina, J. M. (2008). Logotherapy for clinical practice. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 45(4), 447.
Thir, M., & Batthyány, A. (2016). The state of empirical research on logotherapy and existential analysis. In Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (pp. 53-74). Springer, Cham.
“Viktor Frankl | Biography, Books, Theory, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Frankl
