Logotherapy

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Introduction:

Throughout the development of psychology, there have been different movements regarding what the focus of therapy should be and where the roots of contemporary problems stem from. Logotherapy, described by some as the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy”, is a meaning-centered approach that focuses on the future meaning to be fulfilled by the patient, seeing man’s central motivation in life is his search for meaning. 

Victor E. Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist who, with the rise of anti-semitism, in 1942 was taken into a concentration camp with the rest of his family. There, he witnessed the physical and psychological brutalities imposed on men by the Nazi regime. Through this heinous experience however, he noted that in the camps those who knew that there was a task waiting for them to fulfill were the most likely to survive. For example, Frankl himself desired to rewrite a scientific manuscript that had been taken from him upon entering the camp, and he believes that this goal helped him to survive the cruel conditions of the situation he was facing. After surviving those horrors, Frankl published “A Man’s Search for Meaning” with a depiction of his experience in the camps followed by a description of the core ideas of Logotherapy.

Theory behind Logotherapy:

“Logos” in Greek signifies “meaning”, so logotherapy denotes that the primary motivation of man is “the will to meaning”. This meaning is unique to each man and can only be fulfilled by him in order to satisfy that motivation. This was supported by studies conducted in France which showed that 89% of the people that responded agreed with the idea that man needs something for which to live for, and 61% said that they had someone or something for which they would die for. From findings such as this and his experience in the camps, Frankl came to the conclusion that man’s most authentic desire is his longing for a meaningful life. 

Suffering is seen as a human achievement, especially if it grows out of existential frustration. For this reason, the assignment of logotherapy is assisting the patient to find meaning in his life by attempting to bring to consciousness the logos of his existence, what he authentically longs for. Frankl also disagrees with the idea that for mental wellbeing we need equilibrium, and instead suggests that there is an inherent degree of tension in human beings between what one is and what one should become. Therefore, therapists should reorient patients towards noö-dynamics, which involve the existential dynamics in a polar field of tension. On one pole there is the man, and on the other there is the meaning that they long to fulfill. This tension results in beneficial impacts on the feeling of ultimate meaningless that plagues certain individuals. According to Frankl, these people are haunted by an “existential vacuum.”

The existential vacuum consists of a state of boredom which manifests, according to Frankl, because of man’s development involving his duty to make choices and the more recent fact that no instinct or tradition tells him what he should do, and many people don’t even know what they wish to do. Frankl sees this void as the explanation for different suicide cases, depression, aggression and addictions. This existential vacuum can appear under different masks, such as will to power, with the most primitive form being will to money, or will to pleasure, with rampant sexual libido filling the existential vacuum. Therefore, while some conditions aren’t noögenic neuroses, supplementing treatment with logotherapy helps prevent future relapses. 

Techniques in Logotherapy: 

One technique in logotherapy is Dereflection. This is meant to tackle challenges such as anticipatory anxiety in neurotic individuals, where fear results in that of which one is afraid to occur,  as well as hyper-intention and hyper-reflection. Hyper-tension involves forced intention making what one is wishing for to become impossible, especially seen in sexual neuroses. Frankl describes how pleasure here shouldn’t be the goal, but rather a by-product of the experience. Hyper-reflection involves excessive attention, which creates fearful expectations for whatever one is focusing on. Dereflection asks the patient to refocus their reflection by considering the circumstances of their situation and taking a step-back from their excessive intention and attention. 

Another technique is Paradoxical Intention, which is based on the fact that fear can result in that which one fears and on the hyper-intention principle. Because of this, in logotherapy a phobic patient is directed to give this hyper-intention to that which he fears. This uses the human-capacity of self-detachment that is found in humor, which allows the patient to distance himself from the neurosis. An example may be seen in working with a sleep disturbance, advising the patient to try to stay awake as long as they can, directing hyper-tension towards falling asleep and therefore removing the anticipatory anxiety of not being able to do so. 

Lastly, Socratic Dialogue can be used to raise the awareness of the client towards his own attitudes which are counterproductive to their recovery, without the therapist imposing any of his own ideas on the client. Through this questioning method, the client can be guided to a new perspective on his problems and more broadly on his life. 

Tragic Optimism: 

Tragic optimism means that we should remain optimistic despite the presence of three inevitable tragedies of life called the tragic triad: pain, guilt and death. This presupposes that life would be meaningful under any condition, and that humans have the capacity to turn what is miserable into something constructive. Tragic optimism suggests that we have the potential to turn pain into a human accomplishment, to derive from guilt the opportunity to improve oneself, and to derive from life’s transitoriness an incentive to make responsible choices. However, one cannot pursue being happy, as it can become a hyper-intention. Tragic optimism should therefore not be commanded, one must find the reason for which happiness becomes automatic. So we must find our reason to be happy by actualizing our potential inherent meaning. Once the individual has found his meaning, happiness comes naturally and he gains the capability to cope with suffering. 

Frankl suggests that in logotherapy there are 3 main ways to reach one’s meaning in life. Firstly, engaging in a work or completing a deed. Secondly, having experiences and encounters with others, involving love as an avenue for meaning. Thirdly, rising above, growing and changing oneself. For these to occur, Frankl does not imply that suffering is necessary, but rather that meaning can be found in spite of and through suffering. 

By Giulia Daccò Coppi

giulia.daccocoppi01@icatt.it

Bibliography:

Barker, M.-J. (2017, December 31). Tragic optimism. Rewriting The Rules. https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2024, December 7). Viktor Frankl. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Frankl

Frankl, V. E. (1997). Man’s search for meaning. Pocket Books.What is logotherapy?: Healing through meaning. The Viktor E. Frankl Institute of America. (2024, May 21). https://viktorfranklamerica.com/what-is-logotherapy/