From the author of Man's Search for Meaning, one of the most influential works of psychiatric literature since Freud. Holocaust survivor Viktor E. Frankl is known as the founder of logotherapy, a mode of psychotherapy based on man's motivation to search for meaning in his life. The author discusses his ideas in the context of other prominent psychotherapies and describes the techniques he uses with his patients to combat the "existential vacuum." Originally published in 1969 and compiling Frankl's speeches on logotherapy, The Will to Meaning is regarded as a seminal work of meaning-centered therapy. This new and carefully re-edited version is the first since 1988.
This book is a seminal contribution to applied and clinical logotherapy and existential analysis from a philosopher who is also a practitioner. It covers twelve essential topics and themes, drawing on Dr Viktor Frankl’s Viennese School of philosophical psychology, from therapeutic techniques, such as dereflection, paradoxical intention, and Socratic dialogue, to the mass neurotic triad of aggression, addiction, and depression. It also discusses the cultural malaise of anger, anxiety, and boredom, and the theory and therapy of mental disorders such as neuroses and psychoses, criminality, and suicidality. This unique publication, which is both theoretical and practical, is intended primarily for psychotherapists, philosophers, psychologists and psychiatrists, but will also appeal to parents, teachers, students, and indeed anyone who wishes to live a life of meaning and mental health.
Contains the essence of the logotherapeutic writings of Viktor Frankl, who noted that many readers report that they understand some parts of logotherapy for the first time after reading this book. Fabry wrote in the introduction: Many older therapies place responsibility for our difficulties on our early upbringing. Logotherapy is "education to responsibility." Outside influences are important but not all-determining. Within limitations we have a say about who we are and who we want to become. We need never let ourselves be reduced to helpless victims. Consequently, logotherapy-unlike therapies that aim at equilibrium by adjusting patients to society-does not see a tensionless life as a therapeutic goal. Tension is part of living as a human being in a human society. To remain healthy, the unhealthy tensions of body and psyche are to be avoided. But the healthy tension of the spirit strengthens our spiritual muscles. The healthiest tension is between what we are and what we have the vision of growing toward, or, to use Frankl's favorite phrase, "the tension between being and meaning" (Psychotherapy and Existentialism, p. 10). The struggle for meaning is not easy. Life does not owe us pleasure; it does offer us meaning. Mental health does not come to those who demand happiness but to those who find meanings; to them happiness comes as a side product. "It must ensue" noted Frankl. "It cannot be pursued" (Unconscious God, p. 85). Logotherapy maintains and restores mental health by providing a sound view of the human being and the world as we know it. It draws on the huge reservoir of health stored in our specifically human dimension-our creativity, our capacity to love, our reaching out to others, our desire to be useful, our ability to orient to goals, and our will to meaning. Logophilosophy emphasizes what is right with us, what we like about ourselves, our accomplishments, and our peak experiences. It also considers the qualities we dislike so we may change them, our failures so we can learn from them, our abysses so we may lift ourselves up, knowing that peaks exist and can be reached.
This landmark volume introduces the new series of proceedings from the Viktor Frankl Institute, dedicated to preserving the past, disseminating the present, and anticipating the future of Franklian existential psychology and psychotherapy, i.e. logotherapy and existentialanalysis . Wide-ranging contents keep readers abreast of current ideas, findings, and developments in the field while also presenting rarely-seen selections from Frankl’s work. Established contributors report on new applications of existential therapies in specific (OCD, cancer, end-of-life issues) and universal (the search for meaning) contexts as well as intriguing possibilities for opening up dialogue with other schools of psychology. And this initial offering establishes the tenor of the series by presenting varied materials across the field, including: Archival and unpublished articles and lectures by Frankl. Peer-reviewed studies on logotherapy process, measures, and research. New case studies using logotherapy and existential analysis in diverse settings. Papers advocating cross-disciplinary collaboration. Philosophical applications of existential psychology. Critical reviews of logotherapy-related books. Volume 1 of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis will attract a wide audience, including psychologists (clinical, social, personality, positive), psychotherapists of different schools, psychiatrists in private practice, and researchers in these fields. Practitioners in counseling, pastoral psychology, coaching, and medical care will also welcome this new source of ideas and inspiration.
Viktor Emil Frankl, the founder of logotherapy, ranks amongst the twentieth century's most important researchers into the human condition. He developed a form of psychotherapy with an intriguingly dignified concept of human beings and the world which has an impressive track record of rapid success in practical application. Numerous universities around the world have honoured Frankl for his achievements. The present book provides a structured insight into his work. It explains the anthropological foundation of logotherapy and the healing concepts that are built on this foundation.
This book presents the core principles of Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy, and outlines how Logotherapy can be used in conjunction with other forms of interventions. It illustrates that, beyond a philosophy, Logotherapy is also a theory of personality, and a form of therapy. The book aims to illustrate the inductive and deductive interplay between theory and practice.Volume I is devoted entirely to Logotheory. Volume II contains the chapters which portray the practical applications of Logotherapy. Each chapter ends with Points to Ponder, which aim to bridge the chapters, and to highlight connections between theory and practice. The Appendix is written in the form of a Study Guide, expanding on Logotherapy's applications in specific practice areas in line with current developments in mental health care. Corresponding to each chapter, the References section provides an extensive list of relevant sources, and related, up to date bibliography.The writing of this book follows the ground-structure of the Doctoral Dissertation entitled "The Applications of Viktor E. Frankl's Logotherapy in Counselling Psychology," (1999) by Maria (Ungar) Marshall, at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, which contains a comprehensive overview of the fundamental elements of the philosophy and practice of Logotherapy, based on an extensive review of international literature.Edward Marshall co-authored the present book, adding the chapters corresponding to the Appendix, reflecting developments in the practice, study and research in Logotherapy, since the submission of the original Dissertation, to the present. This up-to-date, and comprehensive review allows the reader to find situations in everyday life and in professional activities, where Logotherapy can be usefully applied.
This major new work allows readers access not only to the contributions of Viktor Frankl but to the grand extrapolations that have been made by those who have learned from him. Like a force of nature, the Logotherapy paradigm shows us the vision in its roots and the core in its branches. The editors have divided the chapters into four sections: Theoretical and Philosophical Perspectives, Expanding Logotherapy in Theory and Practice, Principles of Treatment and New Applications, and Research in Logotherapy, and an international panel of 30 contributors has filled them with rich, multifaceted perspectives.
This work presents Viktor Frankl's philosophical views as applied to his psychiatric practice, offering a unqiue perspective to therapy. The English translation features an introduction and commentary by James M. DuBois, a leading Frankl scholar.
Founded by Viktor E. Frankl, logotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that has proven itself over decades - through periods of war and prosperity - to work for the happiness and mitigate the unhappiness of all sorts of people. It has an impressive track record of success. It helps people to remain mentally supple in crisis situations and opens up new possibilities for discovering meaning. Its sophisticated methods all rely on the inalienable dignity of the unique person - who is trusted, in the interplay of freedom and responsibility, to outgrow his or her own problems and weaknesses. In this book, two experts in logotherapy report on their experiences. Through real case histories and expert discussion, readers discover for themselves just how beneficial this form of psychotherapy can be.
