Logotherapy
Encyclopedia
Logotherapy was developed by neurologist
and psychiatrist
Viktor Frankl
. It is considered the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy
" after Freud's
psychoanalysis
and Adler's
individual psychology
. It is a type of existentialist
analysis that focuses on a will to meaning
as opposed to Adler's Nietzschean doctrine of will to power
or Freud's will to pleasure
. Rather than power or pleasure, logotherapy is founded upon the belief that it is the striving to find a meaning in one's life that is the primary, most powerful motivating and driving force in human
s. A short introduction to this system is given in Frankl's most famous book, Man's Search for Meaning
, in which he outlines how his theories helped him to survive his Holocaust experience and how that experience further developed and reinforced his theories.
word logos
("meaning"). Frankl’s concept is based on the premise that the primary motivational force of an individual is to find a meaning in life. The following list of tenets represents basic principles of logotherapy:
The human spirit is referred to in several of the assumptions of logotherapy, but the use of the term spirit is not "spiritual" or "religious". In Frankl's view, the spirit is the will of the human being. The emphasis, therefore, is on the search for meaning, which is not necessarily the search for God
or any other supernatural being. Frankl also noted the barriers to humanity's quest for meaning in life. He warns against "...affluence, hedonism
, [and] materialism
..." in the search for meaning.
Frankl emphasized that realizing the value of suffering is meaningful only when the first two creative possibilities are not available (for example, in a concentration camp) and only when such suffering is inevitable he was not proposing that people suffer unnecessarily.
to coexist with the three basic pillars of logotherapy (the freedom of will). Though Frankl admitted that man can never be free from every condition, such as, biological, sociological, or psychological determinants, based on his experience in the Holocaust, he believed that man is “capable of resisting and braving even the worst conditions”. In doing such, man can detach from situations, himself, choose an attitude about himself, determine his own determinants, thus shaping his own character and becoming responsible for himself.
to which one thinks oneself predisposed. Frankl identified anticipatory anxiety, a fear of a given outcome which makes that outcome more likely. To relieve the anticipatory anxiety and treat the resulting neuroses, logotherapy offers paradoxical intention
, wherein the patient intends to do the opposite of his hyper-intended goal.
A person, then, who fears (i.e. experiences anticipatory anxiety over) not getting a good night's sleep may try too hard (that is, hyper-intend) to fall asleep, and this would hinder his ability to do so. A logotherapist would recommend, then, that he go to bed and intentionally try not to fall asleep. This would relieve the anticipatory anxiety which kept him awake in the first place, thus allowing him to fall asleep in an acceptable amount of time.
, MMPI L Scale
, Death Anxiety Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Purpose of Life Test. The results showed an overall significant difference between the control and treatment groups. While the univariate analyses showed that there were significant group differences in 3/5 of the dependent measures. These results confirm the idea that terminally-ill patients can benefit from logotherapy in coping with death.
, for example, suggested that Frankl’s therapy presents a plain solution to all of life’s problems, an assertion that would seem to undermine the complexity of human life itself. May contended that if a patient could not find his own meaning, Frankl provided a goal for his patient. In effect, this would negate the patient’s personal responsibility, thus “diminish[ing] the patient as a person”.
Frankl did not outwardly contest May’s accusations until the 1970s, when he did so through a written dialogue, sparked by Rabbi Reuven Bulka
’s article “Is Logotherapy Authoritarian?”. In this dialogue, May reasserted his belief that logotherapy was authoritarian, suggesting that in Bulka’s case study of Frankl's treatment of a schizophrenic patient, logotherapy had the “same authoritarian characteristic as fundamentalist religion”. Frankl responded during the same year, 1978, that as a medical doctor, he makes the best recommendation to the best of his knowledge for the purpose of his patient’s recovery, but does not believe this in any way to reflect authoritarianism.
when it became unrealistic. After the death of his wife during the Holocaust, he used religion to cope with her death, affirming his beliefs in God or a higher meaning. As a result, some argue that religion plays too prominent of a role in logotherapy. As a result of May’s accusations in the 1960s, Frankl stopped the apparent advocacy of religion in connection with logotherapy. The debate between Frankl and May, however, showed that Frankl never completely addressed the religious tones of logotherapy. Though he briefly denied that faith played a part in defining his theoretical orientation, he recognized that his logotherapy ultimately led to meaning through faith. Others did not find the distinction between religion and logotherapy so subtle. As Edith Weisskopf-Joelson asserted: “by proposing a secular equivalent to the concept ‘God.’...Logotherapy reveals itself as...a faith more than a scientific therapeutic school.”
, Frankl depicted his experience during the Holocaust, describing the time he spent in four Nazi concentration camps. He especially emphasized his time in Auschwitz
death camp. Some question the validity of his claims, asserting that he exaggerated his experiences leading the readers to believe that he spent more time in concentration camps than he actually did. Examination shows that in 1942, based on his employment as a medical doctor at Rothschild hospital
, he and his family were initially sent to Theresienstadt
, a “model ghetto” where he lived for two years. This “model ghetto” presented many of the hardships similar to concentration camps, such as, overcrowding, starvation, and malnutrition. In 1944 he was sent to Auschwitz, though he spent only three days and two nights in that particular camp. In total, Frankl spent six months in concentration camps. Though some may say he amplified his experiences to promote logotherapy, his father, mother, brother, and wife died in the camps.
. Under the rule of this political movement, opposing political parties were banned and members of such groups were forced into detention camps.
From 1936 to 1938, Frankl was associated with the Nazi-oriented Austrian branch of the Goering Institute eventually being published in its journal.
As a branch of existential psychology, logotherapy places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of people solely due to the uniqueness of being human. Between 1940 and 1942, after being employed at the Nazi Rothschild hospital as a “Jewish specialist”, Frankl experimented on other Jewish individuals who had committed suicide. Some assert that this type of research was highly controversial ethically, as he was working under Nazi supervision. Consequentially, Frankl’s personal background raises questions of his development of logotherapy.
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl
Viktor Emil Frankl M.D., Ph.D. was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, which is a form of Existential Analysis, the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy"...
. It is considered the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
" after Freud's
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
and Adler's
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
individual psychology
Individual psychology
Individual psychology is a term used specifically to refer to the psychological method or science founded by the Viennese psychiatrist Alfred Adler...
. It is a type of existentialist
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
analysis that focuses on a will to meaning
Meaning (existential)
In existentialism, meaning is understood as the worth of life. Meaning in existentialism is unlike typical conceptions of "the meaning of life", because it is descriptive. Due to the method of existentialism, prescriptive or declarative statements about meaning are unjustified. Meaning is only...
as opposed to Adler's Nietzschean doctrine of will to power
Will to power
The will to power is widely seen as a prominent concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in man; achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the highest possible position in life; these are all...
or Freud's will to pleasure
Pleasure principle (psychology)
In Freudian psychology, the pleasure principle is the psychoanalytic concept describing people seeking pleasure and avoiding suffering in order to satisfy their biological and psychological needs...
. Rather than power or pleasure, logotherapy is founded upon the belief that it is the striving to find a meaning in one's life that is the primary, most powerful motivating and driving force in human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s. A short introduction to this system is given in Frankl's most famous book, Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describing his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live...
, in which he outlines how his theories helped him to survive his Holocaust experience and how that experience further developed and reinforced his theories.
Basic principles
The notion of Logotherapy was created with the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word logos
Logos
' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
("meaning"). Frankl’s concept is based on the premise that the primary motivational force of an individual is to find a meaning in life. The following list of tenets represents basic principles of logotherapy:
- Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.
- Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.
- We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering.
The human spirit is referred to in several of the assumptions of logotherapy, but the use of the term spirit is not "spiritual" or "religious". In Frankl's view, the spirit is the will of the human being. The emphasis, therefore, is on the search for meaning, which is not necessarily the search for God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
or any other supernatural being. Frankl also noted the barriers to humanity's quest for meaning in life. He warns against "...affluence, hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
, [and] materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
..." in the search for meaning.
Discovering meaning
According to Frankl, "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering" and that "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances". On the meaning of suffering, Frankl gives the following example:Frankl emphasized that realizing the value of suffering is meaningful only when the first two creative possibilities are not available (for example, in a concentration camp) and only when such suffering is inevitable he was not proposing that people suffer unnecessarily.
Philosophical basis of Logotherapy
Frankl described the metaclinical implications of logotherapy in his book The Will of Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. He believed that there is no psychotherapy apart from the theory of man. As an existential psychologist, he inherently disagreed with the “machine model” or “rat model”, as it undermines the human quality of humans. As a neurologist and psychiatrist, Frankl developed a unique view of determinismDeterminism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
to coexist with the three basic pillars of logotherapy (the freedom of will). Though Frankl admitted that man can never be free from every condition, such as, biological, sociological, or psychological determinants, based on his experience in the Holocaust, he believed that man is “capable of resisting and braving even the worst conditions”. In doing such, man can detach from situations, himself, choose an attitude about himself, determine his own determinants, thus shaping his own character and becoming responsible for himself.
Overcoming anxiety
By recognizing the purpose of our circumstances, one can master anxiety. Anecdotes about this use of logotherapy are given by New York Times writer Tim Sanders, who explained how he uses its concept to relieve the stress of fellow airline travelers by asking them the purpose of their journey. When he does this, no matter how miserable they are, their whole demeanor changes, and they remain happy throughout the flight. Overall, Frankl believed that the anxious individual does not understand that his anxiety is the result of dealing with a sense of “unfulfilled responsibility” and ultimately a lack of meaning.Treatment of neurosis
Frankl cites two neurotic pathogens: hyper-intention, a forced intention toward some end which makes that end unattainable; and hyper-reflection, an excessive attention to oneself which stifles attempts to avoid the neurosisNeurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
to which one thinks oneself predisposed. Frankl identified anticipatory anxiety, a fear of a given outcome which makes that outcome more likely. To relieve the anticipatory anxiety and treat the resulting neuroses, logotherapy offers paradoxical intention
Paradoxical intention
In psychotherapy, paradoxical intention is the deliberate practice of a neurotic habit or thought, undertaken in order to identify and remove it....
, wherein the patient intends to do the opposite of his hyper-intended goal.
A person, then, who fears (i.e. experiences anticipatory anxiety over) not getting a good night's sleep may try too hard (that is, hyper-intend) to fall asleep, and this would hinder his ability to do so. A logotherapist would recommend, then, that he go to bed and intentionally try not to fall asleep. This would relieve the anticipatory anxiety which kept him awake in the first place, thus allowing him to fall asleep in an acceptable amount of time.
Depression
Viktor Frankl believed depression occurred at the psychological, physiological, and spiritual levels. At the psychological level, he believed that feelings of inadequacy stem from undertaking tasks beyond our abilities. At the physiological level, he recognized a “vital low”, which he defined as a “diminishment of physical energy”. Finally, Frankl believed that at the spiritual level, the depressed man faces tension between who he actually is in relation to what he should be. Frankl refers to this as the gaping abyss (Frankl; page 202). Finally Frankl suggests that if goals seem unreachable, an individual loses a sense of future and thus meaning resulting in depression. Thus logotherapy aims “to change the patient’s attitude toward her disease as well as toward her life as a task” (Frankl, page 200).Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Frankl believed that those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder lack the sense of completion that most other individuals possess. Instead of fighting the tendencies to repeat thoughts or actions, or focusing on changing the individual symptoms of the disease, the therapist should focus on “transform[ing] the neurotic’s attitude toward his neurosis” (Frankl; page 185). Therefore, it is important to recognize that the patient is “not responsible for his obsessional ideas”, but that “he is certainly responsible for his attitude toward these ideas” (Frankl; page 188). Frankl suggested that it is important for the patient to recognize his inclinations toward perfection as fate, and therefore, must learn to accept some degrees of uncertainty. Ultimately, following the premise of logotherapy, the patient must eventually ignore his obsessional thoughts and find meaning in his life despite such thoughts.Schizophrenia
Though logotherapy wasn’t intended to deal with severe disorders, Frankl believed that logotherapy could benefit even those suffering from schizophrenia. He recognized that roots of schizophrenia in physiological dysfunction. In this dysfunction, the schizophrenic “experiences himself as an object” rather than a subject (Frankl; page 208). Frankl suggested that a schizophrenic could be helped by logotherapy by first being taught to ignore voices and end persistent self-observation. Then, during this same period, the schizophrenic must be led toward meaningful activity, as “even for the schizophrenic there remains that residue of freedom toward fate and toward the disease which man always possesses, no matter how ill he may be, in all situations and at every moment of life, to the very last” (Frankl, page 216).Terminally-ill patients
In 1977, Terry Zuehlke and John Watkins conducted a study analyzing the effectiveness of logotherapy in treating terminally-ill patients. The study’s design used 20 male Veterans Administration volunteers who were randomly assigned to one of two possible treatments - (1) group that received 8-45 minute sessions over a 2 week period and (2) group used as control that received delayed treatment. Each group was tested on 5 scales - the MMPI K ScaleMMPI
MMPI may refer to:*Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, one of the most frequently used personality tests in mental health*Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, inhibits cell migration and has antiangiogenic effects...
, MMPI L Scale
MMPI
MMPI may refer to:*Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, one of the most frequently used personality tests in mental health*Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, inhibits cell migration and has antiangiogenic effects...
, Death Anxiety Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Purpose of Life Test. The results showed an overall significant difference between the control and treatment groups. While the univariate analyses showed that there were significant group differences in 3/5 of the dependent measures. These results confirm the idea that terminally-ill patients can benefit from logotherapy in coping with death.
Authoritarianism
Some critics argue that logotherapy is, in essence, authoritarian. Rollo MayRollo May
Rollo May was an American existential psychologist. He authored the influential book Love and Will during 1969. He is often associated with both humanistic psychology and existentialist philosophy. May was a close friend of the theologian Paul Tillich...
, for example, suggested that Frankl’s therapy presents a plain solution to all of life’s problems, an assertion that would seem to undermine the complexity of human life itself. May contended that if a patient could not find his own meaning, Frankl provided a goal for his patient. In effect, this would negate the patient’s personal responsibility, thus “diminish[ing] the patient as a person”.
Frankl did not outwardly contest May’s accusations until the 1970s, when he did so through a written dialogue, sparked by Rabbi Reuven Bulka
Reuven Bulka
Reuven P. Bulka is a rabbi, writer, broadcaster and activist in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and former co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress...
’s article “Is Logotherapy Authoritarian?”. In this dialogue, May reasserted his belief that logotherapy was authoritarian, suggesting that in Bulka’s case study of Frankl's treatment of a schizophrenic patient, logotherapy had the “same authoritarian characteristic as fundamentalist religion”. Frankl responded during the same year, 1978, that as a medical doctor, he makes the best recommendation to the best of his knowledge for the purpose of his patient’s recovery, but does not believe this in any way to reflect authoritarianism.
Religiousness
Frankl received a strict religious upbringing, even remaining kosher until World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when it became unrealistic. After the death of his wife during the Holocaust, he used religion to cope with her death, affirming his beliefs in God or a higher meaning. As a result, some argue that religion plays too prominent of a role in logotherapy. As a result of May’s accusations in the 1960s, Frankl stopped the apparent advocacy of religion in connection with logotherapy. The debate between Frankl and May, however, showed that Frankl never completely addressed the religious tones of logotherapy. Though he briefly denied that faith played a part in defining his theoretical orientation, he recognized that his logotherapy ultimately led to meaning through faith. Others did not find the distinction between religion and logotherapy so subtle. As Edith Weisskopf-Joelson asserted: “by proposing a secular equivalent to the concept ‘God.’...Logotherapy reveals itself as...a faith more than a scientific therapeutic school.”
Time spent in concentration camps
In Man’s Search for MeaningMan's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describing his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live...
, Frankl depicted his experience during the Holocaust, describing the time he spent in four Nazi concentration camps. He especially emphasized his time in Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
death camp. Some question the validity of his claims, asserting that he exaggerated his experiences leading the readers to believe that he spent more time in concentration camps than he actually did. Examination shows that in 1942, based on his employment as a medical doctor at Rothschild hospital
Rothschild Hospital
The Rothschild Hospital was founded in 1869 by Baron Anselm von Rothschild in Vienna, Austria. It served as a clinic for neurological disorders, with among others Viktor Frankl as its leaders. After World War II, it was a hospital for sick and infirm displaced persons in the American zone of...
, he and his family were initially sent to Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
, a “model ghetto” where he lived for two years. This “model ghetto” presented many of the hardships similar to concentration camps, such as, overcrowding, starvation, and malnutrition. In 1944 he was sent to Auschwitz, though he spent only three days and two nights in that particular camp. In total, Frankl spent six months in concentration camps. Though some may say he amplified his experiences to promote logotherapy, his father, mother, brother, and wife died in the camps.
Political membership and questionable research
In February 1934, Frankl became a member of the Fatherland Front, a sect of AustrofacismAustrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
. Under the rule of this political movement, opposing political parties were banned and members of such groups were forced into detention camps.
From 1936 to 1938, Frankl was associated with the Nazi-oriented Austrian branch of the Goering Institute eventually being published in its journal.
As a branch of existential psychology, logotherapy places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of people solely due to the uniqueness of being human. Between 1940 and 1942, after being employed at the Nazi Rothschild hospital as a “Jewish specialist”, Frankl experimented on other Jewish individuals who had committed suicide. Some assert that this type of research was highly controversial ethically, as he was working under Nazi supervision. Consequentially, Frankl’s personal background raises questions of his development of logotherapy.
Too dependent on his own experiences
During his time in the camps, Frankl’s existential beliefs permitted him to find meaning throughout a degrading and dehumanizing time. Frankl postulated that the prisoners at the camp discovered a “freedom” through suffering. Critics maintain there is no evidence that this was a realistic view of the camps. While Frankl personally found “freedom” in suffering, his outlook may have been indicative of his personal way to cope with the trauma he endured.See also
- BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
- StoicismStoicismStoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
- Rong QiqiRong QiqiRóng Qǐqī is a mythological Chinese folk hero. He is depicted as a recluse, who shuns material possessions in favour of an ascetic life. Rong was known in Ancient China for a fable involving an alleged encounter with the philosopher Confucius...
- Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
- Language-gameLanguage-gameA language-game is a philosophical concept developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein, referring to simple examples of language use and the actions into which the language is woven.- Description :...
- Dialectical behavior therapy