Logotherapy and Existential Analysis
What is Logotherapy / Existential Analysis?
Author: Alexander Batthyány
The
development of LTEA dates back to the 1930s. On the basis of Sigmund Freud's
Psychoanalysis and Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology the psychiatrist and
neurologist Viktor Emil Frankl (1905-1997) laid down the foundations of a new
and original approach which he first published in 1938. Logotherapy/Existential
Analysis, sometimes called the "Third Viennese School of
Psychotherapy", is an internationally acknowledged and empirically based
meaning-centered approach to psychotherapy.
In
Logotherapy/Existential Analysis (LTEA) the search for a meaning in life is
identified as the primary motivational force in human beings.
Frankl's
approach is based on three philosophical and psychological concepts:
- Freedom of Will
- Will to Meaning
- Meaning in Life
Freedom of
Will
According to
LTEA humans are not fully subject to conditions but are basically free to
decide and capable of taking their stance towards internal (psychological) and
external (biological and social) conditions. Freedom is here defined as the
space of shaping one's own life within the limits of the given possibilities.
This freedom derives from the spiritual dimension of the person, which is
understood as the essentially human realm, over and above the dimensions of
body and of psyche. As spiritual persons, humans are not just reacting
organisms but autonomous beings capable of actively shaping their lives.
The freedom
of the human person plays an important role in psychotherapy, in that it
provides clients with room for autonomous action even in the face of somatic or
psychological illness. And it just that resource which enables clients, in the
context of the techniques of Paradoxical Intention and Dereliction, to cope
with their symptoms and to regain control and self-determination.
Will to
Meaning
Human beings
are not only free, but most importantly they are free to something – namely, to
achieve goals and purposes. The search for meaning is seen as the primary
motivation of humans. When a person cannot realize his or her "Will to
Meaning" in their lives they will experience an abysmal sensation of
meaninglessness and emptiness. The frustration of the existential need for
meaningful goals will give rise to aggression, addiction, depression and
suicidality, and it may engender or increase psychosomatic maladies and
neurotic disorders.
Logotherapy/Existential
Analysis assists clients in perceiving and removing those factors that hinder
them in pursuing meaningful goals in their lives. Clients are sensitized for
the perception of meaning potentialities; however, they are not offered
specific meanings. Rather, they are guided and assisted in the realization of
those meaning possibilities they have detected themselves.
Meaning in
Life
LTEA is based
on the idea that meaning is an objective reality, as opposed to a mere illusion
arising within the perceptional apparatus of the observer. According to LTEA
humans are called upon, on the grounds of their freedom and responsibility, to
bring forth the possible best in themselves and in the world, by perceiving and
realizing the meaning of the moment in each and every situation. In this
context it must be stressed that these meaning potentials, although objective
in nature, are linked to the specific situation and person, and are therefore
continually changing. Thus LTEA does not declare or offer some general meaning
of life. Rather, clients are aided in achieving the openness and flexibility
that will enable them to shape their day-to-day lives in a meaningful manner.
Therapeutic
Techniques in LTEA (Selection)
Paradoxical
Intention
Indications:
mainly compulsive disorders and anxiety, also vegetative syndromes.
Guided by the physician or therapist, clients learn to overcome their obsessions or anxieties by self-distancing and humorous exaggeration, thus breaking the vicious circle of symptom and symptom amplification.
Guided by the physician or therapist, clients learn to overcome their obsessions or anxieties by self-distancing and humorous exaggeration, thus breaking the vicious circle of symptom and symptom amplification.
Dereflexion
Indications:
Sexual disorders and sleeplessness, also anxiety disorders.
Instinctive, automatic processes are impeded and hindered by exaggerated self-observation. By the same token, some mild and well-founded sensations of anxiousness or sadness will be increased and amplified by self-observation, making them more noticeable and engendering even more intense observation. It is the purpose of dereflexion to break this neuroticizing circle by drawing the client's attention away from the symptom or the naturally flowing process.
Instinctive, automatic processes are impeded and hindered by exaggerated self-observation. By the same token, some mild and well-founded sensations of anxiousness or sadness will be increased and amplified by self-observation, making them more noticeable and engendering even more intense observation. It is the purpose of dereflexion to break this neuroticizing circle by drawing the client's attention away from the symptom or the naturally flowing process.
Socratic
dialogue / modification of attitudes
Certain
attitudes and expectations may be obstacles to meaning fulfillment. They can
alienate a person from the meaning potentialities in his or her life, thus
accentuating neurotic disorders, or even producing them via repeated
maldecisions and formation of behavior patterns.
It is
important to note that the therapist or physician must refrain from imposing
his or her own values or meaning perceptions. Rather, clients are guided to
perceive their unrealistic and counterproductive attitudes and to develop a new
outlook that may be a better basis for a fulfilled life.
Socratic
dialogue is a conversational method frequently used by logotherapists. Specific
questions are aimed to raise into consciousness the possibility to find, and
the freedom to fulfill, meaning in one's life. In the philosophical setting
this technique of guiding by questioning was introduced by Socrates, who
characterized it as a sort of "spiritual midwifery".
Dictionary of
LTEA
Logotherapy
The greek
word "logos" is here used in the sense of "meaning"; the
equally valid translations, "word" or "rational order" are
not helpful in explaining the tenets of LTEA. In particular, the logotherapist
is not attempting to persuade the client by logical reasoning; rather, they
assist the clients in detecting their specific and individual meaning.
Logotherapy
is applied therapy on the basis of the psychological-anthropological model
developed by Viktor Frankl.
Existential
Analysis
EA may be
understood as the philosophical and scientific basis of logotherapy as well as
an essential part of a therapy proper.
Basically,
existential analysis means analysis with respect to existence, or
"explication of existence" with consideration of a self-responsible,
self-realized and humane life.
In
"general existential analysis" the pursuit of meaning is discussed
and identified as a basic motivation in humans, and arguments are provided that
demonstrate the fundamental possibility of finding meaning in life. On this
basis the therapeutic effects of a successful search for meaning may be
explained.
In
"special existential analysis" the specific, individual life of a
person or a group is probed for the possible existential roots of a mental or
psychological disorder. In this context it provides the basis for a
logo-therapy as a specific therapy proceeding via the "existential
core". Thus the therapeutic value of existential analysis lies in the
elucidation of the concrete existential situation and the preparation for
giving assistance in the – autonomous – search for meaning.
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