Viktor Frankl (1905 – 1992) was a Swiss neurologist and psychologist who founded Logotherapy or existential analysis. His approach focuses on helping the client find meaning to their life (Logotherapy translates as ‘therapy through meaning), much of which was developed during his three years in the concentration camps Auschwitz and Dachau.
Logotherapy was developed to help clients who feel their lives are directionless, either directly or through drug addiction, depression and alcoholism. Frankl also developed techniques helpful for treating anxiety, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Logotherapy focuses on the human will. Frankl believed that we all have the inner strength to cope with any emotional difficulty, but to do so we first have to find our place in the world and the meaning to our individual existence. This in turn provides us with a sense of fulfilment. Frankl believed that our attitude to any given situation was of paramount importance.
In terms of therapy Logotherapy helps the client to come to terms with what they can change in their lives, and accept the things they can’t change. It is a holistic approach and so considers emotional, physical, mental, spiritual and social aspects of the client’s situation. In this respect Logotherapy focuses on the client’s attitude to their symptoms, not the symptoms themselves.
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