The twentieth century has become a period of study of man. Literally in a hundred years, many scientific disciplines arose and developed, the purpose of which was to reveal the secrets of human existence. The weakening of the influence of the church on the minds of the population, associated with technological progress, aroused great interest in the human soul and methods of self-knowledge. This was the impetus for the development of psychology and psychotherapy. One of its areas is called logotherapy. Frankl, the author of the technique, was able to create a unique scientific theory with which you can cure a wide range of psychoses of a different nature and conduct effective introspection. Today's article is devoted to this technique and its main principles.
Viktor Emil Frankl: creator of logotherapy
Frankl is a fairly well-known figure in psychotherapy. He was a talented neurologistpsychiatrist and psychologist. The whole life of this man was devoted to science, and in recent years his mind was completely occupied by logotherapy.
Frankl was born at the beginning of the twentieth century in Vienna. He showed an early interest in psychiatry, specializing in depression and suicide. Prior to World War II, Frankl headed a major medical center in Vienna for suicide prevention. Even then, he began to move away from the worldviews of Freud and Adler, which had a great influence on him at the beginning of his career.
In 1942, the entire Frankl family ended up in a concentration camp because of their Jewish roots. Here he spent three years of his life and lost almost all his relatives except his sister. But it was during these years that logotherapy was born and tested. Frankl was a member of a secret society that provided psychological assistance to prisoners. He has worked with first shock, suicidal tendencies, hysterics, and people with epilepsy. This help saved many human lives and supported Frankl himself, who felt needed and needed.
In the post-war years, the life of a psychiatrist was more than successful. He remarried, doing what he loves. Within a few years, psychotherapy experienced a significant leap in development, and it was Frankl who served as the reason. He outlined the basic concepts of logotherapy in several scientific books and successfully applied them in practice. A talented doctor died twenty years ago at the age of ninety-two.
Frankl's Logotherapy in brief
The method of the Austrian psychiatrist is a kind of psychotherapy. Frankl's theory of logotherapy becomes clearer when one considers that the Greek word "logos" is used here to mean "meaning." Other interpretations of the translation will only confuse and not convey the true meaning of the method.
The fact is that Frankl considered human life an endless search for meaning. He was sure that the lack of meaning brings people to the brink of insanity and suicide, because they begin to experience a psychological vacuum. Logotherapy does not try to give the patient answers to questions and impose his vision of the situation. It only guides a person and allows him to determine his own meaning, for which it is worth living and moving forward.
Basics of Logotherapy
Even before the war, a book about a new method of psychoanalysis was published, authored by Frankl. The foundations of logotherapy were presented in it for the first time, but they produced the effect of an exploding bomb in the scientific community of Vienna. The name of Viktor Frankl has become quite famous, and his works are in demand.
The psychotherapist believed that all his life a person is looking for his purpose or meaning, designed to move him forward. In these long searches, he very often compares himself with other people and their life meaning, at these moments a rather complex analysis is carried out in the subconscious, the result of which can be both depression and spiritual euphoria from the newfound understanding of one's individual meaning.
Frankl imagined personality as a kind of three-dimensional quantity. The physical andmental principle, not intersecting with each other. Perpendicular to them is the spiritual component, which is a set of certain processes that fundamentally distinguish people from animals. All these three dimensions ideally constitute a he althy person, they cannot be separated from each other without harming the individual.
The spiritual vertical Frankl separated from the religious, he clearly isolated these concepts, recognizing in the spiritual beginning of all motives, forces and aspirations that push a person to achieve the desired. The psychotherapist believed that a kind of tension arises on the spiritual vertical between what a person has already achieved and what he wants to achieve in the future. This tension is the key to a harmonious personality. As soon as a person achieves the desired and the tension disappears, then a new goal immediately arises and the process continues. The absence of this tension on the spiritual vertical leads to psychosis, various disorders and a vacuum, the way out of which many see suicide.
Goals of logotherapy
Frankl's psychoanalysis is based on the method of immersion in oneself. Many call it introspection, but it is this approach that makes it possible to fully immerse yourself in your life and analyze all situations. Sometimes the answer to a question is almost on the surface, but you can find it only after going through all the stages of introspection.
Together with the psychotherapist, the patient discusses all the important events in his life, he analyzes disappointments, joys and sorrows. Each event and emotion gradually leads tounderstanding the meaning of life. After all, life consists of a mass of various interconnected moments that ultimately make up the road along which you can come to important decisions.
If we consider the human essence as striving for knowledge and gaining meaning, then any neurosis and depression can be cured with the help of logotherapy. After all, it gives the patient the opportunity to find himself and find meaning in any situation. Frankl argued that in different life situations there is a meaning. In addition, he wrote in his writings that there is always a common meaning that leads a person along his path and is his destiny. But in various ups and downs, one should not forget about the many meanings that allow you to survive and move forward. Finding them allows you to overcome any difficulty and return to your main life path.
Frankl's Logotherapy: Basic Principles
Frankl argued in his works that man is a free creature. Nothing can limit him, he moves along his spiritual vertical and within it he is able to make absolutely any decisions. Working with mental disorders of varying severity, the psychotherapist believed that a part or foundation always remains inside the personality, which cannot be violated. It remains free even in the case of serious illnesses, when the impression is created of the complete inadequacy of the patient. It is to this basis that the logotherapist needs to "get through", it is always a static value.
In this regard, Frankl identified three mainprinciple of their scientific theory:
1. Free will.
In any given conditions, a person has the opportunity to choose and make decisions independently. Moreover, a person uses this freedom in internal decisions, determined by upbringing, temperament and experience. And also in external or social, when certain conditions are offered by the society and the situation.
This freedom allows patients to get out of various diseases, because the person comes to understand that he alth and disease are also his own free choice. This fact fills the lives of many patients with new meaning.
2. The will to meaning.
Freedom in itself has no meaning, but as soon as you understand that it is given for some purpose, everything falls into place. Self-realization, that is, the desire to achieve one's goal, is the most important life meaning of a person. Any obstacles on this path, which explicitly or subconsciously interfere with the fulfillment of the planned tasks, lead to psychological problems of varying severity.
The logotherapist enables the patient to see and recognize these obstacles in order to remove them and return to their original path. Moreover, the patient himself should do this work only with the help of a psychotherapist.
3. The meaning of life.
Logotherapy explains the existence of a person not just by the search for meaning, but also by a set of certain transformations as a result of this activity. Each individual must make himself and the world around him better, but this does not at all mean some generality.meaning. Each person has his own and can change depending on the circumstances. This is due to the first two principles of logotherapy.
Frankl's semantic systems
In the process of its development, mankind has formed several semantic systems, which logotherapy focuses on. Frankl singled out three value-semantic attitudes:
- creativity;
- experiences;
- relationships.
The values of creativity contain what creates a person and gives it to the world. These creations always evoke a lot of emotions and give meaning to certain categories of individuals. The surrounding world gives the value of experiences, they grow into experience and become part of the personality, grow together with it. The value of relationships is the most controversial value. After all, it is expressed not only in personal relationships, but also in a position regarding one's destiny and communication with the outside world.
The psychiatrist paid special attention to conscience. Frankl's logotherapy methods singled it out as a special mental organ, which is an integral part of the existence of the individual. Conscience functions as a kind of system, the coordinates of which are aimed at searching for a common meaning, one might say universal. He directs a person and coordinates his actions, regardless of the assessment of individuals and society.
Logotherapy techniques
Frankl's logotherapy techniques are very effective. Most often they are used in work with patients who suffer from various neuroses and anxiety syndromes. Frankl proved thatPhobias and anxiety conditions are excellently treated with the help of logotherapy. But each of the methods is very deep and brings efficiency only with the coordinated work of the doctor and the patient. Frankl's logotherapy presents the main techniques in the following three ways:
- paradoxical intention;
- dereflection;
- logoanalysis.
Every technology deserves close attention.
Paradoxical intention
This method has proven to be effective in combating fears and neuroses. They are characterized by the introduction of the patient into a vicious circle. The patient is also afraid of certain situations and tries to avoid them, but this activity, in turn, gives rise to anxiety and new fears. As a result, the neurosis intensifies, and the disease begins to progress and move to a new level.
Paradoxical intention immerses a person in a problem and gives him the opportunity to face his fears. This breaks the vicious circle, which in turn relieves the patient of anxiety and neurotic symptoms. A person himself changes his attitude to the situation, and consequently, behavioral stereotypes.
Dereflection
This technique works great in cases where an increased level of self-control and attention does not allow the patient to achieve the desired. Most often this is due to various intimate problems, such as male impotence and female anorgasmia, which have no physical basis. With the help of dereflection, the patient is distracted from his person and completelyswitches to his partner. As a result, the problem of meeting expectations and increased self-control disappears.
Logoanalysis
With the help of logoanalysis, the psychotherapist gets the opportunity to study the patient's value scale. It stimulates creativity and allows you to analyze your entire life in the shortest possible time to determine individual meaning.
In this regard, the person loses the feeling of meaninglessness and emptiness. As a result, neurosis, anxiety and depression disappear.
Conclusion
Logotherapy has already found its application in many areas of psychology. It is very effective in working with various psychological problems that are solved with the help of logoanalysis and therapy. This direction is just as effective in the treatment of people with severe forms of psychosis, including schizophrenia. After all, logotherapy allows you to realize the meaning of your existence in absolutely any situation, and, therefore, helps to move towards your goal.
