In search of logotherapy

Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2022 Jul;56(7):742-744. doi: 10.1177/00048674211062830. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Abstract

In his authoritative and extraordinarily influential book Man's Search for Meaning, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl proposed that any individual's life task is to find meaning, that meaning cannot be obtained without suffering, and that suffering allows meaning to be identified. He also articulated his therapeutic model-logotherapy, the so-called third Viennese school of psychotherapy. This article contemplates why logotherapy currently has seemingly little salience and suggests that the most likely reasons reflect some components being taken over by other therapies and by tenets of positive psychology articulated in recent decades.

Keywords: Logotherapy; positive psychology; psychotherapy.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Logotherapy*
  • Male
  • Psychiatry*
  • Psychotherapy