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Logotherapy

Logotherapy is a therapeutic approach that helps people find personal meaning in life.
It's a form of psychotherapy that is future - focused and concentrates on our ability to endure hardship and suffering through a search for purpose.

Psychotherapist Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy prior to his deportation to a concentration camp at age 37. Frankl believed that humans are motivated by a "will to meaning," which is the desire to find meaning in life. He argued that life can have meaning even in the most miserable of circumstances.

Based also on his experiences in the concentration camps, Frankl believed that when we can no longer change a situation, we are forced to change ourselves, and attempt to find meaning through suffering.

"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, to choose one’s own way.
— Viktor Frankl, MD, PHD

Frankl believed that it was possible to turn suffering into achievement and accomplishment. He viewed guilt for example, as an opportunity to change oneself for the better, and life transitions as the chance to take responsible action.

In this way, logotherapy is aimed at helping individuals to withstand adversity.

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What Logotherapy Can Help With?

Frankl believed that many mental health issues are disguised existential angst and that people struggle with lack of meaning, which he referred to as the "existential vacuum."

Logotherapy addresses that directly by helping people uncover the meaning and reduce their feelings of angst.

Benefits of Logotherapy

Acceptance
An active approach to life (rather than an avoidant or overly passive one)
Cognitive reappraisal, or reinterpreting the meaning of an event
Courage to face fears
Humor
Optimism even in the face of tragedy
Responsibility
Values-based lifestyle

Logotherapy will improve resilience—or the ability to withstand adversity, stress, and hardship. It has been proven effective in addressing job burnout and employment-related mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Ready to Try Logotherapy?

If I have raised your interest in logotherapy, you can learn to apply some of the core concepts to your everyday life. Try:

Creating something: Creating something such as art gives you a sense of purpose, which can add meaning to your life.
Developing relationships: Social support can help you to develop more of a sense of meaning.
Finding purpose in pain: If you are going through something negative, try to find a purpose in it. This is a bit tricky and may take some effort but it will help to see you through.
Understanding that life is not fair: There is nobody keeping score, and you will not necessarily be dealt a fair hand. However, life can always have meaning, even in the worst of situations.
Embracing your freedom to find meaning: Remember that you are always free to make meaning out of your situation; nobody can take that away from you.
Focusing on others: Try to focus outside of yourself. This may help you to stop feeling mentally "stuck" on a situation in your own life.
Accepting the worst: When you’re prepared to accept the worst, it reduces the power that it has over you.