Viktor Frankl


Viktor Emil Frankl
was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor, of Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Kaufering and Türkheim. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy a meaning-centered school of psychotherapy, considered the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy following the theories developed by Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. Logotherapy is part of existential and humanistic psychology theories.
He is the author of over 39 books; he is most noted for his best-selling book Man's Search for Meaning based on his experiences in various Nazi concentration camps.

Early Life

Frankl was born the middle of three children to Gabriel Frankl, a civil servant in the Ministry of Social Service, and his wife Elsa, née Lion. His interest in psychology and the role of meaning surfaced early when he began taking night classes at the Adult Education Center on applied psychology while still in junior high school. As a teenager he began corresponding with Sigmund Freud. For the final exam in the , he wrote a paper on the psychology of philosophical thinking. After graduation from Gymnasium in 1923 he studied medicine at the University of Vienna, specialising in neurology and psychiatry, with a focus on depression and suicide. During a part of 1924, Frankl became president of the Sozialistische Mittelschüler Österreich, the Social Democratic youth movement for high school students, throughout Austria. That same year Frankl's first scientific paper was published in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis in 1924 on the recommendation of Sigmund Freud. During this time he began questioning the Freudian approach to psychoanalysis. He joined Alfred Adler´s circle of students and had his second scientific paper, Psychotherapy and Worldview published in the International Journal of Individual Psychology in 1925. Frankl was expelled from Adler´s circle when he insisted that meaning was the central motivational force in human beings. From 1926 forward he began refining his theory which he coined logotherapy.

Professional career

Between 1928 and 1930, while still a medical student, he organized special youth counselling centers to address the high numbers of teen suicides occurring around the time of end of the year report cards. The program was sponsored by the city of Vienna and free of charge to the students. Frankl recruited other psychologists to join him including such notables as Charlotte Bühler, Erwin Wexberg and Rudolf Dreikurs. In 1931 not a single Viennese student committed suicide. The success of this program caught the attention of the likes of Wilhelm Reich who invited him to Berlin.
After obtaining his , Frankl gained extensive experience at where he was in charge of the “pavilion for suicidal women”. Over a four-year period, he treated no less than 3,000 patients each year. In 1937, he began his private practice, but with the Nazi annexation of Austria, his ability to treat patients became limited. In 1940, he joined the Vienna Rothschild Hospital as head of the neurology department. It was the only hospital in Vienna still admitting Jews. Prior to his deportation to the concentration camps, he helped numerous patients avoid the Nazi euthanasia program that targeted the mentally disabled.
Following the war, he became head of the neurology department of the and established a private practice in his home. He actively worked with patients until his retirement in 1970.
In 1948, Frankl earned a from the University of Vienna. His dissertation, The Unconscious God, is an examination of the relation of psychology and religion. In this, Frankl advocates for the use of the Socratic dialogue or "self-discovery discourse" to be used with clients, to get in touch with their "Noetic" unconscious.
In 1955, Frankl was awarded a professorship of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna, and as visiting professor, he lectured at Harvard University, at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh.
With the success of his books Man's Search for Meaning and The Doctor and the Soul he became a sought after speaker, invited to teach and lecture around the world.
The American Psychiatric Association awarded Frankl the 1985 Oskar Pfister Award for important contributions to religion and psychiatry.
Frankl published 39 books, which were translated into 49 languages. He received 29 honorary doctoral degrees.

Man's Search for Meaning

Soon after his return to Vienna, he wrote Man’s Search for Meaning over a 9-day period. The book, originally titled, “A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp” was released in German in 1946. The does not identify who wrote it because Frankl felt he could express himself more freely. He was surprised that out of the numerous books he wrote, the one that he wanted to publish anonymously became his most popular.
The English translation of Man’s Search for Meaning was published in 1959 and became an international bestseller. He saw this not so much as a personal achievement, but as a symptom of the "mass neurosis of modern times" since its title promised to deal with the question of life’s meaningfulness.
In 1991, Man’s Search for Meaning was listed as “one of the ten most influential books in the U.S.” by the Library of Congress. Still today, decades later, it shows up consistently on Amazon’s "Top 100 Books" list and is recommended as one of Amazon’s "Top 100 Books to Read In a Lifetime".

Personal Life

In 1941 he married his first wife Tilly Grosser, who was a station nurse at the Rothschild hospital. Soon after they were married she became pregnant but they were forced to abort the child. Tilly died in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
His father Gabriel died in the Terezin concentration camp in 1942. His mother and brother, Walter, were both killed in Auschwitz. His sister, Stella, escaped to Australia.
In 1947 he married his second wife Eleonore "Elly" Katharina Schwindt. She was a practicing Catholic, and the couple respected each other's religious backgrounds, going to both church and synagogue, and celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. They had one daughter, Gabriele, who went on to become a child psychologist.
Frankl died of heart failure in Vienna on 2 September 1997. He is buried in the Jewish section of the Vienna Central Cemetery. He is survived by his wife Eleonore, one daughter, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Elements of Logotherapy/Existential Analysis">Logotherapy">Logotherapy/Existential Analysis

In logotherapy 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:
- Humans are basically free to take their stance towards internal and external conditions.
- The search for meaning is seen as the primary motivation of humans. Logotherapy assists clients in finding and pursuing meaningful goals in their lives. However, they are not offered specific meanings; rather, they are encouraged to realize of those meaning possibilities they have detected themselves.
- Logotherapy 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.
Frankl identified three main ways of realizing meaning in life: First, by making a difference in the world through our actions, our work or our creations - referred to as “Creative Values“. Second, by experiencing something or encountering someone - “Experiential Values“. Third, by adopting a courageous and exemplary attitude in situations of unavoidable suffering - “Attitudinal Values.“
The primary techniques offered by logotherapy and existential analysis are:

https://dictionary.apa.org/paradoxical-intention Paradoxical Intention:

Dereflection:

https://dictionary.apa.org/socratic-dialogue Socratic dialogue / attitude modification:

Controversy

In the 1960s Rollo May criticised logotherapy as authoritarian, a view which was debated by Frankl and Reuven Bulka.
Timothy Pytell, a history professor at California State University, San Bernardino, criticizes Frankl's logotherapeutic approach in published articles.

Legacy

Frankl's logotherapy and existential analysis was considered by Frankl as "the third Viennese School of Psychotherapy", among the broad category that comprises existentialists. His acknowledgement of meaning as a central motivational force and factor in mental health and resilience is his lasting contribution to the field of psychology. It provided the foundational principles for the emerging field of Positive Psychology.
He has coined the term noogenic neurosis, the feeling of an inner void. This results from an awareness of the emptiness caused by a lack of meaning, or "", another term coined by Frankl.
Throughout his career, Frankl argued that the reductionist tendencies of most psychotherapeutic approaches dehumanised the patient and advocated for a .
Viktor Frankl often emphasised the importance of responsibility in conjunction with personal freedom. To illustrate his point he often recommended that the 'Statue of Liberty' on the East Coast of the United States be complemented by a 'Statue of Responsibility', on the West Coast.

Decorations and awards