Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded logotherapy, an approach centered on the human search for meaning.
Logotherapy: A form of psychotherapy that helps people find meaning and take responsibility amid life’s difficulties. Frankl developed this therapeutic approach around the search for meaning.
Paradoxical intention: A therapeutic technique that invites a person to deliberately wish for or exaggerate a feared symptom. Frankl developed this technique to interrupt cycles of anticipatory anxiety.
Man's Search for Meaning: Frankl’s memoir and account of logotherapy, first published in German in 1946. This book presents his experiences in Nazi camps alongside his account of finding meaning.
Psychoanalysis: A psychological theory and treatment tradition that explores unconscious processes and their influence on behavior. Frankl accepted the depth of unconscious life but rejected reducing human motivation to instinctual drives.
Elisabeth Lukas: An Austrian psychologist and psychotherapist who developed and taught logotherapy. Lukas helped extend Frankl’s approach through clinical practice, teaching, and publications.
Existential analysis: A psychotherapeutic approach that explores meaning, freedom, responsibility, and the conditions of human existence. Frankl used this framework to ground logotherapy in questions of meaning and responsibility.
Dereflection: A therapeutic technique that redirects attention away from excessive self-monitoring toward a meaningful task or relationship. Frankl used dereflection when intense self-observation obstructed ordinary functioning.
Theresienstadt concentration camp: A Nazi camp in the occupied Czech lands where Jews were imprisoned, exploited, and deported. Frankl was imprisoned there before being deported to Auschwitz.
Individual psychology: Alfred Adler’s psychological school, which emphasizes social interest, inferiority, and striving for significance. Frankl’s early association with Adler’s movement preceded his departure to develop logotherapy.
Eugenio Fizzotti: An Italian scholar and psychotherapist known for teaching and writing about logotherapy. Fizzotti helped introduce and develop Frankl’s ideas in Italian-speaking contexts.