What Is Logotherapy?

I read Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for meaning when I was 25.  That book was probably the most influential book on my journey to become a therapist. It blew me away that someone that had gone through so much suffering could also produce so much meaning out of that suffering. 

In the book, Frankl discusses his therapy model Logotherapy. I am going to discuss what that is, and how it can help you in this blog post:

Logotherapy is essentially concerned with the assumption that humans have an innate will toward meaning. That is, a person’s search for meaning is the primary motivation to his or her life. Interestingly, our Western World is at odds with this. And as a result, I think it produces a lot of suffering and disempowerment. That is, our culture not only tells us that desire is the main motivation in life, but also it promotes it; whatever you FEEL is the most paramount of experience. 

Feelings and circumstances are to be put in the driver seat of your life. So, if you feel sad, that defines you. If you feel lust, you must obey and follow through with that lust. If you feel that everyone should validate my existence and feelings, then you feel offended when the world does not do so.  If you feel lonely, then you say, “I am lonely.” I could go on and on and on.  Talk about disempowering though, right?

I am not here to say that feelings don’t matter, because they do. They are very important.  But in short what I am saying, and what aligns with Logotherapy, is feelings are good servants, but terrible masters. 

I am married. What if after two years of marriage I don’t feel like it anymore? And I let that drive me? Well then, I am switching wives every two years or so.  Ah I might feel better for a little bit, but is this a meaningful way to live? I don’t think so. It is a reactionary way to live. Life is happening to me and I am reacting to the happenings. In logotherapy it is encouraged that the individual actively seeks meaning in one’s life. To make it a mode of being, a way to live effectively. But whatever the meaning is, it must be individualized. 

Meaning can’t be borrowed, if you will. In other words, meaning, if it is derived from one’s genuine experiences and decisions about life, creates impactful meaning. To put it another way, don’t be generic. 

Many issues people have can be rooted in not having meaning. When you find genuine meaning in your circumstances it satisfies you, and therefore, you have your own will toward that meaning. You act in alignment with your meaning and values; your life can work regardless of what is happening in your life. Talk about empowering, right? Meaning is the existential reality. 

So, if you feel lonely, instead of saying and collapsing to the identification of I am lonely.  You could get clear about a few things. One, yes, I do feel this way. But it is not who I am. Loneliness is visiting me today. And two, what if this was not a problem? Then it could be an opportunity to find connection with myself, God, and/or put myself out there and be vulnerable. All of a sudden I am making meaning out of my circumstance and sudden feeling(s). I am not collapsing to life and its happenings. I am not deriving happiness by happenings.  

In therapy, the therapist’s role is to widen and extend the visual field of a patient, so they can personally find the meaning(s) themselves. To find the hidden meanings that are not yet obvious to the person.  Frankl describes that this guidance not only helps the client find meaning now but helps them develop an eye for finding it in the future.  Meaning is not static, it changes. It is an active process.

And meaning can be found in three different ways

1. By creating a work or doing a deed.
2. By experiencing something or encountering someone.
3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering

It is not about finding a singular meaning for life, but constantly seeking meaning as life happens.  Not letting life happen to us, but dancing with life.  This meaning finding according to Frankl is called Tragic Optimism; life brings pain, guilt, death and Logotherapy/meaning making is to understand that life is potentially meaningful under any conditions even those that equal living in a death camp during the 1930s and 40s.

If successful:

1. Pain and suffering can be turned into a human achievement. 
2. Guilt can be transformed into the opportunity to change oneself for the better; getting aligned with one’s values, not their feelings or circumstances. 
3. Death or life’s transitoriness and the nihilism that can come with that, can be an incentive to take responsible action. To take 100% for one’s life instead of focusing on the notion of “welp we are all going to die anyway, so it all meaningless.” 

I am choosing to love my wife one day at a time. My feelings go up and down. But how meaningful would it be if in my 70s I am sitting around a Christmas Tree with grandchildren? That would be meaningful.  So when my feelings are up and down and I am feeling challenged by marriage I remember the meaningfulness of what I am creating. That keeps me on the path. 

Don’t do what is expedient.  Do what is meaningful.

If you’re in Wyoming or California and looking for flexible, telehealth psychotherapy, we offer hour-long sessions to help you navigate challenges with clarity and confidence. We also provide international coaching through Bowen Family Systems, a transformative approach to breaking unhealthy patterns, strengthening relationships, and fostering long-term growth. Reach out to see how we can work together.