#86: Interview with Harald Mori

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Interview with Harald Mori

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Harald Mori has been working in private psychotherapy practice since 1991. He received his doctor of medicine and master of science in psychotherapy through his studies in Graz, Vienna, and Munich. He is a licensed psychooncologist and licensed psychotherapist specializing in logotherapy and existential analysis. He lectures extensively worldwide including his native Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Canada, United States, Russia, South Korea, and Peru.

In January 1987, as a young medical student (and later graduate in psychotherapy), Harald Mori had the honor of meeting Dr. Viktor Frankl in person. In the following
years, he became his student and assistant at Frankl´s university lectures in Vienna as well as in his personal matters.

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The Fourth International Congress on the Future of Logotherapy will be held in Moscow, Russian Federation, August 28 to September 1, 2018. The conference website includes the congress program, online registration, call for papers, travel information, and contacts. It can be found here:

http://logo.inpsycho.ru/konferenczii,-kongressyi-i-simpoziumyi/the-4th-international-congress-the-future-of-logotherapy.html

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#83: An Operational Definition of Meaning in Health Treatment with Dr. Batya Yaniger

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An Operational Definition of Meaning in Health Treatment
with Dr. Batya Yaniger

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On Monday, March 9, 2015, Dr. Batya Yaniger gave the following presentation to the First International Congress of Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy in Haifa, Israel. LogoTalk Radio thanks Dr. Yaniger for giving her kind permission to share the address with you.

Batya Yaniger is a teacher, supervisor, and private practitioner of logotherapy, with over 30 years experience in innovative Torah teaching. She earned her BS in social work from Loyola University and her MS and PsyD degrees in psychology from the California Coast University. She is a Diplomate Clinician in Logotherapy as well as a co-trainer of the logotherapy training program in Israel, recognized for certification by The Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy in the USA.

In the presentation that follows, Dr. Yaniger suggests an operational definition of meaning that identifies four processes at work in the search for meaning. These are (1) the ability to grasp and evaluate meaning, (2) the capacity to become aware of deeply felt longings and higher motivations, (3) the ability to envision potential meaningfulness, and (4) the ability to become one’s authentic self by answering the questions life poses.

Dr. Yaniger has worked successfully with people who have, for a variety of reasons, lost their sense of direction in life. She listens for values and strengths that put the person in touch with who they are and what is most important to them. Logotherapy's assumption that every life has a purpose and every situation can be made meaningful perfectly dovetails with Jewish principles of optimism and responsibility. Dr. Yaniger has worked with people who struggle with issues of depression, anxiety, fears and indecisiveness, helping them to access their intuitive wisdom.

Dr. Yaniger can be reached through The Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy in Israel at http://themeaningseeker.com/.

Dr. Yaniger's first interview on LogoTalk Radio #28 can be found here:
http://logotalkshownotes.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#81: Sowing the Seeds: Searching for Meaning in the 21st Century with Dr. Pninit Russo-Netzer

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Sowing the Seeds: Searching for Meaning in the 21st Century
with Dr. Pninit Russo-Netzer

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On Monday, March 9, 2015, Dr. Pninit Russo-Netzer gave the following presentation to the First International Congress of Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy in Haifa, Israel. LogoTalk Radio thanks Dr. Russo-Netzer for giving her kind permission to share the address with you.

Pninit Russo-Netzer, Ph.D., is a researcher at the department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa and the Maytiv Center for Research and Practice in Positive Psychology, School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Israel. Her main research and practice interests focus on meaning in life, positive psychology, spirituality and spiritual development, positive change and growth. Dr. Russo-Netzer is a practitioner of positive psychology, a diplomate clinician in logotherapy, and the chair of the Logotherapy Association in Israel. She serves as academic advisor and consultant to both academic and non-academic institutions, develops training programs and curricula for various organizations, and is the co-editor of Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Clinical Perspectives in Meaning (2016) and Search for Meaning in the Israeli Scene (forthcoming).

Abstract of Sowing the Seeds: Searching for Meaning in the 21st Century

In the past, society’s sense of support and coherence was achieved through processes such as continuity, socialization, and transmission of traditional patterns (Buxant, Saroglou & Tesser, 2010); however, nowadays these processes are challenged by the rise of globalization and the progression towards a more individualistic and pluralistic world. Forces and processes such as industrialization, urbanization, and the decline of the moral authority of religion (Cushman, 1990) provide a context for disengagement, deconstruction of values, and loss of meaning (Moules, 2000). Existential vacuum leaves Western industrialized societies hungry for meaning more than ever (Frankl, 1969). This state of affairs is even more complex and critical in the development of children and youth. Addressing “ultimate concerns” of meaning and purpose in these critical periods through education may facilitate the development of a healthy sense of meaning, responsibility, and shaping a purposeful path, a meaningful reason for being.

This presentation will focus on Frankl’s meaning triangle (pathways to meaning) and explore its different manifestations in theory (i.e., by highlighting potential corresponding concepts within the field of positive psychology), application (i.e., by presenting insights gained from logotherapy workshops conducted in higher education), and research (i.e, by presenting an exploratory attempt to develop children’s meaning questionnaire based on Frankl’s meaning triangle).

Amazon links to Dr. Russo-Netzer's books are below:

Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology

Clinical Perspectives in Meaning

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#80: Enacted Demonstration of Logotherapy with Dr. Michael Winters and Dr. Marshall H. Lewis

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Enacted Demonstration of Logotherapy
with Dr. Michael Winters and Dr. Marshall H. Lewis

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Dr. Michael Winters and Dr. Marshall H. Lewis enacted a demonstration of logotherapy at World Congress XIX in Dallas, Texas in 2013.

Michael Winters earned a masters degree in counseling from Purdue University in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Memphis in 1991. He is a licensed psychologist in Texas.  He received the Diplomate in Logotherapy credential in 2005 and has been appointed both to the Faculty and to the Board of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy.

Dr. Winters maintains a private practice in Houston, Texas.  He specializes in single’s issues, helping couples discover meaning in their relationships, psychological issues of weight management, and grief counseling.  He provides workshops and lectures on the search for meaning, love, marriage, happiness, change and transition, and creativity and risk. He also conducts research on meaning in relationships.

He has published professional papers and book chapters and presented papers at national and international professional conferences.  He has taught numerous courses at Purdue University, University of Memphis, Rice University, the University of Houston, and Our Lady of the Lake, Houston. Dr. Winters is past-president of the Houston Psychological Association.

Learn more about Dr. Winters at http://www.drmwinters.com

Marshall H. Lewis earned a masters degree in clinical psychology from Marshall University in 1986 and a Ph.D. in Jewish-Christian Studies from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 2013. He is a licensed masters level psychologist in Kansas. He received the Diplomate in Logotherapy credential in 2011 and has been appointed to the Faculty and to the Board of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. He currently serves as Clinical Director of a Kansas licensed community mental health center serving four rural and frontier counties. He is a frequent presenter at national and international logotherapy conferences.

Learn more about Dr. Lewis at http://marshallhlewis.com

This is believed to be the first logotherapy demonstration at a World Congress since Dr. Jerry Long presented one at World Congress VII in Kansas City in 1989. That session can be found at:

LogoTalk Radio #50: The Dr. Jerry Long Lecture Series Part 3 - Demonstration of Logotherapy
http://logotalkshownotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/50-dr-jerry-long-lecture-series-part-3.html

This demonstration includes a fictional portrayal of a United States Iraqi war veteran. It is no secret that the transition from combat back to civilian life is not easy. The suicide rate among veterans is twice that of the civilian population. More veterans have died by suicide than were killed in the Iraq war. The suicide rate of active duty military is about the same as the number killed by enemy action.

The Tango Yankee Project was started by Daniel Shaw to support the fight against veteran suicide. As the project grows, proceeds from the sale of Tango Yankee chips will be donated to vetted charities that work to prevent veteran suicide. The Tango Yankee chip is a way to say "Thank You" – or TY, "Tango Yankee," in the NATO radio phonetic alphabet. It can be given to a veteran to say "Thank You," and you can ask him or her to pass it on. The back of the chip states “What you do in this life matters.”

Daniel Shaw recently retired from active service with the United States Marine Corps where he served as an Infantry Unit Leader and held several weapons and tactics instructor positions. He is producer and co-host of the podcast Gunfighter Cast through which he provides informative defense based content. Since retiring from active duty, Mr. Shaw continues his career as Thunderbird Tactical’s Chief Instructor.

Mr. Shaw has kindly provided a discount on Tango Yankee chips for LogoTalk Radio listeners. You can order the chips at http://tangoyankeechip.com and use the code “logotalk10” at check-out. A simple thank you – a Tango Yankee – can go a long way.

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#71: Logotherapy’s Use of Resilience in the Healing Process with Dr. Steven M. Southwick

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Logotherapy’s Use of Resilience in the Healing Process
with Dr. Steven M. Southwick

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Dr. Steven M. Southwick has given us his kind permission to share his presentation Logotherapy’s Use of Resilience in the Healing Process.  This presentation was given at the Second Future of Logotherapy Conference in Vienna on May 17, 2014.

Steven M. Southwick received an MD in Psychiatry from George Washington Medical School in 1980. He completed his psychiatry residency at Yale University School of Medicine. He is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University Medical School and Yale Child Study Center.  In addition, he serves as Deputy Director of the Clinical Neurosciences Division of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, and is Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His interests include the phenomenology and neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder and resilience, memory for traumatic events, and the longitudinal course of trauma-related psychopathology.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#70: Meaning and Disaster Mental Health with Dr. Stefan Schulenberg

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Meaning and Disaster Mental Health
with Dr. Stefan Schulenberg

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On May 17, 2014, Stefan E. Schulenberg, Ph.D., delivered this presentation at the Vienna Medical Society's historic Billrothhaus during the Second Future of Logotherapy Conference. Dr. Schulenberg discusses disaster mental health, the disaster response, and the relationship between meaning and resiliency.

Dr. Schulenberg is a clinical psychologist in the State of Mississippi and a Logotherapy Diplomate. He is Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi's Psychology Department where he serves as the Executive Director of the Clinical-Disaster Research Collaborative.

Dr. Schulenberg teaches graduate courses in cognitive and personality assessment and undergraduate courses in psychology and law, abnormal psychology, disasters and mental health, and tests and measurements. His research interests include meaning and purpose in life, positive psychology, clinical and disaster psychology, psychological assessment, serious mental illness, and adolescent psychopathology in the legal context.

Dr. Schulenberg co-organizes Out of the Darkness community walks with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and serves as a disaster mental health volunteer with the American Red Cross. He was a mental health consultant on a National Science Foundation research grant issued in response to Hurricane Katrina, and currently conducts evaluation research funded by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health relating to the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill.

The Clinical-Disaster Research Center

Out of the Darkness Walks

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#69: A Practitioner’s Review of the Logotherapy Evidence Base

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A Practitioner’s Review of the Logotherapy Evidence Base
with Dr. Marshall H. Lewis

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This presentation was delivered by Dr. Marshall H. Lewis at the Vienna Medical Society's historic Billrothhaus on May 17, 2014 during the Second Future of Logotherapy Conference. Dr. Lewis compares the published empirical evidence for the efficacy of logotherapy to the evidence-based practice guidelines of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) in the United States. Therapists gain a working knowledge of the evidence base of logotherapy and come to understand how that body of research compares to a leading standard for the determination of psychotherapy effectiveness. Suggestions are made on how logotherapists can provide practice-based evidence, including participation in a Kansas Global Initiative for Meaningful Health.

Links from this month's podcast:

The Kansas (Global) Initiative for Meaningful Health

Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy for Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Treatment Manual

Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Treatment Manual

Rockets into Roses

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#60: Pastoral Logotherapy: Seeking Wholeness Through Healing Mankind’s Spiritual Malaise - Presentation by Father Jeremiah N. Murasso, Ph.D.

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Pastoral Logotherapy:
Seeking Wholeness Through
Healing Mankind’s Spiritual Malaise
Presentation by Father Jeremiah N. Murasso, Ph.D.

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Pastoral logotherapy is the application of logotherapy principles within the context of pastoral counseling.  This application is primarily championed by the Graduate Center for Pastoral Logotherapy at the Graduate Theological Foundation.

Father Jeremiah N. Murasso, Ph.D., is the Robert C. Leslie Professor of Pastoral Logotherapy at the Graduate Theological Foundation.  Father Murasso was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1979.  He holds multiple graduate degrees in the areas of theology, philosophy, psychology, and education.  At the recent World Congress on Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy held in Dallas, Texas, Father Murasso received the Robert C. Leslie Award for outstanding contributions to the fields and interfaces of psychology and religion.

The following presentation was delivered to the World Congress on June 20, 2013 and is entitled “Pastoral Logotherapy: Seeking Wholeness Through Healing Mankind’s Spiritual Malaise.”  We join the lecture in progress.

Father Murasso is the author of Logotherapy and the Logos of God in Christic Wisdom published in 2008.  The Amazon link to the book is found here.

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#58: Emerging from the Inner Storm – Presentation by Paul McQuillan, Ph.D., Psy.D.

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Emerging from the Inner Storm
Presentation by Paul McQuillan, Ph.D., Psy.D.

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On behalf of LogoTalk Radio, I want to extend my personal thanks to Storm, the pseudonym of the woman whose story you are about to hear, for giving LogoTalk Radio permission to use the following material.  I also want to thank Dr. Paul McQuillan for making this material available.

In the podcast that follows, you will hear Dr. McQuillan’s presentation given to the Nineteenth World Congress on Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy on June 22, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. Dr. McQuillan presents the story of Storm, a woman who has emerged from the trauma of domestic violence with the help of logotherapy. The story is told with Storm’s own voice, through slides and recordings. The slide deck with the attendant audio can be viewed at youtube.com/LogoTalk.

Dr Paul McQuillan is a Faculty Member of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy and a practicing family and relationships counselor with Anglicare South Queensland.  He has been an Honorary Fellow of Australian Catholic University since 2002. Through Life Change Therapies he provides face the face and online courses in Logotherapy in Australia. (www.lifechange.net.au)

Dr. McQuillan is a member of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values. The seminar meets bi-annually and is restricted to members and invited guests.  He is Chair of the Education Program Accreditation Committee of the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Federation of Australia. The role of the committee is to accredit training in psychotherapy and counseling provided by Universities and other training organizations. He sits on the Editorial Board of "Panorama: Intercultural Annual of Interdisciplinary Ethical and Religious Studies for Responsible Research" and the Editorial Board of "The Journal of Youth Ministry."

His research interests include religious experience and the spirituality of youth as well as meaning centered therapy and the logotherapy of Viktor Frankl.

His previous career has centered on education and educational leadership.  He has been the principal of high schools in three states, assistant director for resources and planning for Northern Territory Catholic Education, and, for 12 years, Director, Administrative Services, for Brisbane Catholic Education.

Dr. McQuillan is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and books on the topic of spirituality and belief systems of young people.

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For more information about the work Dr. McQuillan is doing in Australia, and for more information on his coursework, please visit Life Change Therapies.  Dr. McQuillan can be reached at paul@lifechange.net.au.

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#24 Franklian Diagnostics and Clinical Indications for the Use of Logotherapy

Click here to download Franklian Diagnostics and Clinical Indications for the Use of Logotherapy

Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas from LogoTalk.Net!

This month's podcast combines two related topics that are an outgrowth of the logotherapy clinical practicum that I am currently completing.

Franklian Diagnostics

Viktor Frankl's diagnostic system was based on presumed cause of a disorder and primary presentation of the disorder.  The most detailed explanation of Franklian diagnostics can be found in Frankl's On the Theory and Therapy of Mental Disorders.  I made the table below to help me follow along in the book.  Clicking on the picture below should enlarge it.

For an account of the DSM-IV-TR category of "Religious or Spiritual Problem" please see:

Lukoff, D., Lu, F., and Turner, R. From spiritual emergency to spiritual problem: The transpersonal roots of the new DSM-IV category. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 38(2), 21-50, 1998.

To note its absence in the proposed DSM-5, please visit http://www.dsm5.org/.

Clinical Indications for the Use of Logotherapy

Viktor Frankl outlines five indications for the use of Logotherapy:

1.  Logotherapy is a specific treatment when the source of the psychological disturbance is a lack of meaning-orientation.  Logotherapy then aids in the discovery of personal meaning.  Frankl referred to this condition as the "noogenic neurosis."  Several modern tools are available to measure personal meaning.  I use the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, available here:

Steger, Michael F., Patricia Frazier, and Shigehiro Oishi, "The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the Presence of and Search for Meaning in Life," Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (2006):  80-93.  Online at:

http://www.itari.in/categories/higherpurpose/meaning_in_life.pdf

2.  Logotherapy is a non-specific treatment when the source of the disturbance is rooted in physiology or psychology.  Specific logotherapeutic methods such as paradoxical intention and dereflection may be helpful in such cases.  In these cases, Logotherapy is seen as an adjunct to other treatments and may be combined with other treatments.

3.  Medical Ministry:  This is Frankl's term for the use of Logotherapy in situations of terminal illness.  In such cases, Logotherapy is used to help patients retain an orientation toward the meaning of their lives up to the very end.

4.  On the level of society, Logotherapy is seen as a tool to counter the influence of nihilism.

5.  Within the medical and therapeutic community, Logotherapy is seen as a tool to counter reductionism,

Finally, the proposal that I made to my employer to allow me to engage in the clinical practicum is offered below.  I offer this for the use of others who may be in a similar situation.  My employer is a community mental health center:

http://homepage.mac.com/mhlewis/papers/practicum.pdf

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#23 Logotherapy Techniques: Supplementary Techniques

Click here to download Logotherapy Techniques: Supplementary Techniques

Today's topic covers a number of supplementary techniques developed within the context of logotherapy.  The topics covered in this podcast, and their references, are listed below.

Writing Assignments:

King, L.A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals,  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 798-807.

King, L.A. and Miner, K.N. (2000). Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events: Implications for physical health, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 220-230.

Values Clarification and Goal Setting:

Hutzell, Robert R. and Eggert, Mary D.  (1989, 1995, 2009).  A Workbook to Increase Your Meaningful and Purposeful Goals (2009 PDF Edition).  Online at:
http://www.viktorfrankl.org/source/hutzell_workbook_2009.pdf

Structured Experiences

Barnes, Robert C.  (1995, 2006).  Franklian Psychology and Attitudinal Change.  Edited by George E. Rice and developed by Paul Welter.  Abilene, Texas:  Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy.

Existential Dream Analysis

Frankl, Viktor E.  (2000).  Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning.  New York:  Basic Books.

Logoanchor Technique

Graber, Ann V.  (2004).  Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy:  Method of Choice in Ecumenical Pastoral Psychology.  Lima, Ohio:  Wyndham Hall Press.

The Golden Imprint

Lukas, Elisabeth.  (2000).  Logotherapy Textbook:  Meaning-centered Psychotherapy consistent with the principles outlined by Viktor E. Frankl, MD.  Translated by Theodor Brugger.  Toronto:  Liberty Press.
http://www.liberty-press.com

And, as promised, my Mountain Range Experience sample:

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#21 Logotherapy Technique: Dereflection

#21 Logotherapy Technique: Dereflection
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
11 September 2010

#20 Logotherapy Technique: Paradoxical Intention
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
14 August 2010

#19 Logotherapy Technique: Socratic Dialogue
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
15 July 2010

Dereflection is to divert attention away from one's symptoms.  Dereflection ignores the self and leads to self-transcendence through focusing attention on someone or something else.  Lukas defines it a "disregarding of something that can be disregarded, which would become worse through reflection, not better.  At the same time, it is more than a disregarding and quite more than a diversionary tactic."

Frankl himself recognized two techniques:  Dereflection, based on the human capacity for self-transcendence and Paradoxical Intention, based on the human capacity for self-distancing.  Lukas and others have added the third technique, taught by the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy as Socratic Dialogue and referred to by Lukas as Attitude Modification.  

Case studies are presented from Dr. Frankl, Dr. Lukas, and my own practice.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#20 Logotherapy Technique: Paradoxical Intention

#21 Logotherapy Technique: Dereflection
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
11 September 2010

#20 Logotherapy Technique: Paradoxical Intention
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
14 August 2010

#19 Logotherapy Technique: Socratic Dialogue
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
15 July 2010

Paradoxical intention is to wish for that which is most feared.  By pushing one's fear to exaggeration, usually in a humorous way, the wind is taken out of the sails of the fear.

Humor is one of those characteristics of the human spirit that, according to Frankl, can be used as a source of health.  Of course, when using humor, one must be careful to understand that the humor is directed toward the symptom, not toward the person.  That is, when using paradoxical intention, humor is used as a tool to defeat the symptom, not used to poke fun at a human being.

Paradoxical intention appears to be associated with para-sympathetic arousal, particularly learning to decrease sympathetic arousal through humor (as opposed to the more common approach of relaxation).  As such, it teaches the client that she is not a slave to her anxiety, that she can take a stand against it, and even reduce it.

Case studies are presented from Dr. Frankl, Dr. Lukas, and my own practice.

Update:  Since this podcast was recorded, Dagmar Devorah Sigrid Fabry has published a comprehensive review of outcome studies on paradoxical intention and concludes that "...Paradoxical  Intention has a sound evidence base."

Reference:  Fabry, D. D. S.  (2010).  Evidence base for paradoxical intention:  Reviewing clinical outcome studies.  The International Forum for Logotherapy, 33, 21-29.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#19 Logotherapy Technique: Socratic Dialogue

#21 Logotherapy Technique: Dereflection
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
11 September 2010

#20 Logotherapy Technique: Paradoxical Intention
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
14 August 2010

#19 Logotherapy Technique: Socratic Dialogue
Replaced by Lesson 4: The Primary Techniques of Logotherapy
15 July 2010

The Socratic Dialogue is a way of engaging the client in a discussion that allows the client to discover what he or she already knows on some level.  The Socratic Dialogue is a technique shared with other forms of psychotherapy, though in other therapies it often involves "trapping" the client in a logical snare, revealing to them the errors of their reasoning.  In Logotherapy, Socratic Dialogue is closer to the vision attributed to Socrates.  That involves "midwifing" or allowing the client to give birth to new ideas.  For this reason, the technique is often called Maieutic Dialogue in Logotherapy.  Maieutic is a term derived from the Greek that means to act as a midwife. 

One may surmise that the client has already formed these ideas, either preconsciously, unconsciously, or through the spiritual unconscious.  The therapist does not presume to know the right solution for the client, accepts this ignorance, and appeals to the wisdom of the client's spirit.  Frankl wrote: "It is not necessary, however, to enter into sophisticated debate with the patients.  Logos is deeper than logic." 

One way in which Socratic or Maieutic Dialogue is begun in Logotherapy is by asking what Dr. Elisabeth Lukas calls a two-legged question.  A two legged question has one leg in the client's presenting problem and the other leg in the client's area of freedom.  A famous example from Dr. Lukas is, "Why stand among the flowers and water the weeds?"  This same principle is illustrated in another famous quote by Dr. Jerry Long, a Franklian psychologist who was paralyzed from the neck down, when he said, "I broke my neck, it did not break me,"

Case studies are presented from Dr. Frankl, Dr. Lukas, and my own practice.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

Episode 10: Domestic Violence and Franklian Psychology

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Some current publications from the American Psychological Association are linked here:

The Mind of the Batterer.pdf

Partner Violence: What you can do

Statistics:

A United States Department of Justice study found that 22% of women and 7% of men had been physically abused by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. The study also found that 1.3% of the women and 0.9% of the men had been abused within the past 30 days. Of those abused, 39% of the women and 23% of the men were injured.

Effects on the victim:

Physical abuse is often accompanied by humiliation, manipulation, and economic control. The effects on the victim include fear, the belief that escape is impossible, post-traumatic stress symptoms and sometimes substance abuse.

The risk of death or serious injury increases once the decision to leave is made.

Key Issues for Franklian Psychology

1) Sophisticated victims of domestic violence may have read Frankl or been drawn to his works in response to their trauma. It is important to know that Frankl taught that meaning in suffering is found only if the suffering is unavoidable. Frankl repeatedly taught that If the suffering can be avoided, it should be avoided.

2) Some victims may believe that they remain in the relationship for the value of love. Frankl taught that the deepest love is an awareness of the potentials of the spirit of the other. In this, the loved one cannot be replaced. If the significant other in your life wishes to control you rather than to see your true abilities and talents made real, then that is not love.

3) Frankl wrote a great deal about value judgments. Value judgments can become easily confused during and after trauma. It is true that great figures of history have sacrificed themselves for loving or meaningful causes. None of those figures, however, sacrificed themselves to another person for the purpose of satisfying the other person's violent temper.

How to respond if someone tells you of domestic violence:

DON'T minimize the abuse
DON'T blame the victim
DON'T shift the focus (to alcohol or some other problem)

DO be empathetic
DO tell the victim it is not her fault
DO offer to get her help (if you can)

Important Phone Numbers:

As always, if you are in danger in the United States, dial 9-1-1

National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)


Click here to download Episode 10: Domestic Violence and Franklian Psychology.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.

Episode 8: Toward a Meaning-Centered Cognitive Therapy

Today I would like to share with you an essay that I completed last month. It is an attempt to rehumanize Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy by using Franklian concepts.

"An ancient parable attributed to Aesop tells of a wager between the sun and the wind to determine which was stronger. A hapless passerby was to be the object of the dispute: whichever of them could make him remove his cloak was to be the winner. The wind began and blew harder and harder. Though flapping in the breeze, the cloak was not blown away as the traveler clutched it ever more tightly around himself. At last, the wind gave up. Then the sun came out and brightly warmed the traveler who immediately removed his cloak. This story demonstrates the relationship between cognitive psychotherapy, such as formulated by Albert Ellis, and the meaning-centered therapy of Viktor Frankl. Frankl considered most psychotherapy to be dehumanizing; the client was at the mercy of drives, conditioning, or biology. Frankl’s therapy was an attempt to rehumanize psychotherapy. I propose that cognitive therapy may be rehumanized by explaining Frankl’s meaning-centered therapy (Logotherapy) in the language of Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)."

Click here to download the full essay in PDF format.

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