Logotherapy is a psycotherapy oriented to Meaning and it was created by Dr. Viktor Frankl. It is considered the 3rd Viennese School of Psycotherapy and focuses on the Human Existence and its search for Meaning. Its foundations are based on psychology, medicine, anthropology, and philosophy.
Logotherapy advocates for enjoying a life based on the conscious choice of values, as well as the exercise of responsible freedom, in which one ceases to be a victim or slave to the past. Furthermore, it helps people develop innate abilities, such as self-distancing and self-transcendence, to overcome extreme situations (illness, loss, existential emptiness, violence, etc.). It helps human beings develop a healthy and hopeful attitude (tragic optimism) in the face of extreme situations (logo-attitude), where they are moved to say YES to life, despite what is happening to them. Instead of immersing themselves in self-destructive things, people, or thoughts and being submerged in a life full of meaningless pleasures dictated by society, or reducing themselves to their psychiatric or physical diagnosis, they are guided to use the available tools of Logotherapy to transcend themselves and enjoy a life with meaning.
Its main techniques include paradoxical intention, Socratic dialogue, and dereflection. The goal of these tools is to encounter the human being in the midst of suffering.
After reading Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” I wanted to learn more about Viktor Frankl—who he was, what he had done, and the conclusions he had reached as a neurologist, psychologist, and former prisoner of four concentration camps. I was also interested in learning about the psychotherapeutic approach he had developed as a prisoner: Logotherapy. His conclusions about human nature in “Man’s Search for Meaning” were mature, profound, and indicated someone with a spirituality that I respected from the very first lines. After reading the book, I consulted several places where I could learn more about Logotherapy. I went to the Portuguese Institute of Logotherapy.
In Portugal, the Portuguese Institute of Logotherapy offers a series of courses in Logotherapy, as well as public services, and is an Accredited Member of the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna, Austria. It is based in Lisbon. It was at this institute that I received my first diploma in 2021, “International Postgraduate Studies in Logotherapy and the Meaning of Life.”
I wanted to continue learning, and for the next two years, I dedicated myself to the “Logotherapy and Existential Analysis Specialty” at the Viktor Frankl Peruvian Center of Logotherapy, accredited by the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna, Austria. After that, I received my Logotherapist Certification in 2024 and currently practice as a Logotherapist.
