In psychotherapy, paradoxical intention is the deliberate practice of a neurotic habit or thought, undertaken to identify and remove it. The concept was termed by Dr. Viktor Frankl, the founder of Logotherapy, who advocated for its use by patients experiencing severe forms of anxiety disorders.
Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. He survived Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Kaufering and Türkheim. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, which is a form of existential analysis, the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy". His best-selling book Man's Search for Meaning chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate, which led him to discover the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most brutal ones, and thus, a reason to continue living. Man's Search for Meaning has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into 24 different languages. Frankl became one of the key figures in existential therapy and a prominent source of inspiration for humanistic psychologists.
Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then immersively imagining that outcome. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. The book intends to answer the question "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" Part One constitutes Frankl's analysis of his experiences in the concentration camps, while Part Two introduces his ideas of meaning and his theory called logotherapy.
Existential psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on concepts that are universally applicable to human existence including death, freedom, responsibility, and the meaning of life. Instead of regarding human experiences such as anxiety, alienation and depression as implying the presence of mental illness, existential psychotherapy sees these experiences as natural stages in a normal process of human development and maturation. In facilitating this process of development and maturation existential psychotherapy involves a philosophical exploration of an individual's experiences while stressing the individual's freedom and responsibility to facilitate a higher degree of meaning and well-being in his or her life.
In philosophy, noetics is a branch of metaphysical philosophy concerned with the study of mind as well as intellect. There is also a reference to the science of noetics, which covers the field of thinking and knowing, thought and knowledge, as well as mental operations, processes, states, and products through the data of the written word.
Meaning in existentialism is descriptive; therefore it is unlike typical, prescriptive conceptions of "the meaning of life". Due to the methods of existentialism, prescriptive or declarative statements about meaning are unjustified.. The root of the word "meaning" is "mean", which is the way someone or something is conveyed, interpreted, or represented. Each individual has his or her own form of unique perspective; meaning is, therefore, purely subjective. Meaning is the way something is understood by an individual; in turn, this subjective meaning is also how the individual may identify it. Meaning is the personal significance of something physical or abstract. This would include the assigning of value(s) to such significance.
There are at least two senses in which the term philosophy is used: a formal and an informal sense. In the formal sense, philosophy is an academic study of the fields of aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, as well as social and political philosophy. One's "philosophy of life" is philosophy in the informal sense, as a personal philosophy, whose focus is resolving the existential questions about the human condition.
Self-transcendence is a positive personality trait that involves the expansion of personal boundaries, including, potentially, experiencing spiritual ideas such as considering oneself an integral part of the universe. Several psychologists, including Viktor Frankl, Abraham Maslow, Pamela G. Reed, C. Robert Cloninger and Lars Tornstam have made contributions to the theory of self-transcendence.
The Doctor and the Soul is a book by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, the Vienesse psychiatrist and founder of logotherapy.
The Unconscious God is a book by Viktor E. Frankl, the Viennese psychiatrist and founder of Logotherapy. The book was the subject of his dissertation for a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1948.
The tragic triad is a term used in logotherapy, coined by Dr. Viktor Frankl. The tragic triad refers to three experiences which often lead to existential crisis, namely, guilt, suffering or death. The concept of the tragic triad is used in identifying the life meanings of patients, or the relatives of patients, experiencing guilt, suffering or death. These life meanings are analyzed using logotherapy's existential analysis with the intent of assisting the patient overcome their existential crisis by discovering meaning or purpose in the experience.
Existential Psychotherapy is a nonfiction book by the American existential psychiatrist and author Irvin D. Yalom.
Paul T. P. Wong is a Canadian clinical psychologist and professor. His research career has gone through four stages, with significant contributions in each stage: learning theory, social cognition, existential psychology, and positive psychology. He is most known for his integrative work on death acceptance, meaning therapy, and second wave positive psychology. He has been elected as a fellow for both the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association.
James Charles Crumbaugh (1912-2001) was an American psychologist and parapsychologist.
Joseph B. Fabry was an Austrian-American writer associated with the Logotherapy movement. Fabry earned his doctorate from the University of Vienna. Being Jewish, Fabry had attempted to flee from the Nazis, but was arrested and held in a detention camp in Belgium. After the war, Fabry migrated to the United States, eventually moving to Berkeley where he became an editor for the University of California Press. Fabry met Viktor Frankl in 1965 and developed a lifelong friendship with Dr Frankl. Fabry became involved in the Logotherapy movement, writing and editing a number of works, as well as organizing conferences. He also helped found the Institute of Logotherapy in California.
The International Network on Personal Meaning (INPM) is a nonprofit organization devoted to advancing meaning-centred research and interventions. It was founded by Paul T. P. Wong in 1998. Inspired by Viktor Frankl's logotherapy, Wong wanted to expand Frankl's vision to include the contemporary positive psychology movement. Therefore, the INPM provides a "big tent" for both existential-humanistic psychologists and positive psychologists in their biennial International Meaning Conferences and their journal, the International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy.
Jürgen Kriz is a German psychologist, psychotherapist and prominent thinker in systems theory. He is the founder of the person-centered systems theory - a multi-level concept for the understanding of processes in psychotherapy, counseling, coaching and clinical psychology.
