How Am I to Address Your Problems? The Methods and Techniques of Logotherapy

Abstract

Logotherapy embodies the call to step out of our problems and into our lives. Life questions us. We are expected to answer. The meaning is in every moment. The call to be in the moment in a responsive way is at the very heart of the three main methods and techniques used in logotherapy. The Socratic dialogue challenges us to step into our lives that are uniquely ours to live; dereflection moves us out a state of being consumed with negativity, worry and lament, and directs our attention to what there is, right now, waiting for us to do or to be, while paradoxical intention assists us in defeating our fears by defiantly facing them so as to be able to get on with our lives in a real, confident and courageous way. Logotherapy is all about overcoming. Frankl maintained that as human beings we are challenged to turn a tragedy into a triumph by transcending the situation. Gaining an objective view of it, we can judge it for what it is, then deal with it in a way that will change things for the better. In doing so, we grow in human stature. The fight/flight syndrome described by Frankl is discussed. Through the various logotherapeutic methods and techniques, the unique human capacities of self-transcendence and self-distancing are evoked to powerfully break the stranglehold and victimization of fear that causes clients to run away from or to fruitlessly fight their problems.