vienna, austria future of logotherapy slide 1 charles l...

The future of logotherapy:

Idea, ideal, idol?

Charles L. McLafferty, Jr., PhD, NCC

Future of Logotherapy

Vienna, Austria

March 18, 2012

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Permission granted for reproduction as long as this entire document, with this notice, is intact.

Contact: charles [at] purposeresearch [dot] com

The guru’s cat (Anthony de Mello)

At the First World Congress of Logotherapy I argued not only for

the “rehumanization of psychotherapy but also for what I called

the degurufication of logotherapy.” My interest does not lie in

raising parrots that just rehash “their master's voice,” but rather in

passing the torch to “independent and inventive, innovative and

creative spirits.”

Viktor Frankl

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I want to begin to today with a story from Anthony de Mello, called The Guru’s Cat.

When the guru sat down to worship each evening the ashram cat would get in the way and

distract the worshippers. So he ordered that the cat be tied during evening worship. After the

guru died the cat continued to be tied during evening worship. And when the cat expired,

another cat was brought to the ashram so that it could be duly tied during evening worship.

Centuries later learned treatises were written by the guru's scholarly disciples on the liturgical

significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed.

I want to tie this in with a quote from Viktor Frankl, in which he expressed concerns about becoming a

guru of logotherapy:

At the First World Congress of Logotherapy I argued not only for the “rehumanization of

psychotherapy but also for what I called the degurufication of logotherapy.” My interest does

not lie in raising parrots that just rehash “their master's voice,” but rather in passing the torch to

“independent and inventive, innovative and creative spirits.”

Note that phrase: “independent and inventive, innovative and creative spirits.” Here we are! You have

heard the call and you have responded!

What is logotherapy?

A theory

A group of techniques

A philosophy

A framework for Life

An orientation to meaning

A fact of Life

Central to certification and accreditation

Cultural, regional, and religious differences

National and state laws govern licensure

On what do we agree?

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So there are certain questions we have to ask as we begin to look into this process of finding a planetary

center for logotherapy. We have to ask the question “What is logotherapy?” Is it a theory? A group of

techniques? A philosophy? A framework for living? An orientation to meaning? A fact of Life?

Of course, it is all these things. But these questions are central to certification and accreditation. But as

we’ve heard from several speakers, there are cultural, regional, and religious differences. There are

national and state laws that govern licensure. In the United States of America, there are 50 sets of laws

that govern licensure as a counselor. 50. There’s not 1, there are 50. So we have to come together and

say, “On what do we agree?”

Who can be certified?

Licensed specialists?

Paraprofessionals?

Lay people and volunteers?

Currently, a big disconnect:

Man’s Search for Meaning: >10.000.000 copies

“Where can I learn more?”

Have we limited our ability to respond

(responsibility)?

The future of logotherapy

Connecting need with meaning

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The next question is: Who can be certified? Should certification be limited to licensed specialists?

Paraprofessionals? What about lay people and volunteers? And this really brings up a second issue that

we need to talk about that we need to bring to the table. Currently there is a big disconnect. Man’s

Search for Meaning has sold 10 million copies. Now on the one hand we should be asking “Why is that

not one billion copies or five billion copies, one for every person on this planet?” But 10 million is a lot of

copies. But the disconnect is: people finish the book, they put it down, and they say “Where can I find

out more about this logotherapy?” Where do they go? Where do they seek [more]? Have we limited our

ability to respond? Our response-ability? The future of logotherapy is in connecting need with meaning.

What is the goal of training?

Mastery of techniques

Paradoxical intention

Dereflection

Socratic dialogue

Application of Franklian teachings to profession, personhood

Medicine, psychology, nursing, counseling

Art, education, business, money management, political science(!)

Discovery/mastery of meaning

Unique for each person

Orientation towards meaning

Points to something greater than the self

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We have to ask ourselves: “What’s the goal of training?” So we know the techniques, we know that. The

goal of training could be the application of Franklian teachings to profession and personhood. That could

be in a number of fields, in medicine, psychology, nursing, counseling. We know about those. But we’ve

also heard about art, education, business, money management... and last night at 1:30 in the morning I

had to add “political science.” Because I heard a lecture [from a man] from Argentina who was using

political science to make logotherapy available to everybody who needs it. For free. OK? They are

designing programs, they are examining the need [such as] for senior citizens, they’re designing

programs, they’re going out into the community, and they’re giving it away.

Is logotherapy the discovery or mastery of meaning? One that is unique for each person, and involves an

orientation towards meaning, and points to something greater than the self?

A living theory Frankl’s approach was unique, not fixed or concrete

Never established an institute

Refused “guru” status

What would Frankl do? [WWFD?]

Frankl makes individual responsible! [WWWD?]

To what are we responding/to Whom are we responsible?

To God, to Life, to the “object of our most intimate conversations”?

Logotherapy belongs to all who seek meaning

Discovery of a dynamic, living source of meaning

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Frankl made it tough for us, though. He gave us a living theory. It is a living, dynamic theory. His

approach is unique in all the theories of psychology. It is living. It is one that we have to live. He never

established an Institute. Was he telling us something there? Or was that not what he was interested in?

We need to take pause to think about that. He refused the “guru” status; we’ve had a couple speakers

eloquently talk about that.

So we could ask ourselves: “What would Frankl do?” [Wear] WWFD bracelets. But Frankl makes the

individual responsible. The only bracelets we could wear is WWWD. “What will we do?”

So to what are we responding? To Whom are we responsible? It’s not Frankl. He has passed. Is it to

God? To Life? To “the object of our most intimate conversations?”

Logotherapy belongs to all who seek meaning. Logotherapy is the discovery of a dynamic, living source

of meaning.

Noëtic temporality

Lukas keynote: cloud that delivered Jews from Egypt

Neurosis involves persistent fixation on past or distant future

As logotherapists, we have the choice:

To faithfully preserve—and live in—the granaries of the past

Or standing in the present, facing the future

Reinventing logotherapy as we live it

Harvesting the possibilities of the future into those granaries

Working as “independent, innovative, creative spirits”

Now that we know of our choice, we are responsible

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I’m going to turn to Popielski’s work, and it such an honor to meet him here, on noetic temporality.

Elisabeth Lukas in 1993 in Toronto gave a keynote address in which she talked about a cloud that

delivered the Jews from Egypt. It always had to be a certain distance in front of the person. And neurosis

involves a persistent fixation on the past or on the distant future. As logotherapists, we have the choice:

to faithfully preserve—and live in—the granaries of the past. Or standing in the present, facing the

future, reinventing logotherapy as we live it, harvesting the possibilities of the future into those

granaries, working as “independent, innovative, creative spirits.” Now that we know the choice, we are

responsible.

How to standardize

accreditation?

Need for consistent baseline standards

Allow for cultural and geographic differences

Ensure quality

Traps (Idols):

How to measure meaning without mechanization?

How to ensure unique discovery process for each person?

How to maintain quality while not engaging in reductionism?

Motive (ideal) is universal orientation to, discovery of meaning

So how do we standardize accreditation? How many people here are interested in standardizing

accreditation, or bringing accreditation to Vienna, to have a central body of accreditation? OK. All right.

How do we standardize accreditation? Of course we need to establish consistent baseline standards. We

have to allow for cultural and geographic and legal differences. We also have to ensure quality.

Someone said yesterday: “We have to decide what is logotherapy and what is not logotherapy.”

Beautiful statement. We have some traps, some idols. How do we measure meaning without

mechanization? We can give them a test, and if they score more than a 90 they’re a logotherapist? How

do we ensure a unique discovery process for each person? How do we maintain quality while not

engaging in reductionism? Frankl did not make our task easy.

The motive here is a universal orientation to the discovery of meaning, a recognition of the universal

need for meaning.

Idea: The orientation to meaning is

central to logotherapy

Motive (ideal): training involves conveying the dynamic, changing

essence of meaning

Motive (ideal): ensure orientation to unique meaning

Trap: frozen crystallization of ideas, creation of logotheology

Challenge:

Only by living logotherapy can we find a living logotherapy

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So there are some ideas we have to deal with. One is: The orientation to meaning is central to

logotherapy. The motive involves training that conveys this dynamic, changing essence of meaning. We

have a motive to ensure an orientation to a unique meaning, which makes the task far more difficult.

But we have trap. The trap is that we get ourselves into a rut, a frozen crystallization of ideas, the

creation of a logotheology, an altar at which we worship meaning. The challenge: only by living

logotherapy can we find a living logotherapy.

Idea: Mastery of logotherapy

requires exactitude Motive (ideal): ensure all practitioners have full understanding

Traps (idols):

Easy to impose values on others in the name of meaning

Techniques and procedures may take priority over experience and discovery of meaning

“Tying the guru’s cat”

Challenge: If each person is unique, then the search for meaning is unique for each client and practitioner.

Double challenge: How do we allow each Institute to remain free and responsible while ensuring a common core?

There’s another idea: the mastery of logotherapy requires exactitude, precision. We want to ensure that

all practitioners have a full understanding. But we have traps. It’s easy to impose values on others in the

name of meaning. I won’t give you any examples; you already know them. Another trap is that

techniques and procedures may take priority over experience in the discovery of meaning. “Ah! He has

phobias! We’ll use paradoxical intention.” That’s not what logotherapy is about. We seek to find the

meaning that is greater than any phobia. So we have to be careful that we’re not tying the guru’s cat. Or

writing “learned treatises on the liturgical significance” of cat tying. So the challenge for us is that, if

each person is unique, then the search for meaning is unique for each practitioner. And I will go further:

it’s unique for each encounter between two people.

But we have a second challenge. We have a double challenge at this meeting, that’s unlike any other

meeting that’s ever been held: How do we allow each Institute to remain free and responsible while

ensuring a common core? These are not easy questions.

Idea: Logotherapy is fresh,

original, surprising

“Why would you not commit suicide?” [Frankl]

“Perhaps this accident has given you a truth detector…” [Lukas]

Ideal: How do we “teach” the individual to transcend the self, to

use surprise, humor, joy as a natural part of praxis?

Idol: Cognitive process of making meaning is mistaken for noëtic

process of meaning discovery

Challenge:

To retain wonder, mystery, awe, and spontaneous humor in the

meaning-discovery process

Idea: Logotherapy is fresh, original, surprising. “Why would you not commit suicide?” What? I remember

the first time I read that: “Oh, no! He didn’t say that!” Lukas: “Perhaps this car accident that so badly

disfigured your face has given you a kind of truth detector....” And slowly a smile came over the

woman’s face. We would not have expected that. It’s something that each of us has to find within

ourselves. So the ideal is: How do we teach transcendence of the self? How do we teach someone to use

surprise, joy, humor as the natural part of praxis, of living? The idol is that the intellectual, cognitive

process of making meaning is confused with the noetic process of meaning discovery. So our challenge is

to retain wonder, mystery, awe, and spontaneous humor in the meaning discovery process.

Idea: The will to meaning is

universal Should our training be only for professionals?

The world needs logotherapy

Challenge: Frankl was willing to speak to all people about

meaning.

Is our goal to train professionals?

Or is our goal to help all people who seek meaning?

Idea: The will to meaning is universal. That’s an idea. Should our training be only for professionals? The

world needs logotherapy. Challenge: Frankl was willing to speak to everyone who sought meaning. Is our

goal to train professionals, or is our goal to help all people who seek meaning?

The immediate need

Identification of essential elements of logotherapy

Developing an ongoing process of accreditation (recognition, legitimation) of logotherapy programs

Communication, connection, and commitment of meaning-seekers across the planet

Sharing of techniques, breakthroughs, and challenges in the implementation of logotherapy in our respective fields

We have far greater power working together toward meaning, than separately

Expansion of logotherapy to professionals & lay people

E.g., web listings of trainees (referral network)

Requires training programs to be responsible

Development of lay training (e.g., crisis centers, hot lines)

The immediate need is the identification of essential elements of logotherapy. Essential comes from

essence which is a soul quality. We need to develop an ongoing process of accreditation (recognition,

legitimation) of logotherapy programs around the world. We need communication, connection, and

commitment of meaning-seekers across the planet. If I find out that my friend has a friend in another

country that wants to find a logotherapist, how do I help them? If I have a friend who needs a

logotherapist in a neighboring state, I don’t know how to help them.

We also need to share techniques and breakthroughs and challenges in the implementation of

logotherapy in our respective fields. We have far greater power working together than separately as we

have in the past. The time is now.

The immediate need is also for the expansion of logotherapy, both to professionals and lay people. So,

[for example,] web listings of [certified] trainees in a referral network. What this does is it throws

responsibility back on training institutes to be responsible for their graduates. That’s pretty difficult, and

it’s no small matter. I believe we also need to develop lay training. We need to make logotherapy

available to everyone.

14Let us consider how we might find agreement

on the following:

Importance of accreditation

Representation

Balancing freedom and responsibility

Priority of dynamic, living theory

Let us consider how we might find agreement on the following: the importance of accreditation.

Representation: Who will represent the institutes from around the world? Which institutes will be

represented? How will we find a planetary consensus? Because that is what we’re looking for. We have

to balance freedom and responsibility. The freedom of the individual groups to decide their training, and

the responsibilityof a central body to certify that those groups are able to do their job. We have to have

the priority of a dynamic, living theory.

The need for meaning has never been greater.

We have already responded. We are here.

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Just as the American Founding Fathers came

together to form a United States

out of 13 different colonies, each with its own ideas of rules and laws,

today we are called

to another experiment in freedom

this time for all humanity.

In the shadow of Frankl’s home we are called

to find a transcendent framework for connecting,

affirming and legitimating all Logotherapy Institutes.

Let me give you the last slide as a challenge: Just as the American Founding Fathers came together to

form a United States out of 13 different colonies, each with its own ideas of rules and laws, today we are

called to another experiment in freedom, the will to freedom, freedom with responsibility, this time for

all humanity. In the shadow of Frankl’s home, we are called to find a transcendent framework for

connecting, affirming, and legitimating all logotherapy institutes. The need for meaning has never been

greater. We have already responded. We are here.

Thank you.

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