Hello, My question is regarding Viktor Frankl. I am to do a paper on his theory of 'will to meaning' and then do a critical evaluation of this part of his theory, however, I am having difficulty finding any information from other authors on his theory. Please help, with a link or some information!! Cathy

-- Cathy Watson (yourstodiscover@hotmail.com), November 25, 2002

Answers

I wrote the following footnote about Frankl in a 1996 book chapter on psychotherapy and religion:

Viktor E. Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and concentration-camp survivor, is well-known in Christian as well as transpersonal circles as the founder of logotherapy, which focuses on the search for meaning in human existence. The principles of logotherapy are found in Frankl 1946/1955, 1946/1959, 1948/1975, 1965. Man's Search for Meaning (1946/1959) has been published in 24 languages and named by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books in America, and more than 120 books and nearly 140 dissertations (in 15 languages) have been written about logotherapy (for early examples, see Bulka, 1979b; Leslie, 1965; Tweedie, 1963; Ungersma, 1961). Frankl's "paradoxical intention" (1946/1955) is also embedded in the current strategic therapy literature on "prescribing the symptom" (see Andolfi, 1979, pp. 124-127).

You should be able to find these books and dissertations if you search Dissertation Abstracts and WorldCat (in First Search). I'll add the few references for the sources I mention above:

Bulka, R. P. (1979b). The quest for ultimate meaning: Principles and applications of logotherapy. New York: Philosophical Library.

Leslie, R. C. (1965). Jesus and logotherapy: The ministry of Jesus as interpreted through the psychotherapy of Viktor Frankl. New York: Abingdon.

Tweedie, D. F., Jr. (1963). The Christian and the couch: An introduction to logotherapy. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.

Ungersma, A. J. (1961). The search for meaning: A new approach in psychotherapy and pastoral psychology. Philadelphia: Westminster.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), November 25, 2002.

PsycInfo conatins 275 articles, chapters, books, etc. that contain Frankl in the abstract, 80 with Frankl in the title. HEre are the first 25:

Doerries, L. E., & Ridley, D. R. (1998). Time sensitivity and purpose in life: Contrasting theoretical perspectives of Myers-Briggs and Victor Frankl. Psychological Reports, 83, 67-71.

Lantz, J. (1998). Viktor Frankl's existential unconscious in marital and family psychotherapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 9, 33-44.

Gerwood, J. B. (1998). The legacy of Viktor Frankl: An appreciation upon his death. Psychological Reports, 82, 673-674.

Garfield, C. A. (1973). A psychometric and clinical investigation of Frankl's concept of existential vacuum and of anomia. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 36, 396-408.

Marseille, J. (1997). The spiritual dimension in logotherapy: Victor Frankl's contribution to transpersonal psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 29, 1-12.

Crumbaugh, J. C. (1997). A contribution of Frankl's logotherapy to the interpretation of near-death experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 15, 155-161.

Lantz, J. (1987). The use of Frankl's concepts in family therapy. Journal of Independent Social Work, 2, 65-80.

Massey, R. F. (1987). Frankl in the context of personality theorists. International Forum for Logotherapy, 10, 67-84.

O'Connell, W. E. (1972). Frankl, Adler, and spirituality. Journal of Religion & Health, Vol. 11, 134-138.

Wilson, R. A. (1997). Finding meaning through Frankl's Socratic dialogue and Fromm's five needs of the human condition: A group process for school counseling. International Forum for Logotherapy, 20, 28-36.

Leslie, R. C. (1996). Karen Horney and Viktor Frankl: Optimists in spite of everything. International Forum for Logotherapy, 19, 23-28.

Crumbaugh, J. C. (1971). Frankl's logotherapy: A new orientation in counseling. Journal of Religion & Health, Vol. 10, 373-386.

Klosinski, G., & Clauss, M. (1996). Welche Bedeutung kommt der Logotherapie nach Viktor E. Frankl im kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Schrifttum zu? /The significance of logotherapy in child and adolescent psychiatry. Vierteljahresschrift fuer Heilpaedagogik und ihre Nachbargebiete, 65, 174-181.

Kuehn, R. (1986). Zum Gewissensverstaendnis bei Alfred Adler und Viktor E. Frankl. /On the understanding of conscience as seen by Alfred Adler and Viktor E. Frankl. Zeitschrift fuer Individualpsychologie, 11, 161-172.

Crumbaugh, J., Raphael, M., & Shrader, R. R. (1970). Frankl's will to meaning in a religious order. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26, 206-207.

Noonan, J. R. (1969). A note on an Eastern counterpart of Frankl's paradoxical intention. Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, Vol. 2, 147-149.

Kalmer, S. S. (1995). Viktor Frankl speaks of his life. International Forum for Logotherapy, 18, 37-44.

Lantz, J. (1995). Frankl's concept of time: Existential psychotherapy with couples and families. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 25, 135-144.

CRUMBAUGH, J. C. (1968). FRANKL'S LOGOTHERAPY: A NEW APPROACH IN PERSONAL COUNSELING. Journal of Graphoanalysis, , 5-7, 10.

CRUMBAUGH, J. C. (1968). CROSS-VALIDATION OF PURPOSE-IN-LIFE TEST BASED ON FRANKL'S CONCEPTS. Journal of Individual Psychology, 24, 74-81.

PETRAROJA, S. C. (1966). THE CONCEPT OF FREEDOM IN VICTOR FRANKL. Catholic Psychological Record, 4, 93-105.

MASLOW, A. H. (1966). COMMENTS ON DR. FRANKL'S PAPER. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 6, 107-112.

Leslie, R. C. (1985). Viktor Frankl's meaning for pastoral counseling. International Forum for Logotherapy, 8, 22-27.

Sahakian, W. S. (1985). Viktor Frankl's meaning for psychology. International Forum for Logotherapy, 8, 11-16.

Kovacs, G. (1985). Viktor E. Frankl's "place" in philosophy. International Forum for Logotherapy, 8, 17-21.

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), November 28, 2002.