Techniques and coping mechanisms of logo therapy
The three main techniques
of logo therapy are:
1. Dereflection:
Dereflection is used when
a person is overly self-absorbed on an issue or attainment of a goal. By
redirecting the attention, or dereflecting the attention away from the self,
the person can become whole by thinking about others rather than themselves.
2. Paradoxical intention:
Paradoxical intention
involves asking for the thing we fear the most. For people who experience
anxiety or phobias, fear can paralyze them. But by using humor and ridicule,
they can wish for the thing they fear the most, thus removing the fear from
their intention and relieving the anxious symptoms associated with it.
3. Socratic dialogue:
Socratic dialogue is a
technique in which the logo therapist uses his own person's words as a method
of self-discovery. By listening intently to what the person says, the therapist
can point out specific patterns of words, or word solutions to the client, and
let the client see new meaning in them. This process allows a person to realize
that the answer lies within and is just waiting to be discovered.
Coping Mechanisms:
Frankl observed that
survival and self-preservation depended much more on mental emotional strength
than physical strength. Specifically, the survivors demonstrated at least 3
sets of key coping mechanisms:
• Rich inner lives.
No matter how unbearable
our external circumstances, humans have the ability to retreat into an inner
psychological space of peace and safety. Prisoners who had rich inner lives
coped much better than those who didn’t. This includes humor, appreciation for
art and beauty, religious/spiritual beliefs, imagination, and love.
• Goals for the future.
As a prisoner in a
concentration camp, you have no identity, no possessions, and no idea if/when
you’d ever be free. It’s like being stuck indefinitely in a “provisional
existence”. Many prisoners committed suicide since they felt they had nothing
to live for. Yet, those with life goals somehow found a way to persist.
• Perception of Choice.
Despite the suffering in
a concentration camp, prisoners still had choices. Prisoners constantly decided
if they’d push to survive another day or simply give up. They chose whether to
let the camp degrade them to an animal, or stay true to their human values and
sense of self. Their daily choices, including how they chose to interpret their
situation and respond to them, defined who they were as a person.
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