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Something to Live For
A study conducted by Frankl in his Vienna clinic found that among both patients and personnel, around 80 percent believed that human beings needed a reason for living, and around 60 percent felt they had someone or something in their lives worth dying for.²

The search for meaning

The search for purpose became a personal, driving force that allowed Frankl to achieve his goals. The process of logotherapy can be summarized in these five steps:

1. 
   A person feels empty, frustrated, or anxious.
   
2. 
   The therapist shows him that what he is feeling is the desire to have a meaningful life.
   
3. 
   The patient discovers his life’s purpose (at that particular point in time). 4. Of his own free will, the patient decides to accept or reject that destiny.
   

5. This newfound passion for life helps him overcome obstacles and sorrows.
Frankl himself would live and die for his principles and ideals. His experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz showed him that “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”³ It was something he had to go through alone, without any help, and it inspired him for the rest of his life.

Ten Differences Between Psychoanalysis and Logotherapy Psychoanalysis L ogotherapy
The patient reclines on a couch, like a patient.	The patient sits facing the therapist, who guides him or her without passing judgment.
Is retrospective: It looks to the past.	L ooks toward the future.
Is introspective: It analyzes neuroses.	Does not delve into the patient’s neuroses.
The drive is toward pleasure.	The drive is toward purpose and meaning.
Centers on psychology.	Includes a spiritual dimension.
Works on psychogenic neuroses.	Also works on noogenic, or existential, neuroses.
Analyzes the unconscious origin of conflicts (instinctual dimension).	Deals with conflicts when and where they arise (spiritual dimension).
L imits itself to the patient’s instincts.	Also deals with spiritual realities.
Is fundamentally incompatible with faith.	Is compatible with faith.
Seeks to reconcile conflicts and satisfy impulses and instincts.	Seeks to help the patient find meaning in his life and satisfy his moral principles.