Existential analysis

In Frankl

Frankl introduced the term existential analysis (Ger. Existenzanalyse) in 1939 in the article “Philosophie und Psychotherapie”. He distinguished:

• logotherapy - the therapeutic practice, helping people discover meaning,
• existential analysis - the anthropological foundation of that practice, describing the human being as free and responsible.

In short: existential analysis helps people become aware that they are responsible - for their lives and for the answer they give to life's questions.

Alfried Längle's school

In the 1980s Alfried Längle, Frankl's student, co-founded the Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (GLE) in Vienna. Over time he developed his own method, placing more emphasis on emotions and the so-called four fundamental motivations. Frankl distanced himself from this direction, believing it departed from his understanding of meaning and of the human being. Today “existential analysis” can therefore mean both part of Frankl's thought and Längle's separate school.