helping relationship simple

Viktor Frankl

Logotherapy

• Survived Nazi concentration camps.

• Believed the primary drive = search for meaning (not pleasure like Freud, not power like Adler).

• Suffering can be endured if it has meaning.

• NCE hook: Frankl = meaning.

Rollo May

Anxiety & Authenticity

• Introduced existential ideas into American psychology.

• Emphasized anxiety as normal (part of being human).

• Focused on courage to be and living authentically despite fear.

• NCE hook: May = anxiety & courage.

Irvin Yalom 

– The Four “Givens” of Existence

• Modern leader of existential psychotherapy.

• Identified death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness as central issues all humans face.

• Therapy: help clients face these realities and live more authentically.

• NCE hook: Yalom = death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness.

Quick Comparison (NCE style)

• Frankl → meaning

• May → anxiety & courage

• Yalom → four ultimate concerns

Adler

• Inferiority & Compensation

  • Everyone feels inferior sometimes; we try to compensate by improving ourselves.

  • Can lead to growth or inferiority complexes if overdone.

• Striving for Superiority

  • Core drive: becoming your best self, achieving personal goals.

• Social Interest

  • Mental health = helping others and connecting socially.

  • Selfishness = psychological problem.

• Lifestyle

  • Unique way each person approaches life & problems, formed in childhood.

• Birth Order (optional)

  • Can influence personality: oldest, middle, youngest, only child.

Aaron Beck – Key Concept

1. Cognitive Therapy / Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

   • Focuses on how thoughts affect feelings and behaviors.

2. Cognitive Distortions

   • Common thinking errors that cause problems:

     • All-or-nothing thinking

     • Overgeneralization

     • Catastrophizing

     • Personalization

3. Automatic Thoughts

   • Quick, often negative thoughts that pop into your mind without conscious control.

4. Goal of Therapy

   • Help clients identify, challenge, and change negative thoughts → healthier emotions & behaviors.