Logotherapy as an Intervention with the Aging Population
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Authors
Fox, Michael E.
Issue Date
1987
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The intent of this study is to explore the potential of an untraditional form of therapy and the opportunity it may offer to improve the quality of life of the elderly. The exploration of the unique problems facing the aging population demonstrates the urgent need for an innovative, sensitive approach. The compacted life transitions (such as loss of a primary relationship, job/income, self-esteem, family home, or adjustment to a convalescent home) have the potential to overwhelm the elderly individual. Depression is a major problem. As the aging process takes its toll on the body, the experience of that process is directly connected to the reality that the dying has begun. This can have great psychological implications. The individuals' attitude is the key to their ability to process their aging transitions. These attitudes have been developing over a lifetime. Without the support of family, friends, and coworkers, life can feel empty and without meaning. The result is often detachment and isolation. The findings of questionnaires to logotherapists and gerontologists demonstrated that a spiritually-based approach to therapy has the potential to be significant in improving the quality of life for the elderly. This conclusion is based on responses from logotherapists who have worked with the elderly and, to a lesser degree, from the gerontologists who felt there were limitations to the use of logotherapy with the elderly. The opinion of the gerontologists may be skewed because they have not had practical experience using logotherapy. While I did provide a background of logotherapy and operational definitions with the mailed questionnaires, I did not include a case history. Logotherapy is based on the premise that it is meaning, rather than Freud's theory of pleasure or Adler's theory of power, that motivates the human. Logotherapy is spiritually, rather than psychically oriented. My research and my experience lead me to believe that there is resistance from more traditional therapists to accept therapy in a theoretically alien form.