The International Forum for Logotherapy, 22, 58-62.

Lantz, J. [Social Work, Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210-6940 USA]. (1995). Activities and stages in existential psychotherapy with older adults. Clinical Gerontologist, 16, 31-40.

--A structured, existential approach in working with older adults is presented through initial, middle, and ending stages. After joining, assessment, and agreement for treatment in the initial stage, the intent of the process during the middle stage is to help the client notice meaning-potentials in the future, actualize them in the present conditions, and honor these potentials. The ending stage is for evaluation regarding treatment outcomes.

Lantz, J. [College of Social Work, Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210-6940 USA]. (1995). Art in existential psychotherapy with couples and families. Contemporary Family Therapy, An International Journal, 17, 331-342.

--Art can be utilized to help couples or families uncover, discover, and make use of the meanings and meaning-potentials to be found in marital or family life. A wide variety of approaches to using art to facilitate dialogue is presented, including: using a favorite piece of art, making clay sculptures, the therapist drawing a picture, and the family members making collages of meaning, drawing family history, drawing the house of the future, and drawing the end of the rainbow.

Lantz, J. [College of Social Work, Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210-6940 USA]. (1995). Frankl's concept of time: Existential psychotherapy with couples and families. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 25, 135-144.

--This article reviews Frankl's ideas about time and how they are used to approach therapy. The future includes meaning-potentials that are available to the couple or family. The present is the time to actualize those meaning-potentials. The past includes these meaning-potentials which have already been actualized by the couple or family and which can be left in the past forever.

Leslie, R. (1995). Review of Existential Family Therapy: Using the Concepts of Viktor Frankl . Journal of Pastoral Care, 49, 116-117.

--Jim Lantz's book is commended to the readers of this journal for his emphasis that the family is the best place to find meaning. This review also includes an overview of the contributors to logotherapy, including Frankl, Lukas, and Yoder. Leslie especially affirms Lantz's challenge to therapists to take an active and involved role in their work.

Lewis, J. [Dallas, Texas]. (1995). Review of Existential Family Therapy Using the Concepts of Viktor Frankl. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 49, 461-462.

--Another review of Lantz's book, this one by Jerry M. Lewis, M.D., highlights the reviewer's disappointments and difficulties. In particular he suggests that Lantz did not present a clear explanation of the relationship between theory and technique.

Liiceanu, A. (1995). Review of Viktor Frankl: Life with Meaning. Journal Des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 3(1), 121-123.

--William Blair Gould's 1993 book is reviewed by this writer who affirms the efforts to help students access the spiritual dimension of the counseling process. Liiceanu recognizes Gould's attempt to introduce readers to Frankl's ideas regarding the complex relationship between client and therapist in psychotherapy and between teacher and student in education.

Mize, L. [Family Therapy Program, U. of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, Texas 77058-1098 USA]. (1995). Ritual experience and its emergence with story: An experience in meaning . Contemporary Family Therapy, 17, 109-125.

--Two research questions directed this study in the lives of 36 women. First, the women were interviewed to gather their stories of rituals from their family of origin. Second, the PIL was administered to assess the women's current perception of affiliation and meaning. The results indicated a central theme of a high sense of ritual from the family of origin affecting a high current affiliation experience.

Moody, P. [Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease, Linden-Bristol Medical Center, G-5067 Bristol Road, Flint, Michigan 48507 USA]. (1995). "Man's search to meaning," a nurturing counterbalance to situation despair. Journal Des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 3(1), 114-116.

--A physician in Michigan, who practices Internal Medicine with a subspecialty in lung disease and a particular interest in geriatrics, has given out multiple copies of Man's Search for Meaning over the years. He specifically shares a story of how the book touched the life of a woman in her mid-70's who struggled with crippling arthritis.

Opoczynska, M. [ul.Grazyny 1/3, PL-31-217 Krakau]. (1995). Becoming a person in schizophrenia. Journal Des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 3(1), 9-21.

--This article, the outcome of empirical research from the author's dissertation, is based upon Frankl's logotherapy and its supporting anthropology. The study pursues the question about the influence of a mental illness on the process of spiritual development of ill persons. The results support the position that a person suffering from schizophrenia is capable of spiritual growth.

Roberts, J. [Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster U., 1200 Main Street West, Room 3N47, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5], Browne, G., Streiner, D., Gafni, A., Pallister, R., Hoxby, H., Jamieson, E., & Meichenbaum, D. (1995). The effectiveness and efficiency of health promotion in specialty clinic care. Medical Care, 33, 892-905.

--Chronically ill, poorly adjusted outpatients attending clinics were randomly assigned to receive additional problem-solving counselling, phone call support, or neither. One of the ways that psychosocial adjustment was measured was through the PIL.

Silver, M. [145 Pinckney Street, #511, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 USA]. (1995). Memories and meaning: Life review in old age. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28 , 57-73.

--Life Review, developed by Butler in 1963, is reviewed along with available empirical literature. Butler emphasized the adaptive and therapeutic aspects of Life Review. He argued that reintegration of past experiences may lead to making sense of one's life as a whole with a successful outcome leading to resolution. Life Review is more likely to succeed in the context of interpersonal relationships.

Simms, G. [The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, P. O. Box 850, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033-0850 USA]. (1995). Realistic expectations. Journal Des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 3 (2), 46-52.

--Weaving together knowledge and values from his three degrees--M.D., Ph.D., and M.T.S.--Simms writes on behalf of the elderly and disabled facing death. He maintains that this population has four primary concerns in the face of the progress of hi-tech medicine: 1) the fear of being left alone to die in pain; 2) the fear of being abused by a medical system devoid of human warmth and caring; 3) the fear of not being able to bring closure to relationships; and 4) the fear of not finding a purpose and meaning in their suffering.

Strongman, K. (1995). Theories of anxiety. New England Journal of Psychology, 24(2), 4-10.

--Theories of anxiety are discussed to determine strengths and weaknesses and to affirm what they have in common. Theoretical categories include psychoanalytic, learning/behavioral, physiological, phenomenological/existential, cognitive, and those concerned with uncertainty.

Vitz, P. [Dept. of Psychology, New York U., 6 Washington Place, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10003 USA]. (1995). The relevance of Viktor Frankl to post-modern theory. Journal Des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 3(2), 73-84.

--After defining that post-modern thought "applies to those significant recent ideas whose fundamental characteristics are anti-modern in nature," the author argues that Franklian psychology is post-modern in several respects. The article includes challenges of modern thought as found in cognitive psychology, chaos theory, and critiques by Gergen, Cushman, and Landy.

Walsh, R. (1995). The problem of suffering: Existential and transpersonal perspectives. Humanistic Psychologist, 23, 345-357.

--This article compares and contrasts the philosophical foundations of existential and transpersonal schools of psychology, particularly as these approaches confront the problem of human suffering. Both authentic and inauthentic responses to suffering are identified and analyzed.

Weinstein, L. [Dept. of Psychology and Human Ecology, Cameron U., 2800 West Gore Blvd., Lawton, Oklahoma 73505 USA], Xie, X., & Cleanthous, C. (1995). Purpose in life, boredom, and volunteerism in a group of retirees. Psychological Reports, 76, 482.

--In a pilot study of 40 retirees, those who volunteered more than 10 hours per week scored significantly higher on the Purpose in Life test than those who volunteered 10 or less hours per week.

Wolf, Y., Katz, S., & Nachson, I. (1995). Meaning of life as perceived by drug-abusing people . International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 39, 121-37.

--Two groups (those who completed a 6-month withdrawal program based on logotherapy and those who dropped out at the beginning stage of the program) were compared using the Purpose in Life test and the Functional Measurement.

Yiu-kee, C. [Clinical Psychology Unit, Social Welfare Dept., 3rd Floor, San Po Kong Government Office Buildings, Kowloon, Hong Kong], & Tang, C. (1995). Existential correlates of burnout among mental health professionals in Hong Kong. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 17, 220-229.

--One hundred and thirty-two mental health counselors, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers living in Hong Kong were surveyed regarding existential aspects of burnout. The following instruments were used: Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Purpose in Life Test, and the Seeking of Noetic Goals Test.

The International Forum for Logotherapy, 1999, 22, 120-122.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO LOGOTHERAPISTS

Adams, N. [Bouverie Family Therapy Centre, 35 Poplar Road, Victoria 3052 Autsralia]. (1996). Positive outcomes in families following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 17, 75-84.

--The potential for beneficial, rather than detrimental, transformation following trauma is discussed. This article utilizes the concepts of Frankl and Jung as a theoretical framework for fostering the emergence of meaning and positive appraisal.

Beg, M., & Beg, S. [9/6, Tilak Raj Street, Chachhrauli 135 103, Yamunanagar (Haryana), India]. (1996). Logotherapy and the Vedantic view of life and mental well-being . Journal des Viktor-Frankl-Instituts, 1, 97-112.

--Commonalties between Logotherapy principles and the Indian system of thought known as the Vedanta are explored. Constructs such as freedom of will, will-to-meaning, self-transcendence, and love are compared and contrasted. Societal benefits of revitalizing the Vedanta by merging its paradigms with those of Logotherapy are discussed.

Berti, G., & Schneider-Berti, A. [San Lorenzo 1325, 5800 Rio Cuarto, Republica Argentina]. (1996). Mutual help and Logotherapy: From despair to logos. Journal des Viktor-Frankl-lnstituts, 2, 29-39.

--The authors discuss the concept of "mutual help" groups within a logotherapy framework. They propose that logotherapy is both an existential model and a spiritual phenomenon through which suffering can be transcended by helping others. The goal of all mutual help groups is finding meaning in suffering and thus, transcendence.

Coward, D. [University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, 1700 Red River, Austin, TX 78071 USA]. (1996). Self-transcendence and correlates in a healthy population. Nursing Research, 45, 116-121.

--Utilizing the PIL Test and the Self-Transcendence Scale (among others), the presence of self-transcendence in healthy adult, healthy elderly, and seriously ill populations is explored. Sense of personal coherence, self-esteem, hope, and emotional well-being are all found to be correlated with the concept of self-transcendence. This study is organized around a theoretical framework based upon the work of Frankl.

Coward, D., & Reed, P. (1996). Self-transcendence: A resource for healing at the end of life . Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 17, 275-288.

--Self-transcendence is examined as an integral component of inner healing during chronic or terminal illness. Four strategies for facilitating the self-transcendence of patients in healthcare environments are outlined. Evidence for self-transcendence as a healing resource is provided.

Debats, D. [University of Groningen, Department of Clinical Psychology, Academic Hospital, Postbus 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands]. (1996). Meaning in life: Clinical relevance and predictive power. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35, 503-516.

--In this study meaning in life correlates with subjective well-being, relates to psychotherapeutic improvement, and predicts psychotherapeutic outcome. In addition to supporting the clinical relevance of the meaning in life construct, the study also provides support for the construct validity of the Life Regard Index assessment instrument.

Guttman, D. [School of Social Work, The University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel]. (1996). Research in the service of logotherapy. Journal des Viktor-Frankl-lnstituts, 1, 15-36.

--The evolution and value of logotherapy research is outlined and related assessment instruments are identified and discussed. The author offers suggestions regarding the course of future study.

Guttman, D. (1996). The meaning of the moment and existential guilt. Journal des Viktor-Frankl-lnstituts, 2, 54-64.

--Discusses the interrelatedness of existential guilt and the absence of "meaning of the moment". Case studies are used to illustrate circumstances under which logotherapeutic interventions can assist clients in the development of feelings of authenticity and meaning.