Книга Жажда смысла. Практики логотерапии по Виктору Франклу - Галина Лифшиц

Imaginative creativity during usage of narrative techniques in logotherapy

Images of literature are sorts of milestones. While learning them every reader develops his personality, by trying situation on himself. Word is the universal tool that is capable of changing psychological functions. Word symbols and images are used in the logotherapy as an effective lever of opening the meaning of the certain situation, special features of person’s individual characteristics, actions. Inside the creations of literature there are reflections of special typical circumstances of life-long way of humans, their reactions in given conditions, their individual singularities that were created and formed under multiple unrepeatable situations.

Basing on these premises, author of the current research has created the program “School of the sense extraction”. It’s purposes are:

– Development of the imaginative capabilities;

– gaining the ability to extract the symbolic sense out of the read book;

– Development of the capability to “stand in heroes shoes” and then – change the situation;

– Embodiment in practice of the skills of imaginative method.

Images, that appear while reading fairy-tales, parables wake to living future images – and if that does not happen, then the text did not touch the reader. One of the main tasks of literature is stimulation of thinking, that, in turn, stimulates and gives birth to own fantasies. Just in that case literature images gain special sense, serving an example, support, feeding the person with special energy.

Fairy-tales, with their peculiar speech, gift reader his own internal imaginary. They help to develop abilities of imaginary, besides, they allow reader to be brought (unobtrusively and in bright minded way) to special conclusions, that are necessary during the therapy. One of the main tasks in this case is to guide the person from fairy-tales imagery and symbols to situations of the real life. That, in turn, helps to make certain decisions, choose ways needed, without discussing the problem directly. During the process of imagination fairy images get deep into the soul causing no resistance, vise versa – gifting opportunities for the further development of the given person and chance to gain the understanding of it’s personal way of life.

In presented research based on examples taken from my personal real practice there is: detail description of the imaginative method usage in narrative techniques; description of ways that help patient to apply dialogue to the person’s inner world; highlightened sequential steps during usage of the imaginative method during narrative techniques.

Term “imaginative techniques” includes following abilities of human being:

1. Imagination (“imagine yourself”)

– Imagination forms images of the final result and actions necessary for it’s achieving;

– Imagination gives opportunity of reprogramming activities and settings;

2. Ability to invent the given situation:

– This capability creates program of behavior in case of uncertainty and complication of the situation.

3. Fantasy (“make up”, “invent”)

– Fantasy creates images, that are appropriate to the person’s aspirations

– Fantasy is the special way of the inner activity, during which the image of desired future is being created

4. Dreams, day-dreaming:

– They comply with the passive way of imagination (unlike the first three points that are the active ways of imaginary). Dreams and day-dreaming create images that cannot be embodied. Dreams substitute the activity, they lead person off the necessity of action. They are not connected to the will that could embody the idea. But, it is necessary to mark the beneficial influence of the passive imaginary in cases when the physical freedom of the person is strictly limited. And here the example of Viktor Frankl shows up to be very bright when he, involved into senseless and exhausting labour had dreams of his wife’s love, feeling this love as power feeding him.

In process of logotherapy using the imaginative techniques it is possible to work over:

a) Imagining the person’s Itself, the way the patient accepts own image, and changing of this image. Purpose of analysis of the personal image is self-understanding, recognition of personal capacities and role in the inter-personal relationships.

b) Images of environment, of the world, that surrounds the person and ability to change these images.

Purpose of creating certain images of the environment is creation of the active life position, belief in ability to be heard to, understood and accepted by society, and in capability to make changes in own life and life of surrounding people. In perfect, the result of implementation of the imaginative techniques should assist into development of creativity and capabilities of person.

During the narrative techniques while analyzing fairy-tales, legends, parables the multi-step imaginary is applied. It is based on active fantasies and contriving. Steps of the multi-step imaginative are:

– perception of the image;

– following the image;

– change of the image;

– change of the plot;

– extraction of the sense.

This way of imaginative techniques is applied under the guidance of the logo-therapist. During the unveiling of the text sense it is possible to apply the technique of the naive questioning.