Transforming Trauma: Episode 169

On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth invites Alexander Vesely, award-winning documentary filmmaker, psychotherapist, and the grandson of Dr. Viktor Frankl, to share anecdotes about his grandfather and the evolution of Logotherapy. The pair recalls Viktor’s deportation to a Nazi concentration camp and his heartbreaking experiences there. The devastation eventually informed Viktor’s theory, known as Logotherapy, which posits that those who are oriented towards finding meaning even in the most dire circumstances are more likely to feel fulfilled. Alexander also discusses his film Viktor & I, an intimate portrait of his grandfather as revealed by those who worked with, studied under, and loved him. 

“So little is known about Logotherapy, and I’m here to, perhaps, change that,” begins Alexander. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better spokesperson. In addition to being Viktor’s grandson, Alexander serves as director of the Viktor Frankl Media Archives in Vienna and co-founder of the Viktor Frankl Institute of America. He’s also the director of the Online Academy for Logotherapy at the Elizabeth Lucas Archive. His work uniquely bridges the worlds of psychology and cinema, carrying forward his grandfather’s legacy of meaning-centered psychotherapy through both film and therapeutic practice. 

“The most I learned about logotherapy was when I was in school learning about all the other schools (of psychotherapy) and seeing what logotherapy was not,” says Alexander. Logotherapy is often considered part of the triumvirate of humanistic and existential theories, alongside Sigmund Freud’s belief that humans are driven by pleasure and Alfred Adler’s premise that humans are motivated by power. “He [Frankl] said there is something more to human existence, and he called that the noetic dimension, the intrinsically human core,” Alexander explains. Noetic from noētikos, the Greek word meaning news. “It also means spirit,” he adds, “but more in the sense of cognition, of that essential humanness that makes us different from, say, a plant or an animal.”

Viktor preferred to think of logotherapy as a refinement rather than an innovation. The idea of meaning had already existed in religion and art. “But not in psychotherapy,” Alexander acknowledges. His grandfather took the importance of meaning and applied it to his work. “It’s important to say because he wasn’t designing anything. He wasn’t saying that all the other schools are not correct or to dismiss them.” Viktor asserted that there is something motivating our actions beyond past traumas or even ego. “Turns out that knowing what you’re good for and what you’re trying to do in this world, not for yourself, but for the world, for others, for the sake of the meaningful task itself, the more you do that,” says Alexander, “the more you overlook yourself, not neglect, the more you overlook yourself in a healthy way by not always keeping one eye on how does this make me feel?”

Self-transcendence comes through meaning and freedom. As Viktor says, “Life is a chance to do something. Freedom is freedom to do something, not just freedom from something.” And psychotherapy exists grounded in the present. “Healing can only happen in the now.”

Alexander’s work as a documentarian and archivist is imbued with love for the man he knew simply as grandpa. “I knew that he was a well-known figure. I wasn’t really interested in why,” he admits. “I knew him for 23 years of my life and I started doing the documentary about my grandfather because people were telling me these very insightful or sometimes silly anecdotes. I thought, well, that’s a pity if these stories are lost.” 

Transforming Trauma is grateful to Alexander for facilitating our understanding of logotherapy and for nurturing the legacy of Victor Frankl.  

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Man’s Search for Meaning

GUEST BIO

Viktor Frankl Institute of America

Online Academy for Logotherapy at the Elisabeth Lukas Archive

Alexander Vesely, M.Sc., Dr. h.c., is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, licensed psychotherapist specializing in Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, and the grandson of Dr. Viktor Frankl, author of the classic Man’s Search for Meaning. Vesely serves as Director of the Viktor Frankl Media Archives in Vienna, Co-Founder of the Viktor Frankl Institute of America, and Director of the Online Academy for Logotherapy at the Elisabeth Lukas Archive. His work uniquely bridges the worlds of psychology and cinema, carrying forward his grandfather’s legacy through both film and therapeutic practice.

Vesely’s films—such as the acclaimed Viktor & I and Wizard of the Desert—explore the lives and philosophies of influential figures in psychology, earning international awards and recognition. Beyond the screen, he is a sought-after speaker on meaning-centered psychotherapy, teaching and lecturing worldwide. Vesely lives in Vienna with his wife and son, where he also maintains a private psychotherapy practice.