Existential resources of personality in education: From logotherapy to guidance practice В

Abstract

Contemporary educational environment exposes students not only to academic requirements but also to profound questions of meaning, identity, and self-determination. Sociocultural change, digitalization, and growing uncertainty add weight to the pursuit of inner resources that ensure psychological resilience and personal development. Existential psychology, represented by Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and Alfried Längle’s existential analysis, provides both conceptual and practical foundations for understanding and supporting students in their studies. The idea of the ‘will to meaning’ and Längle’s concept of four fundamental motivations uncover a personality’s internal existential resources that individuals can tap into while learning, growing in their profession, and overcoming life difficulties. This paper discusses the potential application of the existential approach to the practice of psychological support for students: individual counseling, group work, and establishing conditions to encourage autonomy, responsibility, and search for personally meaningful purposes. Particular emphasis is on psychological safety and the prevention of crises through existential support. Personality’s existential resources can thus qualify as a key factor in personal growth and successful adaptation within education. Meanwhile, the integration of Frankl’s and Längle’s ideas into the university psychology practice unlocks new development prospects for the humanistic education model. Based on theoretical and empirical data, the following directions in the application of the existential approach in educational practice are distinguished: 1. Individual counseling. Logotherapeutic techniques (dereflexion, paradoxical intention) and methods of existential analysis facilitate students' deep experience of values, identification of meanings within the educational context, and overcoming of crisis states. 2. Group work. Seminars and trainings provide a space for reflection and group self-awareness, promoting the formation of professional self-consciousness, integration of life experience into the educational process, strengthening the sense of belonging, and creating a safe environment for self-realization. Psychological support in groups encourages openness, experimentation, and acceptance of mistakes, which are critical for developing personal potential. There are limitations: most studies have a cross-sectional design, complicating the identification of causal relationships; longitudinal and cross-cultural studies are needed. Moreover, psychological interventions based on logotherapy and existential analysis are insufficiently standardized, limiting their broader implementation and effectiveness evaluation. Recent research shows that the awareness of meanings, experiencing self-value, engagement in interpersonal relationships, and future orientation correlate with students’ academic engagement and resilience.