A Psychobiography of Viktor E. Frankl: Using Adversity for Life Transformation

This book is a psychobiography on the life of Viktor Frankl and a unique exploration of his life from a positive psychology perspective. It uses Paul Wong’s theory of positive psychology wave 2 (PP2.0) and explores the concepts of meaning and virtue throughout Frankl's life span. The authors define virtue in terms of appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humour and spirituality, and define meaning based on Paul Wong’s PURE model. They apply Irving Alexander’s primary indicators of psychological salience and W.T. Schultz’s prototypical scenes to analyse Frankl's important life events. This psychobiography presents an original contribution to theory on three levels: advancing the literature in psychobiography, developing the field of PP2.0, and providing new insights into Frankl’s life. It is a must for psychographers, positive psychologists and people interested in Frankl’s life and theoretical contributions.

About the Author

Nataliya Krasovska (M.A) studied cultural sciences in the European University Viadrina. During her studies, she researched the interplay between language acquisition and motivation, the use of language in coaching and therapy and the issues of psychological resilience and well-being. Her scientific papers are dedicated to the coping skills and creativity, use of dance as a therapeutic mechanism as well as linguistic features of motivational texts.  Her sphere of interests also includes such topics as emotional intelligence, mindfulness, non-violent communication and neurolinguistic programming. Today, Nataliya Krasovska works as a teacher of Russian language and a language consultant in the European University Viadrina.

Mayer, Claude-Hélène, (Dr. habil., PhD, PhD) is a Professor in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at the University of Johannesburg, an Adjunct Professor at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany and a Senior Research Associate at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology (University of Pretoria, South Africa), a Ph.D. in Management (Rhodes University, South Africa), a Doctorate (Georg-August University, Germany) in Political Sciences (socio-cultural anthropology and intercultural didactics), and a Habilitation (European University Viadrina, Germany) in Psychology with focus on work, organizational, and cultural psychology. Her research areas are: transcultural mental health and well-being (salutogenesis/sense of coherence), shame, transcultural conflict management and mediation, women in leadership, The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and psychobiography.