Specialist Master's Study in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy - Logotherapeutic and Existential Approach (M.L.E.P.-CAM) (Child and Adolescent Existential Psychotherapy)
HOW THE STUDY IS DONE
Studies at the Academy for Psychotherapy Logotherapy are designed as a modern, academically demanding and at the same time flexible model of specialist psychotherapeutic education, which combines individualized study work, a lively academic community, practical training, supervision and the personal development of the therapist.
The program is based on the belief that a psychotherapist cannot be formed simply by passively listening to lectures, but rather through an active process of independent study, reflection, professional dialogue, practical work, personal transformation and gradual professional maturation.
Therefore, the study is organized according to a modern model of continuous entry and individualized progression, which allows the student to join the program throughout the year and begin their study path at the time that is most suitable for them.
Individualized theoretical study
The basic theoretical content of the program is organized into structured study modules, which include:
• professionally prepared video lectures,
• mandatory and additional professional literature,
• study presentations and supporting materials,
• reflective and applied study tasks,
• continuous essay work.
The student processes the theoretical content individually, at his own pace, within a clear academic structure and in accordance with certain study standards.
Such an organization allows for a high level of flexibility, without reducing the academic complexity of the study. On the contrary, it requires greater independence, discipline, personal responsibility and active professional engagement from the student.
Academic Integration Seminars
A key part of the study is represented by the mandatory Academic Integration Seminars, which take place live via the online environment throughout the entire academic year.
These seminars are not classic lectures, but interactive academic spaces for professional dialogue, conceptual integration, reflection and development of clinical thinking.
Their purpose is:
• connecting theoretical knowledge with psychotherapeutic practice,
• deepening the understanding of study content,
• developing clinical and therapeutic thinking,
• addressing professional, clinical and ethical issues,
• shaping a psychotherapeutic professional identity.
Academic integration seminars take place four times a month at predetermined fixed times, which allows students to clearly organize their study and professional obligations.
Each student must actively participate in at least two seminars per month.
Active participation means that the student comes to the seminar prepared, having previously independently processed video lectures, literature and study materials.
The seminars are based on a modern model of active and reflective learning. Within the seminar, the student actively participates in professional dialogue, presents his/her understanding of the literature discussed, raises questions, discusses conceptual dilemmas, and connects theory with practical psychotherapeutic situations.
Such a model ensures that the study remains alive, relational, academically demanding, and developmentally oriented.
Essay and reflective work
An important part of the study process is continuous written reflective and academic work.
In individual subjects, the student prepares structured professional essays with which he/she:
• deepens his/her understanding of literature,
• develops the ability to think critically,
• connects theory with practice,
• develops professional argumentation,
• forms his/her own therapeutic professional voice.
Essay work represents an important part of the assessment of academic maturity and professional integration of knowledge.
Practical exercises and development of therapeutic competencies
Psychotherapeutic competencies are not developed solely through theory, but primarily through experience, relationships and practical work.
Therefore, the program includes regular practical exercises, which take place 2–3 times a month live via the online environment in the first six semesters of study.
Exercises include:
• simulations of therapeutic processes,
• conducting therapeutic dialogues,
• working in pairs and small groups,
• development of therapeutic presence,
• practical use of logotherapeutic and existential approaches,
• development of clinical sensitivity,
• ethical reflection on therapeutic work.
A distinctive feature of the program is a vertically connected learning environment in which students of different developmental levels work together.
This allows beginning students to directly observe the professional development of more advanced colleagues, while more advanced students further strengthen their own competencies through active participation.
Such a model encourages the organic development of psychotherapeutic identity and realistically reflects the nature of professional psychotherapeutic education.
Supervision and Clinical Practice
After completing the initial phase of intensive practical training, the student enters a more demanding phase of professional development, which includes supervised clinical practice.
From the higher semesters onwards, the study includes:
• individual supervision,
• group supervision,
• analysis of therapeutic cases,
• ethical reflection,
• development of therapeutic responsibility,
• integration of theoretical knowledge into real clinical work.
Supervision represents one of the key pillars of the professional development of a psychotherapist.
A special value of the program is that students of different developmental stages also meet in the supervision process, which enables learning through observation, dialogue and the gradual assumption of greater professional responsibility.
Guided autobiographical process
Since psychotherapeutic work also requires the personal maturity of the therapist, the program includes a structured guided autobiographical process.
This part of the study supports:
• self-reflection,
• understanding one's own life story,
• recognition of personal vulnerabilities and sources of strength,
• development of therapeutic authenticity,
• personal integration of the therapist.
Psychotherapeutic work is not based solely on professional knowledge, but also on the personal integrity and maturity of the therapist.
Medical and interdisciplinary modules
The program also includes specialized medical and interdisciplinary modules that enable the development of functional understanding of:
• psychiatry,
• psychopathology,
• psychopharmacology,
• medical diagnoses,
• interdisciplinary professional cooperation.
These modules enable the student to develop responsible and professionally competent cooperation with medical and other professional systems.
Master's thesis
The final part of the study is a master's thesis or an applied master's project. With the support of a mentor, the student develops independent professional or research work that connects theoretical knowledge, clinical practice, reflection, and professional identity.
More than a study
The program is not designed solely as an academic transfer of knowledge, but as a comprehensive formation of a psychotherapist.
It combines:
• academic rigor,
• individualized flexibility,
• active professional community,
• practical training,
• supervision,
• personal development,
• research reflection,
• professional formation of a therapist..
The goal of the study is not only to obtain an academic title, but to form a professionally mature, ethically responsible and personally integrated psychotherapist who is able to competently accompany a person in their suffering, search for meaning and personal transformation.
Flexible entry and individualized study pace
A special feature of the study model of the Academy for Psychotherapy Logotherapy is the possibility of continuous enrollment throughout the year, which means that a candidate can join the study at any time of the year and begin their study path when it is most suitable for them personally and professionally.
The study is designed so that the student is not tied to the classic model of a fixed start of the academic year or a rigid semester rhythm, but can, with a clear academic structure, progress at his own pace, in accordance with his life rhythm, work obligations and professional development.
Such a design enables a modern way of studying, adapted to adult professionals, in which flexibility does not mean less demanding, but greater personal responsibility, independence and active involvement in the study process.
Regardless of the individual start of the study, each student enters a living academic community, where through integration seminars, practical exercises, supervision, personal development and professional dialogue he remains connected to the study environment and the continuous process of professional maturation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY
The specialist master's study in child and adolescent psychotherapy (M.L.E.P.-CAM) is a highly specialized, practice- and personal development-oriented postgraduate program designed to train psychotherapists to work with children, adolescents and their families based on Viktor E. Frankl's logotherapy and the existential analytical tradition.
The program is based on the understanding that children and adolescents are not merely developing beings or carriers of symptoms, but rather persons in the making who experience questions of meaning, belonging, value, guilt, suffering and responsibility early in life. Psychotherapeutic work with the younger population requires a specially designed therapeutic stance that connects developmental psychology, family dynamics, clinical sensitivity and an existential orientation to meaning.
The study is intended for professionals in the fields of psychotherapy, psychology, pedagogy, special pedagogy, social work, health, education and other helping professions who work or are preparing to work with children, adolescents and families in clinical, counseling, school, health and institutional settings.
The curriculum connects logotherapeutic anthropology, developmental and clinical psychology, work with families and parents, therapeutic play, symbolic and narrative language and existential ethical reflection of the therapist. The program is designed as a comprehensive formation of a psychotherapist, which includes personal development, clinical practice, supervision, research work and awareness of one's own role as an adult in the child's world.
In this program, psychotherapy of children and adolescents is not understood as correcting behavior or normalizing functioning, but as monitoring a developing person who learns responsibility, freedom, attitude towards suffering and discovery of meaning in a relationship - always in the context of the family, school and social system.
Purpose of the study
The program has a clear dual mission:
• pursues the fulfillment of the conditions for obtaining a license for a psychotherapist in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Slovenia on psychotherapy (theoretical education, personal experience, clinical practice, supervision);
• on the other hand, it enables the acquisition of the academic title of Master in the field of counseling, which is awarded in cooperation with a partner faculty, whose P.R.I.M.E. partner is the Academy of Psychotherapy and Logotherapy, in accordance with its academic and evaluation standards.
The study goes beyond reductionist and purely diagnostic approaches to the child and develops a therapist who can act as a guardian of the child's dignity, developmental vulnerability and existential potential.
Duration of study and structure
The program is designed as an extended specialist master's study and lasts ten semesters (five years).
The study includes:
• 18 basic theoretical and integrative subjects,
• applied logotherapy modules for working with children and adolescents,
• developmental clinical modules of child and adolescent psychopathology,
• year of intensive clinical supervision,
• medical and pedo-psychiatric modules,
• work with family and parents,
• guided autobiographical process of the therapist,
• master's thesis or applied master's project.
The total workload of the program significantly exceeds the standards of classical master's studies and corresponds to the demanding specialist formation of a psychotherapist for working with the younger population.
Admission requirements
Candidates who meet the following requirements may enroll in the program:
• completed undergraduate studies or equivalent education,
• appropriate prior education or experience in a related field (psychology, pedagogy, special pedagogy, social work, health, counseling, etc.),
• demonstrated personal suitability for psychotherapeutic work with children and adolescents,
• successfully completed the Academy's admission procedure (application, documentation, interview),
• candidates who may not meet all the requirements for enrollment or are not entirely sure of their eligibility can contact the Student Affairs Office, where the possibility of enrollment under special conditions can be checked as part of the pre-application process.
Program Requirements
To successfully complete the study, students must:
• successfully complete all 18 units of study in accordance with the curriculum of the APL Academy and the partner faculty,
• complete the course Research Methodology,
• complete at least 700 hours of supervised clinical practice,
• regularly participate in individual and group supervision,
• complete a guided autobiographical process,
• successfully defend a master's thesis or master's project,
• fulfill all academic and financial obligations.
Research Methodology
Research Methodology is a mandatory core course that introduces:
• scientific paradigms in psychotherapy,
• qualitative and quantitative research methods,
• case studies and phenomenological approaches,
• ethical aspects of research and clinical work.
The course provides a methodological basis for master's thesis and applied projects.
Transfer Credit
Students may apply for recognition of previously completed academic and professional content. Each application is assessed individually and may affect the reduction of total study obligations.
Mentoring and Supervision
Each student is assigned an academic mentor and clinical supervisor who monitor their professional and personal development. The role of the mentor is primarily guiding and formative, with the aim of promoting independent, reflective and ethically responsible therapeutic work
Clinical practice and supervision
From the middle of their studies onwards, students enter supervised clinical practice, which may include:
• individual psychotherapy of children and adolescents,
• work with anxiety, depression, behavioral and emotional distress,
• monitoring of trauma, loss, separation, illness and existential crises,
• therapeutic work with family and parents,
• cooperation with schools, kindergartens, health and social services.
Supervision develops the ability to ethical, developmentally sensitive and existentially based therapeutic work.
Medical modules in psychotherapy
Medical modules enable:
• understanding the basics of pedo-psychiatric diagnoses and treatments,
• recognizing the limits of one's own competence,
• collaborating with doctors, schools and other institutions,
• providing appropriate existential psychotherapeutic support to children and families.
Master's thesis / applied master's project
The final part of the study is a master's thesis or applied master's project, which can be:
• scientific research work,
• applied clinical project (program, manual, therapeutic model, intervention protocol),
• integrative case study from child and adolescent psychotherapy.
Requirements:
• volume of approximately 45,000–60,000 words or a project form that is equivalent in content,
• clear theoretical and clinical placement in logotherapy and existential psychotherapy,
• original professional contribution to the field of child and adolescent psychotherapy.
After approval by the mentor, the student submits the work for final institutional review and archiving.
List of courses:
CAM 1: Fundamentals of logotherapy and existential therapy in children and adolescents
CAM 2: Identity development, attachment and existential crises of adolescence
CAM 3: Developmental diagnostics and psychopathology of children and adolescents
CAM 4: Therapeutic relationship with children and adolescents
CAM 5: Existential understanding of distress in children and adolescents
CAM 6: Meaning, motivation and resilience in development
CAM 7: Ethics and responsibility of a psychotherapist in working with minors
CAM 8: Body, development and psychosomatics in children and adolescents
CAM 9: Advanced methods of existential psychotherapy of children and adolescents
CAM 10: Narrative and symbolic analysis of children's and adolescent stories
CAM 11: Family and systems in an existential perspective
CAM 12: Personal existential transformation in the developmental and therapeutic process
LO 2: Haddon Klingberg Jr. – When Life Calls Us
LO 6: Viktor E. Frankl – On the Theory and Therapy of Mental Disorders
LO 7: Psychiatry
LO 9: Methodology of Scientific Work and Research in Psychotherapy / Logotherapy
LO 10: Classical Psychotherapeutic Schools – Comparative Analysis
LO 11: Supervision
Object descriptions:
CAM1:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course introduces students to the fundamental philosophical, anthropological and therapeutic foundations of logotherapy and existential therapy, specifically adapted to work with children and adolescents. It is based on Frankl's understanding of man as a being of meaning, freedom and responsibility and developmentalally transfers this anthropological starting point to the period of childhood and adolescence, where freedom, conscience and responsibility are still in the process of formation. Special emphasis is placed on the logotherapeutic anthropology of children and adolescents, which does not understand them simply as immature or incomplete adults, but as persons with their own existential reality, meaningful sensitivity and inner moral core. The course explores how the will to meaning, sense of value, conscience and attitude towards responsibility are formed in the developmental context of the family, school and wider social environment. The student learns to understand children's and adolescents' distress not only as behavioral or emotional problems, but as developmental existential responses to issues of belonging, acceptance, guilt, justice, and meaning. The course gradually develops the ability for developmentally sensitive existential dialogue that respects the child's level of symbolic thinking, emotional regulation, and relational dependence on adults. The therapist is understood in this context as the guardian of the child's humanity and dignity, who does not act as a behavior corrector or judge in the world of education, school, and family, but as a responsible adult presence who helps the child and adolescent maintain contact with meaning, inner freedom, and the possibility of personal development. The course introduces the basic terminology and conceptual framework of logotherapy in a developmental context and familiarizes the student with basic logotherapeutic guidelines adapted to work with adolescent clients.
CAM2:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course addresses the development of identity from childhood to adolescence through a connected developmental, relational, and existential perspective. It is based on Erikson's model of psychosocial development and contemporary attachment theories and places them within a logotherapeutic framework that understands identity as a process of becoming in relation to meaning, values and responsibility. The focus is on the understanding that the identity of a child and adolescent is not created solely as a result of cognitive or social maturation, but is formed in attachment relationships, in experiences of acceptance or rejection, and in confronting issues of belonging, value, guilt and meaning in life. The subject specifically explores the boundary between developmental conflicts that are an integral part of growing up, and existential crises, where a child or adolescent begins to question their own worth, the meaning of life and their place in the world. Special emphasis is placed on the period of adolescence, when identity issues become more acute and existential themes are often expressed through rebellion, withdrawal, excessive adaptation, emotional distress or behavioural problems. The student learns to distinguish between normal developmental crises and deeper existential distress and develops sensitivity to therapeutic dialogue that helps the adolescent maintain continuity of identity and a sense of meaning. The course develops a therapeutic stance that does not view identity crises as a pathology or disorder, but as potential turning points in development, where the adult's relationship becomes a key factor in shaping the inner stability, responsibility and authenticity of the young person.
CAM3:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course trains students for developmentally sensitive and ethically responsible diagnostic assessment when working with children and adolescents. The focus is on distinguishing between normal developmental responses, traumatic experiences and actual psychopathology, while maintaining an existential understanding of the child as a person in the making, not as a carrier of a diagnosis. The course places the classic diagnostic systems of the ICD 10/11 and DSM 5 TR in dialogue with a logotherapeutic and noetic perspective that emphasizes the distinction between psychogenic, developmentally conditioned and noogenic (existential) suffering. The student learns to recognize when a symptom expresses a disease process and when it represents a developmental or existential response to a loss of security, meaning, relationship or value. Special emphasis is placed on protecting the child from reduction to diagnosis, labeling and premature pathologizing of developmental distress. The course develops an understanding of diagnostics as a dynamic, relational and responsible process that must always take into account the developmental phase, life context, family relationships and existential position of the child or adolescent. The student gradually forms an ethical diagnosis in a developmental context, in which the diagnosis is not a goal, but a tool of understanding and a bridge to appropriate therapeutic help. In this process, the therapist is understood as the guardian of the child's dignity, meaning and developmental potential, not as a technical assessor of symptoms.
CAM4:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course examines in depth the therapeutic relationship as a fundamental and primary therapeutic field in working with children and adolescents. It is based on the understanding that change in minor clients does not occur primarily through technique or interpretation, but rather through a relationship of safety, trust and stable presence of an adult, which enables the development, regulation and existential orientation of the child or adolescent.
The course develops an understanding of the therapeutic relationship as a developmental and existential space in which the child or adolescent can experience themselves for the first time as a heard, respected and worthy person. In this context, the elements of safety, clear boundaries, structure, play, symbolic language and reliability of the relationship play a key role. The therapeutic relationship becomes a corrective experience where previous relationship experiences have been interrupted, unpredictable or burdensome. Special emphasis is placed on understanding transference and countertransference in working with children and adolescents, where internal relationships are often expressed indirectly – through play, body, behaviour or silence. The student learns to recognize their own emotional responses, impulses to rescue, protect or withdraw, and to use them reflectively as clinical material, not as a guide for impulsive action. The therapist is understood in this context as a stable adult presence who does not replace parents, does not compete with the system or take on the role of authority, but rather, with awareness of the power of the relationship, creates a space in which the child or adolescent gradually builds inner security, self-confidence and the ability to relate to others.
CAM5:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course deepens the understanding of the emotional and behavioral distress of children and adolescents through an existential logotherapeutic perspective. It is based on the fundamental belief of logotherapy that many forms of suffering are not simply a sign of psychopathology, but a call for meaning, relationship and recognition of human value. In children and adolescents, this call is often not expressed in words, but in behavior, physical symptoms, withdrawal or excessive activity. The course deals with phenomena such as anxiety, depression, anger, aggression, withdrawal, risk-taking and self-harming behaviours, and understands them as developmental and existential expressions of internal distress that arise in a specific relational, developmental and life context. The student learns to distinguish between clinical pathology and those responses that indicate a loss of meaning, a sense of belonging or value – i.e. noogenic elements in developmental distress. Special emphasis is placed on working without pathologising growing up. The course develops a therapeutic stance that resists rapid diagnosis and labelling and instead tries to understand what the child or adolescent is communicating with their symptom. In this context, the therapist does not eliminate suffering, but helps to create a space where suffering can be transformed into dialogue, orientation and the possibility of development. The student develops the ability to listen existentially to distress – not as a problem, but as a relationship to the world that has become too difficult, meaningless or dangerous at a certain moment. The therapist is understood as a companion who helps the child or adolescent to regain their inner orientation without depriving them of their developmental struggle.
CAM6:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course examines meaning as a fundamental driving force in the development, motivation and psychological resilience of children and adolescents. It is based on Frankl's understanding of the will to meaning as a central human motivation and developmentalally transfers this perspective to the period of adolescence, where internal reasons for action are only formed in relationships, challenges and the boundaries of the real world.
The course explores how the will to meaning is formed in childhood and adolescence, how it differs from external motivations (rewards, punishments, expectations) and how the loss or ambiguity of meaning leads to frustration, rebellion, apathy or excessive adaptation. The student learns to understand motivational crises not as a lack of discipline or an educational error, but as a signal of existential disorientation, where the child or adolescent no longer knows why they should do or be something. Special emphasis is placed on the concept of resilience as an existential attitude, not as an innate trait or technical skill for managing stress. Resilience is presented as the ability of a child or adolescent to maintain an attitude towards values, the future and self-worth despite frustration, limitations and disappointment. The subject connects the educational and therapeutic aspects of resilience, emphasizing the key role of the adult in creating a safe framework, meaning and moral orientation. The therapist is understood in this context as a companion in the development of internal motivation, who does not produce meaning instead of the child or adolescent, but creates conditions in which the young person can gradually develop their own attitude towards meaning, responsibility and perseverance.
CAM7:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course addresses the ethical dilemmas, professional responsibility and existential stance of a psychotherapist working with children and adolescents in a complex relational and institutional environment. Working with minors inherently involves issues of power, protection, loyalty and responsibility of an adult, which requires a special level of ethical reflection and inner maturity of the therapist. At the heart of the course is the concept of tripartite loyalty – simultaneous responsibility to the child or adolescent, their parents or guardians and the wider system (school, social services, healthcare, courts). The student learns to understand that the therapist's primary loyalty always belongs to the well-being and dignity of the child, while at the same time he or she must act in dialogue and clear boundaries with legal representatives and institutions. Special emphasis is placed on the issues of informed consent, protection of trust, provision of information and professional boundaries, which are significantly different when working with minors than when working with adults. The course develops the understanding of the therapist as a person who is aware of their own power and influence and is able to use this power responsibly, limitedly and in the service of protecting the vulnerable other. The therapist is understood in this context as an ethical guardian – not as a judge, rescuer or messenger of the system, but as a reflective adult who knows how to establish and maintain boundaries, protect the integrity of the therapeutic relationship and be aware of the consequences of their decisions for the child's development, identity and sense of security.
CAM8:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course considers the body as an existential language of development in children and adolescents and deepens the understanding of psychosomatic phenomena as meaningful responses to developmental, relational and existential dilemmas. It is based on the logotherapeutic anthropology of man as the unity of the physical, mental and noetic and understands the body not as a mechanism or object of control, but as an existential speaker of the child's inner experience. The focus is on understanding phenomena such as psychosomatic pain, fatigue, tics, functional disorders, eating disorders, physical inhibition or overload, which often appear in development when a child or adolescent does not yet have a symbolic or linguistic space to express inner distress. During this period, the body often “speaks” instead of words and takes on the role of a bearer of meaning, conflict or call for protection. Special emphasis is placed on working without instrumentalizing the body. The subject develops a therapeutic stance that resists reductive explanations of physical symptoms (“everything is psychological” or “everything is physical”) and instead creates space for dialogue between the body, emotions and the child’s existential position. The therapist learns to recognize when the body expresses a traumatic response, developmental tension or noogenic distress, and how to work with a physical symptom respectfully, safely and ethically. The course particularly emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation with medicine and school, as working with physical symptoms in children and adolescents requires a clear demarcation of competences and at the same time the ability to dialogue between the health, educational and psychotherapeutic fields. In this context, the therapist is understood as a bridge between the physical and the meaningful, helping the child integrate the physical experience into a broader developmental and life whole.
CAM9:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course delves into advanced existential logotherapeutic methods of working with children and adolescents in crisis, borderline and particularly vulnerable life situations. It is intended for work where routine procedures and standard developmental clinical explanations fail, and the therapist is called to a high level of internal stability, reflectivity and ethical maturity.
The focus is on work in crises such as self-harm, loss, violence, severe existential distress, sudden breaks in life orientation or the collapse of internal security, where the child or adolescent often has no words for their experience. The course develops the understanding that in such moments, therapeutic work takes place primarily through relationship, symbol, play, metaphor and narrative, not through explanation or interpretation.
Special emphasis is placed on short existential interventions, which do not mean quick solutions, but rather a precise, present and responsible response to a moment in which the meaning, value or sense of existence of a young person is threatened. The student learns how to create a minimal but decisive space of safety, orientation and human closeness - without drama and without trivializing distress.
The course also consciously emphasizes the therapist's inner stability as a key tool for progressive work. The therapist is not just a user of methods, but a person who, with his presence, attitude and ability, withstands uncertainty and creates conditions in which the possibility of meaning, words or relationships can reappear in a child or adolescent.
CAM10:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course deals with the child and adolescent as the bearer of a story and a symbolic world through which identity, experience, conflicts and understanding of meaning are expressed. It stems from the existential and logotherapeutic understanding of man as a being of meaning who builds and renews his relationship to the world through narrative, symbol, metaphor and play.
In the developmental period of childhood and adolescence, inner experiences are often not expressed in a linear or conceptual form, but rather through drawing, play, body language, imagination, dreams, adolescent myths and personal narratives. The course develops the therapist's ability to recognize these expressions as meaningful bearers of existential content, not as mere projections or diagnostic signs.
Special emphasis is placed on narrative identity, which is constantly being formed, disintegrated and reassembled during the period of growing up. The student learns to recognize when a child's or adolescent's story becomes rigid, interrupted, or captive (e.g., stories of unworthiness, guilt, hopelessness) and how the therapeutic relationship can become a space for the re-authorship of development and identity.
The course connects the logotherapeutic orientation to meaning, the narrative approach, and the symbolic understanding of children's expression. In this context, the therapist is understood as an attentive listener and interlocutor of the story, who does not impose meanings, but rather helps the young person to gradually find their own word, symbol, and direction in their own life narrative.
CAM11:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course introduces an existential systemic understanding of the child and adolescent as beings in relationships who always grow and develop within a specific family, institutional, and cultural system. It is based on the logotherapeutic anthropology of man as a free and responsible being, who always exercises his freedom and responsibility in relation to others - especially in the primary system of the family.
The focus is on understanding that a child's or adolescent's distress never arises in a vacuum, but rather in the field of relationships, loyalties, expectations, and often unspoken rules that shape their inner world. The course addresses concepts such as family loyalties, silent contracts, transferred guilt, and taking responsibility for the emotional balance of the system, and places them within the existential framework of freedom, responsibility, and meaning.
Special emphasis is placed on a clear demarcation: the course is not family therapy in the methodological sense, but rather develops the existential systemic reflection of a therapist who works individually with a child or adolescent, but is able to understand and include the systemic context without pathologizing the family or forming an alliance with one side.
The student learns how to remain loyal to the child while respecting the system; how to understand symptoms as ways of surviving within relational expectations; and how the therapeutic relationship becomes a space where the child or adolescent can, for the first time, distinguish between what they carry for themselves and what they carry for others. The therapist is understood in this context as an external, reflective and ethically stable point, who does not
interfere with the system with techniques, but rather enables greater clarity, responsibility and humanity with his or her attitude.
CAM12:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course represents the final and integrative pillar of the entire specialization, in which the development of the child, the therapeutic process and the personal existential path of the therapist meet. It focuses on key transitions in growing up – separation, loss, illness, maturation, changes in identity – and understands them as existential turning points that are not just crisis events, but the potential beginning of deeper personal growth and meaning.
The course connects the developmental psychological and existential understanding of transformation, emphasizing that in the process of growing up, children and adolescents do not just undergo changes, but in each transition they redefine themselves in relation to the world, others and themselves. The student learns to recognize moments when a developmental turning point becomes an existential question – a question of belonging, values, responsibility and the future.
Special emphasis is placed on the therapist's own transformation, which inevitably takes place while monitoring the development of another. The course encourages reflection on how the therapist's dealing with loss, helplessness, limitations and his own shadows affects his work. The therapist is not understood as a neutral observer, but as a person who matures in his human and professional attitude through the relationship with a child or adolescent.
The fundamental question at the forefront is: how does a therapist remain human while monitoring the growth of another - without cynicism, without burnout and without instrumentalizing the process. The course enables the synthesis of knowledge, experience and personal journey and leads the student to the formation of a mature, responsible and authentic therapeutic identity that transcends role and technique.
LO2:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course introduces students to a biographical and existential understanding of the emergence of logotherapy through the lives of Viktor E. Frankl and Eli Frankl. Based on the work of Haddon Klingberg Jr. When Life Calls Us, the course goes beyond classical academic biography and presents logotherapy as an experiential, life-based and ethically grounded practice that was formed in a concrete historical, personal and relational context.
Special emphasis is placed on understanding how Frankl's ability to maintain meaning in extreme conditions, especially during the Nazi concentration camps, co-created fundamental logotherapeutic insights about inner freedom, dignity and responsibility. The course also sheds light on the marital and relational dimensions between Viktor and Eli Frankl and shows how logotherapy is not only manifested in theory and clinical work, but primarily in the therapist's way of life, attitude and ethical stance.
The student develops sensitivity to the historical and personal conditioning of therapeutic approaches and deepens their understanding of the therapist as a person whose own life story inevitably enters the therapeutic relationship.
LO6:
ABOUT THE COURSE
he course is based on one of the lesser-known, but professionally extremely important works of Viktor E. Frankl, in which he develops logotherapy as a clinical, scientifically based and existentially oriented approach to understanding and treating mental disorders. The work represents a profound connection between psychiatry, psychopathology and logotherapeutic anthropology of man.
The focus is on Frankl's critical and at the same time constructive treatment of psychiatric diagnoses, which goes beyond the reductive understanding of symptoms and mental disorders and places them in the broader context of human freedom, responsibility and relationship to meaning. The course emphasizes the distinction between psychogenic and noogenic neuroses and develops the understanding that many forms of mental suffering are not simply an expression of pathology, but a response to existential conflicts, loss of meaning or inner disorientation.
The student becomes familiar with logotherapeutic interpretations of neuroses, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, hysterical phenomena and exhaustion and develops a therapeutic stance that places the will to meaning at the center of the clinical process as a healing and transformative factor. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the therapist as an ethically responsible companion who, even in the presence of severe symptoms, recognizes the person as a "being of possibility".
LO7:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course presents a systematic and clinically based introduction to psychopathology and psychopharmacology, based on modern medical psychiatry. It is based on the textbook Psychiatry (Pregelj et al.) or a comparable international standard (Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry, 12th or 13th edition). It is intended for future psychotherapists who need to understand the basic medical logic of mental illnesses in order to be able to safely, responsibly and competently collaborate with psychiatrists and other health professionals.
The course enables the understanding of mental disorders as medical categories, while maintaining a clear distinction between the role of a psychiatrist and the role of a psychotherapist. The student is introduced to the basics of psychopathological diagnostics, the
course of treatment, the use of psychopharmacological drugs and clinical circumstances such as hospitalization, emergency treatment and long-term monitoring of patients.
Special emphasis is placed on ethical, communication and collaborative aspects of working in an interdisciplinary health environment. The course reinforces the awareness that the therapist does not take on the role of diagnosing or prescribing medication, but acts as a professional companion who understands the medical context of the client's condition and knows how to appropriately include it in the psychotherapeutic treatment.
LO9:
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course represents a methodological foundation for the development of scientific, research and applied thinking in psychotherapy, with a special emphasis on the epistemological foundations of logotherapy and existential psychotherapy. It is intended to form a research attitude that combines professional accuracy, clinical experience and ethical responsibility.
The course introduces the student to the basic scientific paradigms and research methods in the field of psychotherapy and develops the ability to reflectively conceptualize clinical and experiential questions. Special importance is given to qualitative research approaches, which are often the most appropriate for psychotherapy, as they enable a deeper understanding of subjective experience, the therapeutic relationship and the process of finding meaning.
The course also serves as direct preparation for writing a final specialist or master's thesis, whereby the student gradually forms a draft of a research project, a research question or the
conceptual core of his final work. Science is presented not as an abstract technical apparatus, but as a responsible practice of seeking truth, based on respect for the person, the client and the profession.
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ABOUT THE COURSE
The course provides the student with an in-depth and comparative insight into the classical schools of psychotherapy that have formed the foundation of modern psychotherapy. The student selects three key authors or schools (e.g. Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Harry Stack Sullivan) and analyzes their fundamental theories, concepts and therapeutic methods in comparison with logotherapy.
The purpose of the course is not an eclectic collection of techniques, but rather the development of an understanding of the historical and theoretical heritage of psychotherapy and the reflection of one's own therapeutic identity. The student learns to recognize how different authors understand human motivation, personality, development, pathology and the therapeutic relationship and how these views complement or diverge with the existential logotherapeutic approach.
The course encourages critical thinking and helps to form a therapeutic orientation based on conscious choice, values and the understanding of the human being as a holistic being - physical, psychological and existential.
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ABOUT THE COURSE
The course provides a fundamental introduction to clinical supervision as an indispensable component of a psychotherapist's professional development. Based on Janine M. Bernard's Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision, which is considered one of the most influential contemporary works in this field, the student is introduced to the role of the supervised therapist and the foundations of the supervisory stance.
The course emphasizes the clinical utility of supervision as a space for learning, reflection, ethical orientation, and personal maturation of the therapist. Supervision is presented not as control or evaluation, but as a relationship of trust in which therapeutic competencies, understanding of one's own internal processes, and the ability to work responsibly with clients are developed.
Special emphasis is placed on understanding power dynamics, the role of feedback, and ethical issues that arise in the supervisory relationship. The course also serves as direct preparation for entering the supervision year, in which the student begins actual therapeutic work under regular supervision.
FINAL THESIS
The final master's specialist thesis represents the pinnacle of the student's professional, personal and existential formation process. It is a space for the synthesis of knowledge, experience and personal attitude, where the student demonstrates maturity for independent, responsible and ethical action as an existential logotherapeutic expert.
The thesis is not just an academic product, but evidence of the internal integration of theory, practice and identity of the therapist. The student is expected to go beyond the repetition of existing knowledge and create work that radiates personal reflection, clinical experience and a clear existential orientation towards meaning.
The final thesis can be designed as:
• scientific research (a theoretical-empirical thesis with a classic academic structure), or
• an applied project (development of a therapeutic or educational program, manual, curriculum, systemic intervention, evaluation, supervision model, series of workshops, etc.).
In both cases, the assignment must reflect the student's ability to think independently, create, reflect, and act ethically, while remaining faithful to the fundamental principles of logotherapy and existential analysis.
Key emphases of the final assignment:
• existential logotherapeutic foundation of research or application,
• clearly defined research or practical problem with meaningful relevance,
• connection between theory, clinical practice, and the student's personal reflection,
• critical use of scientific sources and contemporary professional insights,
• inclusion of concrete examples from practice, supervision, or the autobiographical process,
• ethical sensitivity and understanding of the boundaries of therapeutic action,
• innovation and contribution to the development of practice, profession, or education,
• awareness of the therapist's own position and responsibility towards the person, system, and meaning.
Structure – orientation framework of the final thesis:
• Problem definition and existential framework of the topic
• Theoretical foundations of logotherapy and existential analysis
• Methodological approach (research or application model)
• Analysis, treatment or implementation of the project
• Reflection on clinical experience and personal involvement
• Discussion: meaning, limitations and implications for practice
• Conclusion: synthesis of the therapist's professional and personal formation
(The structure is sensibly adapted to the nature of the research or project work.)
Requirements
• Scope: 45,000–60,000 words (or a content-equivalent structure in the case of an application project),
• Clear and consistent justification in logotherapy and existential analysis,
• Authentic personal reflection included, not just a description,
• Use of appropriate scientific methodology and professional literature,
• Integration of clinical or practical experience,
• Originality, coherence and professional academic style.
Connection with other parts of the study
The final assignment organically connects the entire study process:
• the topic often begins to take shape in the 5th semester (research methodology),
• drafts and concepts are deepened in courses 17 and 18 or specific courses for sports psychotherapy
• reflections from the supervision year, case studies or autobiographical processes are included,
• the assignment connects therapy, supervision, personal growth and professional stance into a whole.
Objectives of the final thesis
• demonstrate the ability to think independently professionally and existentially,
• demonstrate maturity in the synthesis of theory, practice and the personal attitude of the therapist,
• create work with added value for therapeutic, sports or clinical practice,
• consolidate the identity of a therapist who works out of meaning and responsibility,
• round off professional and personal formation at EQF level 7,
• form an expert who does not complete his studies with a "diploma", but with his own, reflected professional voice.
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