The students who have trained as logotherapists and existential analysts through the Viktor Frankl Institute of Ireland have come from all walks of life and corners of the globe – South America, the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Graduates have become accredited through the International Association of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, Vienna from which they receive their Certification. Below are some recent testimonials from graduates of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Ireland. 

Karen Siem 

‘Thank you very much for these reflections and for your support and help throughout the course. I said that the course changed my life, but I didn’t add that it saved my life and has given me a further sense of purpose …. I enjoyed module 4 very much. It was written and constructed in a way that appealed to me and my personal interests. Your use of philosophical and literary examples spoke to me directly and helped clarify and contextualise some complex ideas and concepts. It was extremely well-written, and thus a pleasure to read …. I would highly recommend the course’. 

Agnes Eising

‘This has been one of the most influential learning experiences I’ve had so far. I got a lot out of this course, whether learning a few ‘new tricks’ or – even more important – personal growth …. I am proud of my investment! Thank you very much for your feedback on my assignments, they helped to complete the bigger picture’.

Joy Slaughter

‘I truly enjoyed the course. At times, the first three sections did take a bit of persistence to push through …. The fourth course, though, was phenomenal. I greatly appreciated the more modern tone and the greater philosophical context …. The Udemy course was a nice touch’. 

Levi Attias

‘A Noahide flood has gone under the proverbial bridge and swept aside almost everything above since I registered in late March/early April for the Diploma in Logotherapy and Existential Analysis. The C-virus had us scrambling to lock-down; a virulent pandemic was creeping upon us. Though I simply did not have adequate time for the Frankl course I had embarked on, in some strange way, it was salutary and perfectly timed. I engaged with the material as much as time would allow, reading and dissecting it with gusto. But not only. Somewhere along the line, I actually lived the material. I sought relief, cover, and inspiration in the Frankl material. The proof of the cake is in the eating. Had the ingredients been less palatable, or unappealing, I would have had reason enough to exclaim ‘enough’.  I didn’t, and that is testament to the vibrancy, depth and lucidity of the material. It is immensely engaging, both academically and at soul level. I found the material prophetically pertinent to my own circumstances. A well-known saying puts it well ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.’ Your observations and comments on my assignments were cogent and pertinent and I thank you immensely for these. Your concise and precise comments were spot on. I don’t think I could have coped, with everything then going on in  my life, with sheets of laborious feedback. The feedback I received was splendidly and concisely offered. I thank you for this.  You held my hand throughout the course by subtly, almost casually, inspiring me to review my assignments in light of your feedback. And to carry on. It has been an absolute pleasure taking this course. My congratulations and gratitude to you. I hope we’ll meet up at a conference … – I might then be smiling from ear to ear. Delightedly!’

Miika Hernesniemi

‘Reflections on how the course material applies to current profession and work-setting. 

• It makes it more relatable and even facilitates the flow of “inner knowledge”.
• Response to emails was very prompt, communication was very personable, and evaluation was highly individualized.
• Required readings were excellent for reinforcing main ideas and layering on new ones, providing a solid understanding based on Frankl’s primary sources. It keeps integrity of Frankl’s teachings.
• The amount of material to study per module gradually increased in amount. I found it helpful to start with a smaller module to ease into a heavier amount of reading and writing. I found it helped strengthen my cognitive capacity.
• I appreciated its inclusion of other philosophers and their views. 
• I thoroughly enjoyed the entire course and feel greatly reoriented in my life and work!’

Santiago de Arteaga

‘I am profoundly happy to have completed this Diploma. I will work to deserve it. I don’t know how yet but it will become an important part of my professional life. Thank you very much for the opportunity. The privilege has been mine!’

Mavi Moya

‘It’s been an engaging and fascinating course from which I have learnt a lot about myself and people in general, and life itself. Everything is very well explained and clarified in the notes and documents I got. I have been and I am really pleased with the course and materials’.

Jennifer Caulfield 

‘Dr. Stephen Costello serves you a master class in the theory of Viktor Frankl. Your life is decision driven, and you are taught how to make choices based on responsibility to your life story. Every moment of every day and it is the choices you make that decide your life’s story. It is all about having the right attitude, and that responding rather than reacting is far more beneficial and much more meaningful. This is a training that motivates you to “get going” and do whatever your task is; there is no preaching, just a wondrous learning, about yourself primarily and of course you have the wonderful insight to the world of practical philosophy and psychology through Stephen’s amazing knowledge and great sense of humour! It’s all about ATTITUDE! Attitude equals responsibility to YOURSELF. Logotherapy is a meaning-centred motivational theory’. 

Pat Divilly

‘It’s inspiring to see your passion for your work and the depth and breadth of experience and knowledge you have. I really enjoyed the course. The reading was a challenge for me, as I’ve grown so dependent on video and podcast content, but I found it a much nicer pace to work at and I feel I gained a much deeper understanding of the aspects throughout. Some bits I still need to delve a lot deeper into and read broader as you’ve mentioned to really become clear but all in all it’s been very positive. I really appreciate your feedback and all of the resources and recommendations you provided throughout. One thing I’m learning is that the context really comes from seeing these ideas in different aspects of life. Being in the coaching space for years it was great to see the crossover and that gave me a good level of confidence in many of the tools I have been using over the years’. 

Natalia Gutierrez Lee

‘It was a positive and fulfilling experience’. 

Kate Hoffmann 

‘A very enriching experience’.

Ali Tariq

‘I am grateful for your kind support in making my dream real. This day is a turning point in my life that will define everything else. Surely the journey will not stop here. I am in love with logotherapy, and I will continue working within Franklian principles to guide my personal, interpersonal, and professional life .The joy I feel now [in gaining my Diploma] is beyond description .I hope for a joyful meaningful life. Your favour is unforgettable. You embody logotherapy in your actions and interactions. Thanks for your transformative comments that really have enlightened me and made me see things differently. I hope you can help me to actualize my second dream in establishing an institute of logotherapy in Iraq under your guidance. The joy in receiving this certification is more than the joy I experienced in graduating from the college of medicine. I am proud of being certified by a philosopher-logotherapist like yourself. The meaning of this accreditation is that it is signed by you. With my love and gratitude’. 

Tatyana Geogieva

Thank you very much for your fast reply but also for your feedback. It is much appreciated. I found your workbook [on clinical logotherapy] extremely engaging, inspirational, and useful. Even though that I have read most of Frankl’s books and writings before starting the course certain concepts and ideas were delivered in a not only accessible way but also quite interesting. I really enjoyed reading and reflecting upon the psychoanalytical aspect as well as Frankl’s one of certain concepts and disorders. More specifically, I found the section on depression particularly interesting especially the material on Julia Kristeva’s ideas since at the time I was reading some of her books and works on depression. In general, I am very happy with the course and more importantly with the additional knowledge that I have gained. To be honest a couple of years ago I started a course in Logotherapy in [name of country] but I was not quite content with the material and the way of delivery. What I believe that course was lacking at that time was that it concentrated only on Frankl’s ideas and there was a lack of presenting the philosophical as well as the psychoanalytical aspect and ideas of different philosophers and psychoanalysts in comparison or in contrast to those of Frankl’s. However, this was something that this course has definitely given me, and my knowledge has expanded for sure. Therefore, thank you very much for everything. 

Victoria Fraczek

I feel as if you really understood the things that I wrote about. I am very grateful to you for sharing your work with me. I think that some of my essays were sufficient and some “not as good” as I could have made them …. Overall, I found your course easy to follow and appropriately challenging. I found it impressive with how much was in it, not just Frankl’s work but examples from Irish poets, artwork and other existentialists/great minds that were included. The freedom of the course was refreshing for me. The nature of reading the word document in silence while reflecting really suited the existential material.

Dr Ramsha Qamar

Thank you very much Dr Stephen. It was indeed a pleasure working with you and your feedback is always very encouraging to me. The way you pay attention to every single detail is highly appreciated. I found the entire course very useful in terms of applying the lessons to my life and also it taught me how to deal with my patients. Usually the courses we do are based upon theoretical knowledge and we are asked some definitions and have the discussion on some case scenarios. But this was unique in the sense that I was given the chance to reflect on my personal life and find freedom in various dimensions of my life where I was not paying attention to before. We human beings are free beings and to exercise this spiritual potential and help others do it, and for that it was very important to go through these exercises and assignments myself first, so that I know what impact they leave on the mind of a person and how much of a healing potential they have to offer. So thank you very much. Very grateful!’  

So Thank you very much. I received the certificate. Very grateful!