Existential Therapy & Logotherapy

For when it isn't just "what's wrong" — it's "what's the point"

Some pain isn't a malfunction to fix. It's a signal that something in how you're living no longer holds together — a question about meaning, freedom, mortality, or who you're becoming. Existential therapy and logotherapy, the meaning-centred method developed by Viktor Frankl, work with that question directly instead of past it.

Book a session → How sessions work

Online worldwide · In person in Prague 3 · 50-minute sessions · English, Russian, Czech

Trained at the source

"He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."

— Viktor Frankl

  • Existential Therapy & Logotherapy — Viktor Frankl Institut, Vienna
  • MSc Psychology · 20+ years of clinical practice
  • Sessions online and in person in Prague
  • Works alongside symptom-focused therapy when needed
Do you recognise this?

What brings people to existential work

The existential vacuum

Nothing's wrong, exactly. But nothing feels like it matters

Work, relationships, achievements — all present, all somehow beside the point. You're functioning, but going through the motions.

Mortality

Time suddenly has an edge to it

A diagnosis, a death nearby, a birthday that landed differently than expected. You can't stop noticing that time is finite.

Freedom & responsibility

Freedom that feels like a burden

No one is telling you what to do anymore — and it turns out that's its own kind of frightening. Every choice is yours alone.

Grief

Loss with a philosophical undertow

Grief that isn't just sadness — it's also made you question what any of it was for, and what's supposed to come next.

Identity

A life you didn't quite choose

Rebuilt in a new place, a new role, a new stage of life. Who you were doesn't fit anymore, and who you're becoming isn't clear yet.

A crisis with no clear name

Not depression exactly. Not anxiety exactly

Just a persistent sense that something needs to change at a level deeper than habits or thought patterns.

What this approach actually is

Existential therapy & logotherapy, plainly

Existential therapy

Existential therapy works with the core facts of being human directly — meaning, freedom, isolation, and mortality — rather than treating distress about them as a problem to be eliminated. Existentialist thought holds that people are fundamentally free to shape their lives and responsible for their choices, and that this kind of distress is a natural part of being human, not a malfunction.

The aim isn't to make difficult questions disappear. It's to help you live with them more directly, so you can act with more clarity and less avoidance.

Logotherapy

Logotherapy is Viktor Frankl's specific method within this tradition — "healing through meaning." Frankl, a psychiatrist who survived the concentration camps, concluded that the drive to find meaning, not pleasure or power alone, is what sustains people through even the hardest circumstances.

In session, this looks like Socratic dialogue rather than advice: I ask the questions that help you uncover meaning you already hold, rather than prescribing one to you. Where it fits, I also draw on specific logotherapy techniques such as dereflection and paradoxical intention.

Will to meaning Existential vacuum Socratic dialogue Dereflection Paradoxical intention
How sessions work

What to expect

01

Trained at the source

Existential Therapy & Logotherapy training completed at the Viktor Frankl Institut in Vienna, not a weekend certificate.

02

Your answers, not mine

Socratic dialogue rather than advice-giving. My role is to help you uncover what already matters to you, not to tell you what should.

03

Online or in Prague

Sessions online worldwide, or in person at my office in Prague 3 — whichever works for where you are.

04

Not about religion or ideology

Logotherapy works with clients of any belief system or none. It's a clinical method concerned with meaning, not doctrine.

05

Combined when it helps

Where anxiety or depression are also present, existential work often runs alongside more structured, symptom-focused approaches.

06

20+ years of practice

Across languages and cultures — including the specific weight of building a life somewhere new.

About me

Katia Tandon

Katia Tandon, psychologist and ICF coach based in Prague
  • MSc Psychology + MBA
  • Existential Therapy & Logotherapy — Viktor Frankl Institut, Vienna
  • ICF Certified Coach
  • 20+ years clinical & coaching practice
  • Works in English, Russian and Czech
  • Based in Prague, EU (GDPR compliant)

I've spent over 20 years as a therapist, and existential work is where the deepest sessions happen. It's rarely the first thing someone books in for — more often it surfaces once we're a few sessions into something else, and it turns out the real question underneath was always about meaning.

My training in Existential Therapy and Logotherapy came from the Viktor Frankl Institut in Vienna. I take it seriously as a discipline, not a philosophy I dabble in — and I combine it, when it's useful, with more structured approaches for the practical, day-to-day symptoms that often travel alongside these bigger questions.

What that means for you: you don't need to arrive with the question already articulated. Most people don't. We find the shape of it together.

I was sceptical at first, and sometimes even doubting the process — but at the very end it all made sense and helped me realise what my next steps in life should be.

— Jasmína Orlická, Creative Lead, Dentsu

She was a good listener and was able to summarise everything I said in half an hour with a simple sentence — a person needs to come up with the solution on their own.

— Ilja Petrov, Principal Engineering Manager, Microsoft
Questions people ask

Existential therapy & logotherapy — FAQ

The approach itself
What is existential therapy?
Existential therapy is a form of talk therapy that works directly with the core questions of being human — meaning, freedom, isolation and mortality — rather than treating distress about these questions as a symptom to eliminate. It helps you face difficult realities and choices more directly, so you can live with more clarity and authenticity.
What is logotherapy, exactly?
Logotherapy is a specific meaning-centred method within existential therapy, developed by the psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. It's built on the idea that the search for meaning, not pleasure or power, is the primary human motivation, and that meaning can be found even in difficult or suffering circumstances. I trained in this approach at the Viktor Frankl Institut in Vienna.
Is logotherapy religious or spiritual?
No. Logotherapy doesn't prescribe a belief system, and it works with clients of any faith or none. It's a clinical, meaning-centred method — my role is to help you uncover meaning you already hold, not to hand you one.
How is this different from CBT?
CBT is typically structured and symptom-focused, using specific techniques for specific problems. Existential therapy and logotherapy are more exploratory, working at the level of meaning, freedom and identity. The two aren't incompatible — I often integrate both, using structured techniques for acute symptoms while working existentially on what's underneath them.
When this approach fits
Can it help with grief or facing a serious diagnosis?
Yes — this is one of the areas where existential therapy and logotherapy are most established. Frankl developed logotherapy partly from his own experience of profound loss, and the approach is well suited to questions of mortality, grief, and finding meaning within suffering that can't simply be removed.
What is the "existential vacuum," and how do I know if I have one?
The existential vacuum is Frankl's term for a persistent sense of emptiness or meaninglessness, even when life looks fine from the outside. If you're functioning but feel like you're going through the motions, or you've achieved what you set out to but it hasn't brought the sense of purpose you expected, this is often what's underneath it.
Is this useful for expats and people who've emigrated?
Very much so. Building a life in a new country often raises exactly the questions existential therapy addresses — identity, meaning, freedom and loss — alongside the more visible stress of the move itself.
Do I need to have read Viktor Frankl's work first?
No. Familiarity with "Man's Search for Meaning" or Frankl's other writing can add context, but it isn't required — the therapeutic work happens in conversation, not through prior reading.
Practical logistics
Can I have sessions in person, or only online?
Both. I see clients online worldwide, and also offer in-person sessions from my office in Prague 3 (Olšanská 3) for anyone based in or visiting Prague.
How many sessions does existential therapy usually take?
There's no fixed programme. Some clients come for a focused handful of sessions around a specific question or transition; others work with me over months. Session length is 50 minutes, and frequency is agreed together based on your needs.
Get in touch

Start with a first session

Fill in the form and I'll get back to you within 24 hours to arrange a first session. There's no obligation and no intake form to complete in advance.

You don't need to arrive with the question fully formed — that's often part of the first few sessions.

In Prague? In-person sessions are available at my office in Prague 3 (Olšanská 3), alongside online sessions for anyone elsewhere.
katia.tandon@gmail.com

Or email me directly if you prefer