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ied", or "only until Christmas." These people exlnbit a strenght ofwill beyond the
ordinary; they prove repeatedly the significance ofself-transcendence for survival.
For the young, unstable, dependent, handicapped. or addicted, the appealing techni­
que is particularly useful, Lukas claims. For the technique rests on trust in the hu­
man being: trust in their sense ofdignity and basic orientation to lead meaningful
lives.
At times the appealing technique may be combined with assertiveness training, which
aims to strengthen the client's self-confidence and self-assurance. Assertiveness
training is used in many social work services to teach workers how to express feel­
ings, needs and demands directly and effectively, and to use the same technique for
teaching clients in their care to do likewise.
Thislogotherapeutic technique is useful for two types ofaddicts: those who became
addicts because ofderivations, and those who because oftheir wealth and superabun­
dance became empty and bored with life. Itis also very useful for those in the grip of
endogenous depression. Frankl (1986) says that in conjunction with medication and
shock therapy, the role oflogotherapy is to support the patient by repeatedly making
him aware ofhis extremely good prognosis so that he may believe that hislher suf­
fering will pass. Rather than fighting what cannotbe changed, the patient should be
encouraged to remember the meaning ofhislher life (see Frankl 1986:261).
In endogenous depression as in other acute illnesses and negative life events, the
therapist's role is to help the clients learn how "to let the waves roll over one's head";
for as long you are under the waves, you cannot see the horizon. The taskofthe
logotherapist is to change the client's "because" to an "although." The client should
say to himself7herselfthat "although he/she was forsaken in childhood, although
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