The Viktor Frankl Centre NI Update

The Viktor Frankl Centre Northern Ireland (VFC-NI) was founded in 2022 to provide professional training in Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, also known as the Third Viennese School of Psychology (after Freud and Adler).

VFC-NI fully accredited by the International Society of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis at the Viktor Frankl Centre Vienna. We offer the Diploma course, and 18 month part-time online programme comprising 4 modules offered in 'real time', in addition to personal therapy and supervision throughout; students can enrol from anywhere in the world.

We also offer 9 short courses/seminars in a range of topics including Ecotherapy: Finding Meaning in Nature, Understanding Burnout: Prevention and Treatment, Living Well With a Chronic Illness, and Using Socratic Dialogue in Therapy.

Public education is important at VFC-NI, resulting in the foundation of our Public Lecture Series which will be launched in January 2026 with Zack Haddad, special effects producer known for Ant-Man (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Venom: The Last Dance (2024). Zack's lecture will be a personal and professional journey titled 'Finding Meaning in Film'.

I also give a public lecture each year to mark Holocaust Memorial Day: the venue and time for the 2026 talk will be published shortly.

Recently the VFC-NI has started a Book Group as part of our community building ethos. The group brings together a diverse group of therapists and others interested in exploring the application of Logotherapy in everyday life. The Film Group has an identical remit and will be launched next year.

The VFC-NI's consultancy and training role is currently being employed to develop and deliver an accredited Diploma in Logotherapy & Existential Analysis Clinical Supervision for the Association of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis in Ukraine. This programme begins in December 2025 and consists of 5 taught modules and a dissertation/thesis and focuses on the challenges of clinical supervision in conflict and post-conflict society. It is the only course of its kind.

I continue to teach aspects of Logotherapy to undergraduate, postgraduate and post-registration specialist modules at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast, where I have been an Honorary Lecturer for 6 years. Next year, I will be a Guest Lecturer on the University College Cork's MA in Trauma Studies course.

With clients from a number of different countries, as well as locally, I continue to help people with depression, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD/complex PTSD, chronic illness and relationship and career issues.

Finally, my book 'Finding Meaning In Conflict and Beyond: The Story of Northern Ireland' is still in the process of being written. Based on a series of interviews with journalists, politicians, church leaders, and others who played active roles during the conflict, the book applies some key tents of existential analysis to understand the role of meaning in people's lives.

If you require further information on any of aspects of the VFC-NI's work, please do contact me via email at: scottpeddie@sky.com. You can also visit our website: www.viktorfranklcentreni.com.

Thank you!