Discussion 1

Background Information:

In A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks, Otto the main character is experiencing the struggles of the latter parts of life. He is a widower, he has been forced into retirement from his lifelong career, and he is feeling “aged out” of society. He has attempted suicide multiple times. He is caustic with all interactions with others. He comes in today because amid planning another suicide, a young family moves in across the street and interrupts his plans with what he feels are challenges he needs to help them with.

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Therapist: “Just to make sure I understand correctly, you had all the materials you needed out and ready to hang yourself, but you saw someone across the street struggling to parallel park their U-hall and this distracted you from your intention. You then walked across the street to talk to people you did not know. What specifically did you see that drew your attention away from your plan?"

Otto: “I saw someone who was not only parking illegally on our street, but they also obviously had no idea what they were doing trying to back up that trailer!”

Therapist: “You seem a little bit stressed about that situation. Why do you think that is?”

Otto: “I am not stressed. I just want people to do things the right way. It is people’s responsibility to learn because that’s how things work."

Therapist: “You mention the right way. Can you give me some criteria for what the right way is?” Otto: “There are signs clearly marked on the streets of where you are allowed to park. When you are backing up a trailer you ought to know that you steer in the opposite direction that you want the trailer to go.”

Therapist: “It can be very frustrating sometimes when we know what needs to be done and do not see that others know. I am curious, did you want to meet the people in the vehicle?"

Otto: “No.”

Therapist: “Why not?”

Otto: “I have no interest in meeting new people.”

Therapist: “Can you walk me through another way you could help these people without interacting with them in this situation?”

Otto: "Not in this case."

Therapist: “Why did you attempt suicide?”

Otto: “Because I don’t want to live any longer”

Therapist: I am deeply sorry to hear that, Otto. Sometimes as we get older life does feel a bit meaningless doesn’t it.” Earlier you indicated that doing things the right way is important. Making sure the right way was done physically prompted you to change your plans. Would you say you find meaning in doing things the right way?"

Otto: “Yes”

Therapist: “It sounds like part of you does find meaning in being a part of this world. Can you tell me two other things that you find meaningful? "

Otto: “No. At this point, there is none of that left. People today just mess things up.”

Therapist: “'People' is an exceptionally large group. I agree it's easy to give responsibility for bad stuff happening to a large anonymous group. I want to know more about you. Tell me a bit about a time when you didn't do things the right way”.

Otto: “One time when I bought a train ticket to go back home after my army physical, I saw a woman on the other side of the tracks drop her book. She couldn’t hear me when I yelled at her to let her know so I ran to the other side, retrieved her book, and hopped on her train to give it back to her. I knew I didn’t have the right ticket for that train, getting her the book back was important to me.”

Therapist: “Well that’s very thoughtful of you Otto. Why was it so important?”

Otto: “Because I had never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.”

Existential/Humanistic Approach:

At this time, I would like to work with the geriatric community and the challenges they face. Frankl’s existentialist theory seemed to be appropriate as many that are aging begin to lose purpose and thus meaning in their lives. As peers pass away, and spouses and families grow up and out, Otto’s experience in A Man Called Otto seems to be very reflective of common issues this community faces. Frankl's perspective that unless someone has “meaning in their lives and hope for their future, their psychological lives would cease, and their physical lives would soon end.” (Neukrug, 2018) targets Otto’s lack of desire to continue living. His wife has passed, he never had children, he is forced to retire, and he is just generally aggravated with how the world has changed. Seemingly the only thing that fills him is to preserve “what used to be’. He is adamant about making sure things are done “the right way”: the right way being a routine he created over years of living. Unfortunately, he is even losing meaning in this ritual because society has moved on from what he deems is right; there is a new right that he just cannot adapt to. The goal of using existential therapy with Otto was to help him realize that living is a choice, and that meaning is also subjective and a deliberate decision. Otto is in willing denial and at times takes the victim role. A study conducted in 2000 supported by two specific case studies concluded that “it appears that existential approaches to counseling may be uniquely equipped to handle some of the mental health needs of older adults. Specifically, the concept of finding meaning in life can be used to target the changing identities and meanings older adults have as their lives change as they age.” (Lewis, 2000). The line of questioning was to prompt Otto to see that there is still meaning left in being more than just a preserver of history.

Things Left Unsaid:

Because Otto is a bit bitter about life, I shied away from engaging in the closed-off nature of answers. I did not bring up the death of his wife. When conversations seemed to cease as far as his engagement, I attempted to change the topic to require engagement. Based on the techniques recommended within the existential theoretical techniques, I wanted to confront choices to elicit the critical thinking that happens when engaged in the process of living. I also attempted to show empathy and vulnerability, but Otto is not outwardly emotional, so I wanted to meet him in the logic and avoided touching the emotions. I am aware that there were a lot of clarifying and leading questions…so any feedback on that would be great!

References

Neukrug, E. (2018). Counseling Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Cognella Academic Publishing.

Lewis, M. (2000). (rep.). The Utility of Existential Therapy with Older Adults (pp. 1–19). Akron, OH: The University of Akron