Ролло Мэй: Жизнь и творчество экзистенциального психолога.

American psychologist (1909–1994)

Rollo Reece May (April 21, 1909 – October 22, 1994) was an American existential psychologist and author of the influential book Love and Will (1969). He is often associated with humanistic psychology and existentialist philosophy, and alongside Viktor Frankl, was a major proponent of existential psychotherapy. The philosopher and theologian Paul Tillich was a close friend who had a significant influence on his work. May's other works include The Meaning of Anxiety (1950, revised 1977) and The Courage to Create (1975), named after Tillich's The Courage to Be.

Reese May, otherwise known as 'Rollo' May, was born in Ada, Ohio, on April 21,1909 to his Mother Matie Boughton and Father Earl Tittle May, a Men's Christian Associations Field Secretary, as the first son and the second eldest of six. His name sake, 'Rollo' or as his Mother called him, 'Little Rollo' based on the title character from a series of children's' books titled, 'Little Rollo' written by Jacob Abbott in the 19th century. Rollo was reported to have a intense lack of like for this nickname; however, he made his peace with the moniker after learning about Rollo the Conqueror, a tenth century Norman. Some may describe Rollo's childhood as difficult due to the divorce of his parents and to his oldest sister's struggle with mental health that resulted in frequent hospitalizations. His mother often left the children alone, and with his sister suffering from schizophrenia, he bore much of the burden. At Michigan State University he majored in English, but was expelled due to his involvement in a radical student magazine. After that, he attended Oberlin College and received a bachelor's degree in English. He spent three years teaching in Greece at Anatolia College. During this time, he studied with doctor and psychotherapist Alfred Adler, with whom his later work shares theoretical similarities. He was ordained as a minister shortly after coming back to the United States, but left the ministry after several years to pursue a degree in psychology. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1942 and spent 18 months in a sanatorium. He later attended Union Theological Seminary for a BD during 1938, and Teachers College, Columbia University for a PhD in clinical psychology in 1949. May was a founder and faculty member of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco. He spent the final years of his life in Tiburon on San Francisco Bay. May died of congestive heart failure at the age of 85, attended by his wife, Georgia, and friends. talks about his experience of counseling. Some of the topics he looks at are empathy, religion, personality problems and mental health. May also gives his perspective on these and also discusses how to handle those particular types of issues should a counselor encounter them (May 1965). He followed with a more theoretical book, The Springs of Creative Living: A Study of Human Nature and God (1940) presenting a personality theory influenced by critiquing the work of others, including Freud and Adler. He claims that personality is deeper than they presented. This is also where May introduces his own meaning for different terms such as libido from Freudian Psychology (May, 1940). His writings were interrupted in the 1940s due to being diagnosed with tuberculosis and having to work on his PhD. His later books in the 1950s all focus on mental health. The Meaning of Anxiety (1950) explores anxiety and how it can affect mental health. May also discusses how he believes that experiencing anxiety can aid development and how dealing with it appropriately can lead to having a healthy personality. In Man’s Search for Himself (1953), May talks about his experience with his patients and the recurring problems they had in common such as loneliness and emptiness. May looks deeper into this and discusses how humans have an innate need for a sense of value and also how life can often present an overwhelming sense of anxiety. May also gives signposts on how to act during these periods. (May, 1953). May's final writing in the 1950s Existence (1958) is not entirely by May, but he examines the roots of Existential Psychology and why Existential Psychology is important in understanding a gap in human understanding of the nature of existence. He also talks about the Existential Psychotherapy and the contributions it has made. (May, Ernest, Ellenberger & Aronson, 1958)

May uses this book to reflect on a lot of both his ideas so far and those of other thinkers and also mentions some contemporary ideas despite the book's publication date. May also expands on some of his previous perspectives such as anxiety and people's feelings of insignificance (May, 1967).

One of May's most influential books. He talks about his perspective on love and the Daimonic; how it is part of nature and not the superego. May also discusses how love and sex are in conflict with each other and how they are two different things. May also discusses depression and creativity towards the end. Some of the views in this book are the ones that May is best known for (May, 1969).

May uses this book to start some new ideas and also define words according to his way of thinking; such as power and physical courage and how power holds the potential for both human goodness and human evil. Another idea May explores is civilisation stemming out of rebellion (May, 1972).

Listening to our ideas and helping form the structure of our world is what our creative courage can come from; this is the main direction of May in this book. May encourages that people break the pattern in their life and face their fears to reach their full potential (May, 1975).

As the title suggests, May focuses on the area of Freedom and Destiny in this book. He examines what freedom might offer and also, comparatively, how destiny is imposing limitations on us, but also how the two have an interdependence. May draws on artists and poets and others to invoke what he is saying (May, 1981).

May draws on others' perspectives, including Freud's, to go into more detail on existential psychotherapy. Another topic May examines is how Psychoanalyses and Existentialism may have come from similar areas of thinking. There is attention paid to searching for stability with strong feelings of anxiety (May, 1983).

Serving as a type of memoir, May discusses his own opinions on the power of beauty. He also states his belief that beauty must be both understood and also valued in the world (May, 1985).

Argued in this book is May's belief that humans can use myths to help them make sense of their lives, based on cases studies May uses from his patients. May discusses how this could be particularly useful to those who need direction in a confusing world (May, 1991).

Two days before May's death, he edited an advanced copy of this book. It was co authored by Kirk Schneider and was intended to bring some life back into existential psychology. Like some previous books, this talks of existential psychotherapy and targets scholars (May & Schneider, 1995).

In 1970, May's most popular work, Love and Will (1969), won the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award for humane scholarship and became a best seller. In 1971, May won the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contribution to Science and Profession of Clinical Psychology award. In 1972, the New York Society of Clinical Psychologists presented him with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Award for his book Power and Innocence (1972). In 1987, he received the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Lifetime Contributions to Professional Psychology.

May was influenced by North American humanism and interested in reconciling existential psychology with other philosophies, especially Freud's. May considered Otto Rank (1884–1939) to be the most important precursor of existential therapy. Shortly before his death, May wrote the foreword to Robert Kramer's edited collection of Rank's American lectures. "I have long considered Otto Rank to be the great unacknowledged genius in Freud's circle", wrote May. May is often grouped with humanists, for example Abraham Maslow, who provided a good base for May's studies and theories as an existentialist. May delves further into the awareness of the serious dimensions of a human's life than Maslow did. Erich Fromm had many ideas with which May agreed relating to May's existential ideals. Fromm studied the ways people avoid anxiety by conforming to societal norms rather than doing what they please. Fromm also focused on self expression and free will, on all of which May based many of his studies.