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Meaning Therapy

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki


Meaning therapy (MT) is a pluralistic approach to counselling and therapy that focuses on the fundamental human needs for meaning and relationship. It is a comprehensive way to address all aspects of meaning in life concerns in a supportive therapeutic relationship. Thus, the motto for MT is: Meaning is all we have; relationship is all we need. MT assumes that when these two essential human needs are met, individuals are more likely to cope better with their predicaments and live a more rewarding life; when there is a deficiency in these two areas, people will more likely experience difficulties in life.

MT favours a psychoeducational approach that recognizes the vital role of meaning and purpose in healing and well-being.[1][2][3] It appeals to the client’s sense of responsibility to make full use of their freedom to pursue what really matters and what constitutes a rewarding future.[4] Within this conceptual framework, the therapist provides a safe and trusting environment that facilitates collaborative effort and shared decision making in terms of preferred interventions, plans, and goals.

Background[edit]

In the 1930s, Dr. Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy, which literally means “healing through meaning.” It was widely known as the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy, in addition to Freud’s psychoanalysis and Adler’s individual psychology. Logotherapy became popularized with Frankl’s publication of Man’s Search for Meaning, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

Logotherapy was introduced to North America by Dr. Joseph Fabry, founder of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy in the United States and established The International Forum for Logotherapy.[5] Dr. Paul Wong first developed MT by integrating logotherapy with cognitive behavioral therapy, which was published in the forum.[6] He then extended the integration to humanistic-existential therapy and positive psychotherapy.[7] Further developments of MT were published subsequently (see section on Selected Publications).

Meaning-centered[edit]

Human beings are the only meaning-seeking and meaning-making species.[4][8][9][10] Everything about people is related to meaning—how we think, how we see ourselves, how we attribute meaning to different life situations, and how we construct stories about our own lives and others. The language we speak and the cultural values we hold are also aspects of our meaning systems. Our anxieties about the fragility of life and our own mortality stem from our unique capacity for meaning.[11][12]

Apart from inevitable existential anxieties, our suffering and distress in daily life come from misattribution, negative appraisal, dysfunctioning beliefs, and misplaced values more than from actual life events.[13][14] When people pursue money, power, and fame to satisfy their need for meaning and significance, such misguided ambitions are self-defeating and become the source of suffering.[15][16][17] People need to examine their values and discover which goal-strivings[18] really endow their lives with enduring meaning and significance. In view of the above, MT emphasizes that meaning is all we need in counselling and psychotherapy, if we want to help clients better understand themselves, their predicaments, and their place in the world, and cope more adaptively with the demands of life.

Relationship-oriented[edit]

Research has shown that relationships are essential for happiness and meaning[19][20] as well as the importance of social support in buffering against stress and maintaining mental health.[21][22] In sum, a strong network of social support is essential for mental health and meaningful living.[23][24]

According to research, a good relationship with clients is one of the most important common factors in effective psychotherapy.[25][26][27] MT goes beyond therapeutic alliance and emphasizes an authentic relationship, one which shows a therapist’s genuine care and empathy for his/her clients and belief in their potentials to overcome. Thus, MT begins with the therapeutic presence of the therapist. The therapist is the therapy because of the curative benefits of the therapist’s personal qualities of unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness. Furthermore, the entire counselling process—the moment-to-moment fluid and dynamic interactions between the therapist and client—provides many opportunities for genuine encounters and timely intervention. Through such authentic encounters, clients learn how to develop new patterns of relating in a more adaptive and rewarding manner.

Evidence-based[edit]

The theoretical concepts and interventions of MT are supported by mounting empirical evidence of the vital role of meaning in human experience and well-being.[1][2][3] Meta-analyses of existential therapies also support the central role of meaning.[28] Research supporting cognitive-behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy also provides support for MT.[29][30][31]

There is also ample empirical support for the pluralistic approach to counselling and therapy.[32][33] In addition, there is also increasing empirical support for the transdiagnostic approach in focusing on the underlying drivers (e.g., the lack of meaning and relationship) for psychological problems.[34]

Interventions[edit]

MT interventions are also referred to as existential positive interventions. Most of the intervention strategies and skills can be found in Wong's 2016[35] and 2012[36] chapters. Given its psycho-educational orientation, MT aims to equip clients with the necessary tools to cope with the demands of life in a way that contributes to both healing and growth.

Meaning-centered interventions can be grouped into four main categories:

  1. Cognitive meaning interventions: Attribution-retraining,[37] re-appraisal or meaning-focused coping,[38] and challenging dysfunctional thinking,[13] self-affirmation of core values and beliefs, etc.
  2. Existential meaning interventions: Cultivating sources of meaning,[24][39] tragic optimism,[4][40] the PURE strategy (Purpose, Understanding, Responsibility, and Enjoyment),[28][36][41][42] etc.
  3. Effective coping: Resource-congruence model of coping,[43] existential coping (acceptance[30] and benefit seeking[44]), and religious coping.[45]
  4. Relational training: Active listening, authentic encounters, forgiveness, gratitude, shared activities and goals, and mutuality.[46][47]

Other meaning-oriented therapies[edit]

Differences[edit]

The main difference between MT and Frankl’s logotherapy is that MT is more integrative and inclusive.[35][48] MT is also different from other recent developments in meaning-oriented approach, such as Dr. Wiliam Breitbart’s meaning-centered therapy for cancer patients[49][50] and Dr. Marie Dezelic’s meaning-centered therapy,[51] as the latter two are almost completely based on logotherapy.

The biggest difference between MT and other meaning-oriented approaches is that MT incorporates the humanistic perspective of treating clients as fellow human beings worthy of dignity and respect and believing in their potential for healing and personal growth. Meaning-oriented therapists do not treat clients as simply clinical cases with problems to be fixed. Although MT makes use of psychoeducation to teach clients the vital role of meaning in well-being, its overall approach is a person-centered one.[52]

Advantages[edit]

  1. Given the holistic, multi-faceted nature of meaning, MT is inherently pluralistic. Therapy is flexible enough to be tailored to each individual client’s needs and preferences.
  2. MT is uniquely designed to deal with any kind of meaning crisis—whether it is death anxiety or a traumatic experience—that threatens one’s sense of meaning. MT capitalizes on the uniquely human capacity for meaning-seeking and meaning-making as the innate potential for healing and flourishing; it believes that meaning makes suffering more bearable regardless of how hopeless and terrible the circumstances.[4]
  3. MT is inherently positive. It emphasizes a client’s innate capacity for positive change and potential to become a fully functioning person. However, MT also emphasizes that this growth process necessarily entails the need to overcome challenges and obstacles. In addition, MT holds a very high view of life. It affirms that every life has intrinsic meaning and value, and every person has the potential of making a useful contribution to society. It helps to restore a healthy sense of the true self as the foundation for healing and transformation. It focuses on being and becoming through doing.
  4. MT emphasizes the human capacity for self-awareness of the human condition, and the basic human needs for freedom and responsibility, self-determination, and self-transcendence. Most MT interventions make use of people’s innate capacity for meaning seeking and meaning making.[48][53]  
  5. Consistent with second wave positive psychology,[54][55] MT aims at repairing the worst and bringing out the best in people, regardless of their conditions and circumstances. Meaning-based interventions serve the dual purpose of alleviating suffering and enhancing well-being at the same time.

Criticism[edit]

Most of the common criticisms directed to humanistic-existential therapy are applicable to MT. One obvious limitation of MT is that it cannot be effectively applied to individuals who have limited cognitive capacities or vocabulary to address meaning in life issues. Another critique is that since it is client-centered and relationship-oriented and focuses on the dynamic and fluid therapeutic process, it lacks clearly specified intervention protocols.

Moreover, existentially oriented therapies are designed to affect people at a deeper level; therefore, the outcome cannot be easily measured or quantified in terms of evaluation.[56]

Selected publications[edit]

  1. Wong, P. T. P. (2016). Integrative meaning therapy: From logotherapy to existential positive interventions. In P. Russo-Netzer, S. E. Schulenberg, & A. Batthyany (Eds.). To thrive, to cope, to understand: Meaning in positive and existential psychotherapy (pp. 0–0). New York, NY: Springer.
  2. Wong, P. T. P. (2015). Meaning therapy: Assessments and interventions. Existential Analysis, 26(1), 154-167.
  3. Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling and therapy. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 619–647). New York, NY: Routledge.
  4. Wong, P. T. P. (2008). Meaning management theory and death acceptance. In A. Tomer, G. T. Eliason, & P. T. P. Wong (Eds.), Existential and spiritual issues in death attitudes (pp. 65–87). New York, NY: Erlbaum.
  5. Wong, P. T. P. (2005). Existential and humanistic theories. In J. C. Thomas, & D. L. Segal (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of personality and psychopathology (pp. 192–211). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.). (2012). The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Batthyány, A., & Russo-Netzer, P. (Eds.). (2014). Meaning in existential and positive psychology. New York, NY: Springer.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hicks, J. A., & Routledge, C. (2013). The experience of meaning in life: Classical perspectives, emerging themes, and controversies. New York, NY: Springer.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning (Revised & updated ed.). New York, NY: Washington Square Press.
  5. ↑ Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. (n.d.). History of the institute. Retrieved from http://www.logotherapyinstitute.org/History_of_the_Institute.html
  6. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (1997). Meaning-centered counselling: A cognitive-behavioral approach to logotherapy. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 20(2), 85-94.
  7. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (1998). Meaning-centered counselling. In P. T. P. Wong, & P. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 395-435). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  8. ↑ Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Garbinsky, E. N. (2012). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(6), 505-516.
  9. ↑ Armstrong, K. (2006). A short history of myth. Edinburgh, Scotland: Canongate.
  10. ↑ Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York, NY: Basic Books.
  11. ↑ Becker, E. (1973). The denial of death. New York, NY: Free Press.
  12. ↑ Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Pyszczynski, T. (1997). Terror management therapy of self-esteem and cultural worldviews: Empirical assessments and conceptual refinements. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 61-139.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Elis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1998). A guide to rational living (3rd ed.). Chatsworth, CA: Wilshire Book.
  14. ↑ Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  15. ↑ Adler, A. (2009). Social interest: Adler’s key to the meaning of life (C. Brett, Ed.). Oxford, UK: Oneworld. (Original published 1938)
  16. ↑ Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 410-422.
  17. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (2012). What is the meaning mindset? International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 4(1), 1-3.
  18. ↑ Emmons, R. A. (2005). Striving for the sacred: Personal goals, life meaning, and religion. Journal of Social Issues, 61(4), 731-745.
  19. ↑ Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (2012). The meaning of love. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed.; pp. 185-208). New York, NY: Routledge.
  20. ↑ Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
  21. ↑ Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310-357.
  22. ↑ Kessler, R. C., & McLeod, J. D. (1985). Social support and mental health in community samples. In S. Cohen & S. L. Syme (Eds.), Social support and health (pp. 219-240). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
  23. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (1993). Effective management of life stress: The resource-congruence model. Stress Medicine, 9(1), 51-60.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Wong, P. T. P. (1998). Implicit theories of meaningful life and the development of the Personal Meaning Profile (PMP). In P. T. P. Wong, & P. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 111-140). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  25. ↑ Lambert, M. J., & Barley, D. E. (2001). Research summary on the therapeutic relationship and psychotherapy outcome. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 38(4), 357-361.
  26. ↑ Asay, T. P., & Lambert, M. J. (1999). The empirical case for the common factors in therapy: Quantitative findings. In M. A. Hubble, B. L. Duncan, & S. D. Miller (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy (pp. 23-55). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  27. ↑ Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Vos, J., Craig, M., & Cooper, M. (2015). Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 115-128.
  29. ↑ Kashdan, T. B., & Ciarrochi, J. (Eds.). (2013). Mindfulness, acceptance, and positive psychology: The seven foundations of well-being. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Ruiz, F. J. (2010). A review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) empirical evidence: Correlational, experimental psychopathology, component and outcome studies. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 10(1), 125-162.
  31. ↑ Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  32. ↑ Cooper, M., & Dryden, W. (Eds.). (2015). The handbook of pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy. London, UK: Sage.
  33. ↑ Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy. London, UK: Sage.
  34. ↑ McEvoy, P. M., Nathan, P., & Norton, P. J. (2009). Efficacy of transdiagnostic treatments: A review of published outcome studies and future research directions. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23(1), 20-33.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Wong, P. T. P. (2016). Integrative meaning therapy: From logotherapy to existential positive interventions. In P. Russo-Netzer, S. E. Schulenberg, & A. Batthyany (Eds.). Clinical perspectives on meaning: Positive and existential psychotherapy (pp. 0-0). New York, NY: Springer.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling and therapy. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 619-647). New York, NY: Routledge.
  37. ↑ Försterling, F. (1985). Attributional retraining: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 98(3), 495-512.
  38. ↑ Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2004). Coping: Pitfalls and promise. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 745-774.
  39. ↑ Schnell, T. (2009). The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 483-499.
  40. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (2009). Viktor Frankl: Prophet of hope for the 21st century. In A. Batthyany, & J. Levinson (Eds.), Existential psychotherapy of meaning: Handbook of logotherapy and existential analysis. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker & Theisen.
  41. ↑ Lukas, E. S. (2014). Meaning in suffering: Comfort in crisis through logotherapy. (2nd ed., J. Fabry, Trans.). Birmingham, AB: Purpose Research. (Original published 1986)
  42. ↑ Craig, M., Vos, J., Cooper, M., & Correia, E. A. (2016). Existential psychotherapies. In D. J. Cain, K. Keenan, S. Rubin (Eds.), Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice (2nd ed., pp. 283-317). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  43. ↑ Wong, P. T. P., Reker, G. T. & Peacock, E. (2006). The resource-congruence model of coping and the development of the Coping Schema Inventory. In P. T. P. Wong, & L. C. J., Wong (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping (pp. 223-283). New York, NY: Springer.
  44. ↑ Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 561-574.
  45. ↑ Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519-543.
  46. ↑ Wong, P. T. P., & Wong, L. C. J. (2013). The challenge of communication: A meaning-centered perspective. In E. van Deurzen, & S. Iacovou (Eds.), Existential perspectives on relationship therapy. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
  47. ↑ Kelly, E. W. (1997). Relationship‐centered counseling: A humanistic model of integration. Journal of Counseling and Development, 75(5), 337-345.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Viktor Frankl’s meaning seeking model and positive psychology. In A. Batthyany & P. Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in existential and positive psychology (pp. 149-184). New York, NY: Springer.
  49. ↑ Breitbart, W. S., & Poppito, S. R. (2014). Individual meaning-centered psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: A treatment manual. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.    
  50. ↑ Breitbart, W. S., & Poppito, S. R. (2014). Meaning-centered group psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: A treatment manual. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  51. ↑ Dezelic, M. S. (2014). Meaning-centered therapy workbook: Based on Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and existential analysis. Coral Gables, FL: Dezelic & Associates.
  52. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (in press). Meaning-centered approach to research and therapy, second wave positive psychology, and the future of humanistic psychology. Humanistic Psychologist.
  53. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (2016, July). Self-transcendence: A paradoxical way to become your best. Presidential address for the 9th Biennial International Meaning Conference in Toronto, ON, Canada.
  54. ↑ Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology, 52(2), 69-81.
  55. ↑ Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2015). Second wave positive psychology: Embracing the dark side of life. London, UK:  Routledge.
  56. ↑ Corsini, R. J., & Wedding, D. (2014). Current psychotherapies (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.


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