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J Contemp Psychother (2010) 40:8593 DOI 10.1007/s10879-009-9132-6
ORIGINAL PAPER
Meaning Therapy: An Integrative and Positive Existential Psychotherapy
Paul T. P. Wong
Published online: 25 December 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract Meaning Therapy, also known as meaning-centered counseling and therapy, is an integrative, positive existential approach to counseling and psychotherapy. Originated from logotherapy, Meaning Therapy employs personal meaning as its central organizing construct and assimilates various schools of psychotherapy to achieve its therapeutic goal. Meaning Therapy focuses on the positive psychology of making life worth living in spite of sufferings and limitations. It advocates a psycho-educational approach to equip clients with the tools to navigate the inevitable negatives in human existence and create a preferred future. The paper rst introduces the dening characteristics and assumptions of Meaning Therapy. It then briey describes the conceptual frameworks and the major intervention strategies. In view of Meaning Therapys open, exible and integrative approach, it can be adopted either as a comprehensive method in its own right or as an adjunct to any system of psychotherapy.
Keywords Meaning Therapy Psychotherapy process
Introduction
A new set of challenges are facing psychotherapists. We are now living in a world shorn of moorings and in alarming disarray, doggedly exposing the extreme states of anxiety and confusion Mendelowitz (2009, p. 339). Existing conceptual categories can no longer accommodate the rapidly shifting values and emerging realities. The
future seems more chaotic and uncertain than ever. Advances in scientic research have not increased our ability to predict and control human destiny; we have not found any satisfactory rational explanation and scientic solution of human suffering and evil. The tragic dimension of life has become a big part of consciousness, with images of violence, death and human miseries dominating the mass media. In the post-911 world, the troubles confronting us often reach global and cosmic proportions.
Against the above backdrop, Meaning Therapy offers an integrative and positive existential perspective which capitalizes on the uniquely human capacity to discover and create meanings and values out of the raw and often painful life experiences. Originated from logotherapy (Frankl 1986; Wong 2002), Meaning Therapy employs personal meaning as its central organizing construct and assimilates various models of psychotherapy, from cognitive behavior therapy to positive psychotherapy. Meaning Therapy advocates...