Integrative Meaning Therapy: The Nature Way

© Paul T. P. Wong, PhD, CPsychMoscow Congress on the Human Quest for Meaning

Overview

1. Why focus on meaning in life (MIL)?2. What is integrative meaning therapy (MT)3. Why is MT the natural way to do therapy?4. How to work with MIL in psychotherapy?

Why focus on MIL?

• The most frequently asked question according to Google.

• The most persistent question in philosophy.• The most common issue in crisis situation• A fundamental concern for all clients.

Rising Need for Meaning in Life (MIL) in psychotherapy

• An explosive growth in meaning research.• An increasing need for MIL because of the

rapid social change and an uncertain future.• The essence of human experience and

wellbeing.• An essential part of human nature

Why do you put so much emphasis on MIL in therapy?

• Your survival and well-being depend on it.• You can’t survive very well if you do not know

the reason for your survival.• You can’t achieve your well-being if you do not

understand that meaning is a major pillar for well-being.

• Meaninglessness has been linked to all sorts of psychological, physical, and social problems.

Three Reasons for Resistance

Three common reasons why people are reluctant to enter into a conversation about MIL issues:

1. Defensiveness 2. Self-deception3. Busyness

Direct way of expressing MIL

• In times of loss or trauma, clients ask: Why this? Why me?

• In times of difficulties: What is the point of struggle?

• In times of transition or change: What should be my future direction?

Indirect ways of expressing MIL

• Why am I so unhappy in my job?• How can I be more successful in my

relationships with women or men?• I am bored to death, what can I do about this

problem?• How can I break my addiction habit?

How to work with MIL with clients

• Don’t have to be a logotherapist or an existential therapist.

• MIL is relevant to all psychotherapies.• Need to be attuned to existential issues.• Need to have a clear understanding of one’s

own MIL.• More an existential attitude than a set of skills.

How to work with MIL

According to Clara Hill (2014), there are four broad types of interventions.1. Support the use of MIL in therapy & life.2. Insight into the role of meaning3. Action to implement in sights or engaged in

what really matters. 4. Exploration –asking clients to tell their stories

and their goals and values

5 types of MIL interventions

1. Support clients in their struggles for MIL (encourage meaning seeking)

2. Probe implicit MIL issues & insights (discover MIL)3. Explore various assumptions, values & choices (choose

meaning as a value)4. Plan actions to implement MIL & pursue meaningful

goals (commitment to action)5. Educate them about the import role of MIL

(understanding need for MIL)

Psycho-education in MIL

• Explain that MIL is an important life skill.• Explain that MIL is important for healing and

thriving.• Teach them several useful MIL tools.• Teach them life is not a problem to be solved,

but an experience to be lived with openness, courage and wisdom.

How do you introduce PsyEdu?

• Introduce it during intake.• Model it through therapist’s attitude and

self-disclosure.• Demonstrate it in working with MIL

issues.

Three MIL tests:

• The mirror test – Do you like what you see in the mirror?

• Death bed test – What kinds of regrets would you have?

• Funeral service test – How would you like to say about you?

• The motto of MT:

• “Meaning is all we have” – We are a meaning-seeking, meaning-making species

• “Relationship is all we need” – We were designed for a relational world

What is Meaning Therapy?

What is MT?

• A comprehensive way of working with MIL.• A deeply caring & authentic way of engaging

clients in a dialogue.• An innovative way of integrating different

therapeutic modalities.• An extension of logotherapy.• An ecumenical existential therapy sensitive to

different cultural traditions.

What is MT (2)

• A positive existential therapy, or known as existential positive psychology (EPP).

• Prefers mainstream language.• Makes full use of positive psychology research.• Makes appropriate us of psychological tests.

Why is MT the natural way?

• It makes effective use of self regarding MIL issues.

• It makes full use of clients’ natural capacity for meaning seeking and meaning making.

• It appeals to their unique interest and talents.• It appeals to people’s natural yearning for

love, happiness, connections, & significance• It emphasizes the natural elements

The use of support in MT

This is implicit throughout therapy, from the intake session to interacting with clients.• Adopt a stance of being in the same boat.• Practice existential encounters in here & now.• Self-disclose the use of MIL.• Affirm the role of meaning in healing and

thriving.• Affirm the benefit of the MT process.

Sources of MIL (Wong 1998)

Self-oriented MIL• Positive emotions• Goad striving and achievement• Acceptance of one’s limitations• Intimacy (family & good friends_

Source of MIL (Wong, 1989)

Other-oriented MIL• Good relations with others.• Self-transcendence or altruism.• Religious beliefs in God.• Justice or fairness in society.

Indirect way of working with MIL

• Question what prevents them from finding happiness, or having a satisfactory job.

• Help clients see the connection between MIL with their presenting problems.

• Empower them to discover MIL by being actively engaged with what really matters.

• Model personal commitment to MIL

Direct Ways of Working with MIL.

• From the very beginning, tell them the advantage of using a meaning approach in resolving their presenting problems.

• Tell them the advantages of focusing on both their problems & their potentials for happiness and meaning fulfillment.

• Tell them their natural capacity for meaning seeking and meaning making.

New Paradigm vs. Old ParadigmNew Paradigm1. A wounded healer2. Clients are worthy

human beings3. A holistic approach4. Focuses on both healing

& flourishing5. Embraces negativity6. Nature’s way to mental

health

Old Paradigm1. An expert authority2. Clients are patients with

psychological disorders3. A component approach4. Focuses on symptom

reduction5. Remove negativity6. Medical way to mental

health

Problem-Focused vs. Potential-Focused

• Why do we need to redirect clients focused on their problems to their potentials?

• What are the therapeutic benefits of distancing from their problems?

• What skills do you need to achieve distancing or detachment?

From Problem-focused to Potentials-focused

• There are many way to redirect people to the topic of meaning without mentioning meaning. Here are a few examples: (1) What do you really want in life? (2) What kind of future do you prefer?(3) What really matters to you?(4) If all your problems were solved today, what life would be like?(5) If money is not an issue, what do want to do with your life?

Ego vs. LogosEgo

1. The source of suffering2. Kills relationships3. Avoids pain & confusion4. Seeks self-expansion, but

results in self-destruction5. Creates hopes that

cannot endure6. The bigger the ego, the

greater the problem

Logos1. The source of mental health2. Builds relationships3. Welcomes pain & confusion4. Seeks self-death, but results

in self-expansion5. Welcomes hopelessness in

order to find real hope6. The bigger the logos, the

smaller the problem

Frankl’s Concept on the Will to Meaning

• It is a primary & universal motive for self-transcendence & the quest for meaning.

• It is the origin of a purpose driven life.

• It is uniquely human and universally spiritual.

• It can be suppressed or blocked by other pursuits.

Self-Transcendence• The self-transcendence hypothesis simply predicts that

only when we redirect our focus from self-interest to something bigger than and beyond ourselves can we experience meaning in life.

• Frankl elevates commitment to the spiritual act of serving a higher purpose for the greater good.

Humans are spiritual beings.

• The will to meaning flows from the noetic dimension and represents what is uniquely human.

• To be fully human is to become fully engaged in pursuing self-transcendence and assume full responsibility for one’s life.

Meaning of Life

• Life has meaning under all circumstances.

• Each person must discover the meaning potential of each situation.

• The ultimate meaning lies in its pursuit.

• The situational meaning can be experienced through three avenues of value.

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF MT

1. Evidence-based2. Positive3. Integrative (Holistic)4. Cross-cultural5. Spiritual6. Relational

1. IT IS EVIDENCE-BASED

• It is supported by meaning research findings

• It consists of empirically validated therapies and practices.

• It is consistent with the best practice of tailoring intervention according to each client’s need.

• The phenomenological-hermeneutic data is supplemented by valid and reliable psychological tests.

3. IT IS INTEGRATIVE/HOLISTIC

• MT works with different selves, which represent different dimensions of the complex, evolving meaning system of self-concept

• The different selves also represent different therapeutic modalities

• MT is based on the effective use of multiple selves as depicted in the following figure

4. IT IS CROSS-CULTURAL

• Meaning is both individually and socially constructed

• Meaning systems are inevitably shaped by one’s historical and sociocultural background

• We cannot fully understand the meaning of behaviors unless they are viewed from within the ecological context

5. IT IS SPIRITUAL

• The will to meaning (the motivation to pursue self-transcendence) is situated in the spiritual dimension, which is the very core of personality

• Frankl characterizes human existence in terms of spirituality, freedom, and responsibility

• The essence of being fully human is to devote one’s life to pursuing self-transcendence

6. IT IS RELATIONAL

• The need to belong is a fundamental human motivation

• Relationship is the key to effective therapy

• In MT, relationship goes beyond mere therapeutic alliance

• MT emphasizes authentic encounter at the deepest level of common humanity between two individuals

• The therapist is the therapy

How do you relate to your client?

• As a psychologist or mental health professional?

• As a fellow human being and a helper?• As a wounded healer?• As a potential friend?• As an existential encounter?• As the main instrument of effective therapy?

The therapist is therapy

• The most important tool in therapy.• The presence permeates every aspect of the

process.• Listens with interest, empathy and

understanding.• Models how to relate with genuineness and

sensitivity.• Makes effective use of different aspects of self

The Search for Ultimate Meaning

• It is a matter of choice or presupposition.

• Such a global belief is more adaptive than the alternative that life has no ultimate meaning.

• It is a life-long process; we can only approximate ultimate meaning.

• It is closely related to theistic beliefs.

Situational Meaning• There is meaning potential in every

situation.

• The search for situational meaning can be facilitated by our global belief in ultimate meaning & enduring values.

• Responsibleness means meeting the demand quality of every situation.

A Meaning Mindset

• Meaning Mindset represents a basic value orientation different from the happiness or success mindsets.

• You cannot really practice Logotherapy without embracing a Meaning Mindset.

• A Meaning Mindset facilitates the discovery of meaning potentials in every situation.

The Meaning Mindset vs. The Success Mindset

SUCCESSFAILURE

MEANING FULFILLMENT

EMPTINESS

Ideal Life

Wasted Life

Shallow Life

Meaningful Life

1. I can find something meaningful or significant in everyday events. 1 2 3 4 5

2. There is a reason for everything that happens to me. 1 2 3 4 5 3. There is no ultimate meaning and purpose in life. 1 2 3 4 54. There is no point in searching for meaning in life. 1 2 3 4 55. No matter how painful the situation, life is still worth living. 1 2 3 4 56. The meaning of life is to “eat, drink and be happy”. 1 2 3 4 57. What really matters to me is to pursue a higher purpose or calling

regardless of personal cost. 1 2 3 4 58. I would rather be a happy pig than a sad saint. 1 2 3 4 59. I am willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good. 1 2 3 4 510.Personal happiness and success are more important to me than achieving

inner goodness and moral excellence. 1 2 3 4 5

Life Orientation Scale

Are you Living a Balanced Life?

Religion/Spirituality

Situational & Cultural Context

Achievement Acceptance

Self-transcendence

Intimacy Relationship

Fairness

Positive Emotion & Well-being

1. It is deeply felt – It touches your emotions in a deep and lasting way. More than a fleeting feeling, it reaches your innermost being.

2. It is deeply processed – It involves deeper layers of meaning beyond the factual and superficial.

3. It is enlightening – It provides a solution to some puzzling problems or leads to some new discovery.

4. It is transforming – It enriches your life, changes your life’s direction or restores a sense of purpose and passion to your life.

Definition of a Meaningful Moment

Measurements of Meaning in Life• Personal Meaning Profile

(PMP; Wong, 1998)

• Personal Meaning Profile-Brief (PMP-B; Wong, 2012)

• Personal Journal of Meaningful Moments

• The PURE Test (Wong, 2011)

• Meaningful Living Scale (MLS; Wong, 2011)

• Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985)

Meaning Interventions• Different ways of helping clients affirm the intrinsic

meaning and value of life

– Relationships: Ask clients about who they matter to most (e.g., their children, parents)

– Singularity: Emphasize that they are singular and capable of making a unique contribution

– Growth: Help them realize that everyone has the potential to learn and grow

– Spirituality: Explore how they can access and cultivate their spirituality

Meaning Interventions (cont’d)Client Exercises:

• Take the perspective of a dying person and discover what your main regrets would be

• Take the perspective an observer and discover what is going on

• Review past instances in which you overcame a difficulty and achieved your goal

• Commit to a purpose and plan a set of activities to pursue it

Fivefold Path to Positive Mental Health

1. Looking back for lessons learned in life

2. Looking around for opportunities to serve & excel

3. Looking forward to fulfilling my life goals

4. Looking down to lift up the down trodden

5. Looking up for divine inspiration and help

Integrating Dual Processes to Create the Good Life

Seeking what is meaningful

Transforming what is negative

The Good Life

Enjoying the present moment

Letting go

Appr

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© Paul T. P. Wong