Meaning Therapy
Dr. Paul Wong
My Letter of Intent on my proposal to a Templeton Grant on the topic of Gratitude to God, administered by BIOLA University.
This letter of intent was part of the application submitted for the Biola University Gratitude to God Grant. This proposed project will be my last contribution to the science of spirituality/religion and a fitting conclusion of all my research involving faith in God...
From Solution-Focused Therapy to Meaning-Focused Therapy
I am surprised about how much my meaning-focused therapy is similar to brief-strategy therapy and solution-focused therapy. I am also surprised about how Dr. Frankl work in logotherapy also had features of this strategic-action approach. Here are the...
A Case Study of Dissociative Disorder in Meaning Therapy
This case study focuses on one of my clients, who was a young man with disheveled long hair and unkempt clothing. His presenting problem was dissociative disorder with hypochondriac symptoms, such as pseudo-seizures after travelling by air or having a bad dream. He...
A Case Study of Suicide Prevention in Meaning Therapy.
A tall and handsome young man walked into my counselling room with a drooping head. He spoke with a weak voice and he avoided any eye contact. He was a twenty-something client with a history of two attempted suicides and one hospitalization. He had been seen already...
Meaning Therapy for the Rich But Miserable People
I have worked with several rich, successful, but unhappy clients. They include CEOs, medical doctors, lawyers, movie stars, and consultants. My meaning-focused therapy has worked well with them because it is based on the new science of finding happiness through...
Coda: My Swan Song
Dr. Paul T. P. Wong’s autobiography, A Lifelong Search for Meaning: Lessons on Virtue, Grit, and Faith, is published in weekly installments. Stay updated here.Writing my autobiography has been a long journey–it started in 2012 and completed in 2019. It was also a very...
Meaning and Evil and a Two-factor Model of Search for Meaning
Abstract Overall, I am impressed with Baumeister and von Hippel’s analysis in this essay (this issue), but I am less satisfied in “the special issue of applying meaning to life, culminating in the modern existential debates about the meaning and purpose of life...
Development and Preliminary Validation of the Existential Gratitude Scale (EGS)
Abstract This paper reports the development and preliminary validation of a new Existential Gratitude Scale (EGS), designed to measure the tendency to give thanks in difficult times. This study is part of the research agenda of second-wave positive psychology (PP2.0)...
Second Wave Positive Psychology’s (PP 2.0) Contribution to Counselling Psychology
Abstract Second wave positive psychology (PP 2.0), consisting of two pillars—existential positive psychology and indigenous psychology—emerges as a complement to the limitations of positive psychology as championed by Martin Seligman. This special issue illustrates...
The Current Mental Health Crisis and Meaning Therapy
The Old Paradigm is No Longer Working The WHO World Mental Health Survey (WMH) shows that trauma exposure is common; about 70% of people experience lifetime traumas. If untreated, trauma leads to depression, PTSD, and suicide. Suicide rates in the U.S. have increased...
How I Cracked Nature’s Code for Positive Mental Health: Introduction and My Search for Meaning
President's Column for the Positive Living Newsletter (July 2019). Read the rest of the newsletter here.Introduction The answer to my lifelong search for meaning and happiness in times of suffering seems surprisingly simple: To live a meaningful life regardless of...
Brief Meaning Therapy for All Mental Health Workers
What are the immediate results or benefits from practicing Meaning Therapy only in a few sessions? 1. You establish a trusting relationship as someone who really cares about your clients, understands their struggles, and points them to the right direction. 2. Of the...