Meaning Therapy
Dr. Paul Wong
Existential Theoretical Framework (SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal & Clinical Psychology)
Existentialism is concerned with the inescapable aspects of human existence and addresses the recurrent questions of human struggles: What am I doing here? What is the point of striving toward a goal, when death is the inevitable end? How can I live a worthwhile life?...
Coping and Stress (SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal & Clinical Psychology)
Stress is an inevitable aspect of living. In everyday parlance, stress refers to an emotional state of pressure, tension, or distress because of certain demands, actual or imagined, that threaten our psychological or physical well-being. These demands may involve a...
Death and Dying (SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal & Clinical Psychology)
The moment we are born, we are thrown into a precarious existence in a dangerous world; almost anything can end our earthly existence: accidents, diseases, disasters, or violence. No matter how carefully we avoid death and prolong life, sooner or later, we all die....
Integrative Meaning Therapy: From Logotherapy to Existential Positive Interventions
Abstract This chapter first argues the need for second wave positive psychology (PP2.0), which is informed by Frankl’s logotherapy as well as existential psychology. The main thesis of PP2.0 is that in order to attain healing and authentic happiness, one needs to...
The Meaning Hypothesis of Living a Good Life: Virtue, Happiness, and Meaning
Abstract My long-term research interest has revolved around the central theme of the vital role of meaning in living the good life individually and collectively. The meaning hypothesis (MH) introduced here represents an overarching framework for my...
Questionable Measures are Pretty Meaningless: Comment on Heintzelman and King (2014)
Keywords Meaning in life, purpose in life, psychometrics, positive psychology Heintzelman and King (2014) argued that meaning in life (MIL) is widely experienced and exists at high levels. In this brief commentary, we examine what we believe are several flaws in their...
A Decade of Meaning: Past, Present, and Future
Since the International Network on Personal Meaning's (INPM) first International Meaning Conference in 2000, INPM has continued to pursue the same path of seeking an integrative and comprehensive understanding of meaning, given the profound complexity of this...
A Meaning-Centered Approach to Overcoming Loneliness During Hospitalization, Old Age, and Dying
Click to download Dr. Paul T. P. Wong's chapter, "A Meaning-Centered Approach to Overcoming Loneliness During Hospitalization, Old Age, and Dying" the book Addressing Loneliness: Coping, Prevention and Clinical Interventions edited by Ami Sha'ked and Ami Rokach. A...
How to Work with Meaning in Life Issues in Counselling and Therapy
Written by Dr. Paul Wong for the Positive Living Newsletter (June 2015). Read the rest of the newsletter here. This issue showcases INPM’s unique mission of developing a big-tent approach to working with meaning in life (MIL) issues. Such an...
Existential Positive Psychology
This article will be published in: Wong, P. T. P. (in press). Existential positive psychology. In S. Lopez (Ed.), Encyclopedia of positive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell. Abstract: Existential psychology is about human existence and the human drama...
Meaning Therapy: Assessments and Interventions
Abstract This paper introduces meaning therapy (MT) as a recent extension of Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy with several important new features, such as being integrative, empirical, and positive. With meaning as a holistic, central construct, MT is inherently...
From Attunement to a Meaning-Centered Good Life
Happiness: A Very Short Introduction By Daniel M. Haybron Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013. 168 pp. ISBN 978-0199590605 $11.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong This small book is a real gem, sparkling with brilliant insights. I have always enjoyed philosophers’...