This keynote is about Viktor Frankl's contribution to psychology and psychotherapy. The focus is on logotherapy and meaning therapy.

1. Integrative Meaning Therapy:
The Nature Way
© Paul T. P. Wong, PhD, CPsych
Moscow Congress on the
Human Quest for Meaning

2. 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?

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. Three Reasons for Resistance
Three common reasons why people are
reluctant to enter into a conversation about MIL
issues:
1. Defensiveness
2. Self-deception
3. Busyness

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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.

10. 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 meaning
3. Action to implement in sights or engaged in
what really matters.
4. Exploration –asking clients to tell their stories
and their goals and values

11. 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)

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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?

15. • 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?

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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.

21. Sources of MIL (Wong 1998)
Self-oriented MIL
• Positive emotions
• Goad striving and achievement
• Acceptance of one’s limitations
• Intimacy (family & good friends_

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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.

25. New Paradigm vs. Old Paradigm
New Paradigm
1. A wounded healer
2. Clients are worthy
human beings
3. A holistic approach
4. Focuses on both healing
& flourishing
5. Embraces negativity
6. Nature’s way to mental
health
Old Paradigm
1. An expert authority
2. Clients are patients with
psychological disorders
3. A component approach
4. Focuses on symptom
reduction
5. Remove negativity
6. Medical way to mental
health

26. 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?

27. 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?

28. Ego vs. Logos
Ego
1. The source of suffering
2. Kills relationships
3. Avoids pain & confusion
4. Seeks self-expansion, but
results in self-destruction
5. Creates hopes that
cannot endure
6. The bigger the ego, the
greater the problem
Logos
1. The source of mental health
2. Builds relationships
3. Welcomes pain & confusion
4. Seeks self-death, but results
in self-expansion
5. Welcomes hopelessness in
order to find real hope
6. The bigger the logos, the
smaller the problem

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF MT
1. Evidence-based
2. Positive
3. Integrative (Holistic)
4. Cross-cultural
5. Spiritual
6. Relational

34. 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.

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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?

41. 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

42. 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.

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. The Meaning Mindset vs.
The Success Mindset
SUCCESSFAILURE
MEANING FULFILLMENT
EMPTINESS
Ideal
Life
Wasted
Life
Shallow
Life
Meaningful
Life

46. 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 5
4. There is no point in searching for meaning in life. 1 2 3 4 5
5. No matter how painful the situation, life is still worth living. 1 2 3 4 5
6. The meaning of life is to “eat, drink and be happy”. 1 2 3 4 5
7. What really matters to me is to pursue a higher purpose or calling
regardless of personal cost. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I would rather be a happy pig than a sad saint. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I am willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good. 1 2 3 4 5
10.Personal happiness and success are more important to me than achieving
inner goodness and moral excellence. 1 2 3 4 5
Life Orientation Scale

48. Are you Living a Balanced Life?
Religion/
Spirituality
Situational &
Cultural Context
Achievement Acceptance
Self-
transcendence
Intimacy Relationship
Fairness
Positive Emotion
& Well-being

49. 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

50. 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)

51. 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

52. 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

53. 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

54. 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
ApproachAvoidance
© Paul T. P. Wong