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Working with Meaning in Life in Mental Health Care: A Systematic Literature Review of the Practices and Effectiveness of Meaning-Centred Therapies

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Clinical Perspectives on Meaning

Abstract

In the past, when individuals had questions about meaning in life, they turned to their tribe, religion or philosophy, but nowadays many see therapists. This chapter systematically reviews the evidence base for meaning-centred therapy (MCT). Thirty different MCT schools can be identified, including logotherapy, existential analysis and meaning-centred group psychotherapy. Despite a traditional reluctance to standardisation, there has been an exponential growth in research publications on MCT, possibly because fundamental clinical–aetiological assumptions underlying MCT have been empirically validated. For instance, meaning has been operationalised as motivation, values, understanding, self-worth, action-directed goals and self-regulation. Furthermore, a majority of individuals in stressful life situations have been shown to ask meaning-related questions, and focusing on meaning helps to cope with such situations. MCT treatment manuals reveal many similarities. For instance, many therapists create a meaning-centred assessment, use meaning-specific skills such as didactics and meaning-specific exercises and use existential, relational–humanistic skills and spiritual/mindfulness skills; many skills are supported by empirical evidence. Therapy sessions often centre around systematically exploring a range of possible sources of meaning in life which clients can experientially connect with and experiment with in daily life. Meta-analyses of 60 trials in 3713 participants have shown that MCT has large effects both on short term and long terms in quality of life and psychological stress and more specifically on meaning in life, hope and optimism, self-efficacy and social well-being. Additional meta-regression analyses show that psychological stress decreases, thanks to improvements in meaning in life. In summary, MCT seems to be a relatively homogeneous group of therapies based on evidence-based clinical–aetiological assumptions and largely improving the well-being of clients. Therapists are recommended to offer MCT to clients with meaning-related questions, particularly in stressful life situations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Holybourne Avenue, London, SW15 4JD, UK

    Joel Vos Ph.D.

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  1. Joel Vos Ph.D.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Pninit Russo-Netzer

  2. Department of Psychology Clinical-Disaster Research Center (UM-CDRC), University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, USA

    Stefan E. Schulenberg

  3. International Academy of Philosophy, University in the Principality of Liechtenstein, Vienna, Austria

    Alexander Batthyany

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Vos, J. (2016). Working with Meaning in Life in Mental Health Care: A Systematic Literature Review of the Practices and Effectiveness of Meaning-Centred Therapies. In: Russo-Netzer, P., Schulenberg, S., Batthyany, A. (eds) Clinical Perspectives on Meaning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41397-6_4

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