The International Forum for Logotherapy, 2005, 28.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO LOGOTHERAPISTS
Amanda M. A. Melton
Kwoneathia R. Hill
Benn, C.
[German Institute for Medical Mission
]
. (2001).
Does faith contribute to healing?
Scientific evidence for a correlation between spirituality and health.
International Review of Mission
, 90(356/357),
140-148.
-- As a part of a literature review of studies that focused on religious faith and physical healing, the author suggests that finding life-meaning is a critical component of faith’s healing ability.
Chen, C. P.
[Department of Adult Education, Community Development, and Counseling Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the
University
of
On
exploring meanings: Combining humanistic and career psychology theories in couselling.
Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 14(4), 317-330.
-- Key concepts in various humanistic psychotherapies (namely Adler's individual psychology, Rogers ’ person-centered psychology, and Frankl’s logotherapy) were reviewed and connected to theories in career psychology. Parallels between the two areas of psychology included: (a) the recognition of the importance of subjectivity/phenomenology in one's life, (b) the acknowledgement of human purpose and intentionality, (c) awareness of the social aspect in meaning making and interpretation, and (d) a discussion of human experiencing and action. Implications of these shared constructs for career counseling were given.
Collins, P. L., Shaughnessy, M. F.
[Psychology Department, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM 88130, USA]
, Bradley, L., & Brown, K. (2001).
Filicide-suicide: In search of meaning.
North American Journal of Psychology, 3(2), 277-292.
-- As part of a literature review on filicide-suicide (the act of a parent killing his or her child and then taking his or her own life) meaning-centered therapy focusing on helping clients to find their own life-meaning, as well as to find meaning in their children and their families, is discussed as a means for reducing filicide-suicide. Techniques that were encouraged for this therapy included Frankl’s ideas of how to find meaning in life (i.e., help others, experience life events, change of attitude about suffering) along with parent classes and support groups.
Draucker, C. B.
[College of Nursing, Henderson Hall, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA]
. (2001).
Learning
the harsh realities of life: Sexual violence, disillusionment, and meaning.
Health Care for Women International,
22, 67-84.
-- Grounded theory methods were used to qualitatively analyze the responses of 44 women who had experienced sexual violence by someone close to them. Analysis of the topics of explaining the violence, making sense of the violence, and finding meaning/purpose in the violence revealed that the women had learned “the harsh realities of life” and that they had to take it upon themselves to improve their lives. Pursuing one's own safety, taking justice into one’s own hands, and making something good out of something bad were the three tasks involved in this process.
Edwards, M. J.
[Department of Psychology, Queen’s University,
Kingston
, Ontario
K7L 3N6,
Canada
]
, & Holden, R. R. (2001).
Coping, meaning in life, and suicidal manifestations: Examining gender differences.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(12), 1517-1534.
-- In a study of 298 undergraduates at a university in Canada , life purpose (Purpose in Life test) was found to have negative relations with suicidal ideation (r = -.53 for men; r = -.56 for women) and potential future behaviors of suicide (r = -.29 for men; r = -.36 for women). Regression analyses showed that meaning served as a contributor for predicting suicidal manifestations in women more so than in men even if hopelessness was also a predictor. Associations between sense of coherence (Sense of Coherence Scale) and suicidal manifestations and coping strategy were also discussed.
Faller, G.
[
Psychology versus religion.
Journal of Pastoral Counseling, 36, 21-34.
-- As part of this theoretical discussion, the author proposes that logotherapy seems to be the unifying part of all psychological approaches because of its focus on meaning. In addition, the author proposes that logotherapy appears to be a means in which to address clients’ religious issues.
Garrow, S., & Walker, J.
[Department of Counseling and Family Therapy, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63118, USA]
.
(2001).
Existential group therapy and death anxiety.
Adultspan Journal, 3(2), 77-87.
-- Through the use of a scenario, the authors offer examples of how existential group therapy can be a means of addressing death anxiety among older adults. Some of the goals that were discussed for this therapy included helping clients realize that they are in control of their lives, helping clients take control over their experiences, and helping clients to find and reunite with the meaning for life that they once had (e.g., through connecting with others who are also searching for meaning in life).
Hagren, B.
[Department of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet,
Stockholm,
Sweden
]
, Pettersen, I.
, Severinsson, E., Lutzen, K., & Clyne, N. (2001).
The haemodialysis machine as a lifeline: Experiences of suffering from end-stage renal disease.
Journal of Advanced Nursing,
34(2), 196-203.
-- Interviews of 15 patients with end-stage renal disease were content analyzed to reveal how the patients dealt with suffering. Two themes emerged: (1) the haemodialysis machine as a lifeline and (2) as an alleviator of suffering. The former was comprised of three subthemes: (a) loss of freedom, (b) dependence on the caregiver, and (c) disrupted marital, family, and social life. The latter theme consisted of: (a) gaining a sense of existential optimism and (b) achieving a sense of personal autonomy.
Halstead, M. T.
[Department of Nursing,
Struggling with paradoxes: The process of spiritual development in women with cancer.
Oncology Nursing Forum,
28(10), 1534-1544.
-- Grounded theory techniques were used to analyze two semi-structured interviews of 10 women with breast or ovarian cancer. Threats to the women’s “ meaning in life” as a result of their diseases were discussed, and a possible solution to this problem was suggested as a three-phase process known as Struggling with Paradoxes. Phase I—Deciphering the Meaning of Cancer for Me—focused on the possibility of death, distress, vulnerability, and maintaining connection. Phase II—Recognizing Human Limitations— involved confronting death, asking difficult questions, and letting go of ultimate control of their lives. Phase III— Uncertainty—included uncertainty, redefining meaning, and identifying spiritual growth.
Harris, A. H. S.
[
School of
Psychometric properties of the Life
Regard Index-Revised: A validation study of a measure of personal meaning.
Psychological Reports,
89, 759-773.
-- A psychometric analysis of the scores of 91 participants on the Life Regard Index-Revised (LRI-R) suggested concurrent and discriminant validity in relation to the Life Attitude Profile-Revised, and other measures of spirituality and hopelessness. A factor analysis revealed that the 2-factor model proposed by the original authors (Battista & Almond, 1973) was not the best fit for the data.
Helminiak, D. A.
[Psychology Department, State University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118, USA]
. (2001).
Treating spiritual issues in secular psychotherapy.
Counseling and Values, 45(3), 163-189.
-- As part of a theoretical discussion, the author describes psychotherapy as a process that addresses spirituality, a possible source of meaning and purpose in life that the author considers to be separate from religion.
Henrion, R.
[19 Wen Mar Avenue, Pass Christian, MS 39571,
USA
]
. (2001).
Meaning in Life Evaluation Scale – Homework assignment for clients in logotherapy.
In H. G. Rosenthal (Ed.),
Favorite counseling and therapy homework assignments: Leading therapists share their most creative strategies
(pp. 121-123). Philadelphia
, PA
: Brunner-Routledge.
– The focus is on the Meaning in Life Evaluation scale (MILE), a therapy homework assignment requiring the client to choose among 20 values in a paired-comparison fashion. Upon completion, the five values with the most endorsements become goals to facilitate the discovery of meaning. The technique is used to help people focus on the positives. This assignment can be completed again to assess changes in goals and values.
Kinnier, R. T.
[Division of Psychology in Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0611, USA]
, Tribbensee, N. E., Rose, C. A., & Vaughan, S. M. (2001).
In the final analysis:
More wisdom from people who have faced death.
Journal of Counseling and Development, 79, 171-177.
-- The article discussed themes that arose from interviewing 17 adults who had experienced events that were life threatening. Overall, the life-threatening situations served as positive experiences. Participants were better able to put priorities into perspective; discover meaning in life; appreciate the little things in life; embrace spirituality, family, friends, and relationships; and inspire to engage in helping others, etc.
Längle, A.
[Eduard Suess-Gasse 10, A-1150 Vienna
,
Austria
]
.
(2001).
Old age from an existential-analytical perspective.
Psychological Reports, 89, 211-215.
-- Somatic (i.e., senses lose their efficiency), psychological (i.e., losses in vitality, intensity of drives, and cognitive capabilities), and social (losses in contact and increases in loneliness and dependence on others) losses due to old age are considered existentially. Maladaptive responses (e.g., depression) may be circumvented by a personal, existential analysis of one's life during old age.
AMANDA M. A. MELTON
[amadamso@olemiss.edu]
and KWONEATHIA R. HILL
[khill1@olemiss.edu]
are graduate students in the Department of Psychology at
The
University of
The International Forum for Logotherapy, 2005, 28.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO LOGOTHERAPISTS
Kwoneathia R. Hill
Amanda M. A. Melton
Lantz, J. (2001).
Depression, existential family therapy, and Viktor Frankl’s dimensional ontology.
Contemporary Family Therapy,
23(1), 19-32.
-- Three aspects of Viktor Frankl’s dimensional ontology —what we must do, what we can do, and what we ought to do—were discussed, applied to a typology of family depression, and used to explain existential family therapy for the three types of family depression (i.e., the must, can, and ought dimensions of family depression). Case studies were also included to illustrate the author’s points.
McCormick, D. P.
[Infectious Disease Clinic of the
Spirituality and HIV disease: An integrated perspective.
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 12(3), 58-65.
-- Spirituality was discussed as a coping technique for those with HIV disease. The components of spirituality, religiosity, and existentialism share several concepts such as meaning in life, hope, self-transcendence, and rituals. These spiritual aspects were placed within the context of nursing interventions, which included promoting hope, teaching, sharing information, and creating a sense of empowerment in people with AIDS.
O’Neill, B.
[Director of the Illawarra Gestalt Centre, University of Wollongong
,
Australia
]
.
(2001).
Psychotherapy and our search for meaning.
Gestalt
!, 5(3), NP.
-- The author suggests that the search for meaning is vital in solving the problems of the world (e.g., violence, psychological issues, abuse, and suicide) and argues that therapists have to help clients recognize these situations and find meaning in and/or through them. However, the author suggests that most current Western therapists do not focus on helping people find meaning, and argues that the therapeutic focus needs to change.
Riess, M.
[Department of Psychology, Middlebury College,
VT 05753,
USA
]
.
(2001, January and February).
Finding meaning in my mother’s madness.
The Humanist, 20-23.
-- The author discussed how he found meaning in the suffering his mother experienced from manic-depressive psychosis. Among the meaningful results he noticed from this mental disorder were that he: (a) became active in mental health issues, (b) began to advocate for the rights of people with serious mental illness, (c) completed clinical and academic work in psychology and achieved success therein, (d) made positive decisions for his life (e.g., to remain drug free) that promote mental health, (e) met many wonderful people through conferences (including his wife), and (f) created a scholarship in his mother’s name.
Shek, D. T. L.
[Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N. T. Hong Kong]
. (2001).
Meaning in life and sense of mastery in Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage.
Psychological Reports, 88, 711-712.
-- The overall results of the study showed a statistically significant positive correlation ( r = .66) between meaning in life (Existential Well-being Scale) and the sense of life control (Mastery Scale; i.e., greater life meaning was associated with greater perceived sense of life control) in 229 economically disadvantaged Chinese adolescents.
Takkinen, S.
[Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyvaskyla, Finland]
, & Ruoppila, I. (2001).
Meaning in life as an important component of functioning in old age.
International Journal of Aging and Human Development,
53(3), 211-231.
-- Results from laboratory tests, medical exams, and interviews of 55 people born in two cohorts (1910 and 1914) were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling method. A two-dimensional model of functioning was discovered to be the best fitting model of the data, which included the “subjective vs. objective” dimension and the “psychosocial vs. physical” dimension. All of the measures of meaning in life were located in the subjective half of the dimension, while the measures varied considerably in location along the other dimension. These findings show the space of functioning in old age as including subjectively experienced meaning in life in both psychosocial and physical domains.
Takkinen, S.
[Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyvaskyla, Finland]
, & Ruoppila, I. (2001).
Meaning in life in three samples of elderly persons with high cognitive functioning.
International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 53(1), 51-73.
-- Results showed that among samples of elderly groups, life-meaning (i.e., sense of coherence, meaning of death, change in zest for life, and sense of meaning in life) as measured by interview questions based on the theories of Erikson and Frankl and the Sense of Coherence questionnaire did not differ between the high cognitive functioning elders and the comparison elderly group. Most said that their life was meaningful and that their zest for life had not changed. There was no significant difference in death’s meaning and in scores on the Sense of Coherence questionnaire between the groups. However, source of life-meaning (measured by interview questions) differed somewhat between the two groups. The source of meaning for the high cognitive functioning group was mostly human relationships versus belief in the future, life respect, and life interest for the comparison group. Further analyses suggested that greater life meaning was related to greater zest for life and greater sense of coherence.
Wheeler, I.
[Center for Counseling and Human Development,
Parental bereavement: The crisis of meaning.
Death Studies,
25, 51-66.
-- The search for meaning in parental bereavement was qualitatively investigated in 176 bereaved parents to find that two parts of the mourning process include: (a) the search for cognitive mastery and (b) the search for renewed purpose. Two questions asked centered around finding meaning in the actual event and finding meaning in their own lives since their child’s death. Those who found meaning from their child’s death did so through (a) connections with people, (b) the memory of their child, and (c) resulting positive gains (such as becoming stronger people). Those parents who found meaning in their own lives since their child’s death cited (a) connections with people, (b) activities, (c) beliefs and values, (d) personal growth, and (e) connections with the lost child through memories.
Wong, P. T. P.
[Graduate Counseling Psychology Department, Trinity Western University, 7600 Glover Road,
Langley, British Columbia V2Y 1Y1, Canada]
, & McDonald, M. J. (2001).
Tragic optimism and personal meaning in counselling victims of abuse.
Pastoral Sciences, 20(2), 231-249.
-- As part of a theoretical discussion on recovering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the authors propose that finding meaning in life generally and/or through past experience is a key component of several models of helping people cope with PTSD.
KWONEATHIA R. HILL
[khill1@olemiss.edu]
and AMANDA M. A. MELTON
[amadamso@olemiss.edu]
are graduate students in the Department of Psychology at
The
University of