1. Meaning profiles of clients at the start of therapy Nadezhda Golovchanova, Jessie Dezutter, Siebrecht Vanhooren KU Leuven, Belgium
Introduction
Meaning in life is an empirically measurable psychological concept, relevant to clinical practice.
Previous research demonstrated:
positive associations of experiencing meaning in life with psychological well-being;
negative associations of experiencing meaning in life with psychopathology.
Presence of meaning and search for meaning are meaning in life dimensions that constitute a meaning profile.
Methods
Sample: psychotherapy clients
(N=145)
Design: Cross-sectional,
person-oriented approach
Measures:
Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2006)
Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45; Lambert et al., 1996)
Work Alliance Inventory (WAV-12; Dutch version;
Stinckens, Ulburghs, & Claes, 2009)
Research questions
Which meaning profiles are present at the start of therapy?
Can meaning profiles be distinguished in terms of symptomatology?
Can meaning profiles be distinguished in terms of therapeutic alliance?
Results
Four meaning profiles are identified at the start of therapy: Low Presence High Search, High Presence Low Search, High Presence High Search, Low Presence Low Search.
Meaning profiles are statistically distinguished in terms of symptomatology: meaning profiles low on presence of meaning are associated with higher distress levels.
Meaning profiles are not distinguished in terms of therapeutic alliance perception.
Conclusion
The study demonstrated the complex links between meaning profiles and psychological distress, and, moreover, the absence of relationship between meaning profiles and therapeutic alliance perception in the sample of clients at the start of therapy.
Figure 1. Z-scores of presence of meaning and search for meaning for the 4-cluster solution
References
Steger, M. F. (2012) Experiencing meaning in life. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research and applications (2nd ed., pp ). New York, NY: Routledge
Vos, J., Cooper, M., Hill, C. E., Neimeyer, R. A., Schneider, K., & Wong, P. T. (2017). Five Perspectives on the Meaning of Meaning in the Context of Clinical Practices. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 1-15