Proceedings of the Meaning in Life International Conference 2022 - Cultivating, Promoting, and Enhancing Meaning in Life Across Cultures and Life Span (MIL 2022)

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Making Meaning in Life: A Thematic Review of Successful Experimental Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Interventions

Authors
Michael F. Steger1, 2, *
1Center for Meaning and Purpose, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
2Optentia Research Unit, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
*Corresponding author. Email: michael.f.steger@colostate.edu
Corresponding Author
Michael F. Steger
Available Online 27 December 2022.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-096-1_2How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Meaning in life; Purpose in life; Positive Psychology Interventions; Psychotherapy
Abstract

This review sought to identify thematic elements of causal interventions that significantly increase people’s reports of meaning in life. The author draws on existing reviews and meta-analyses of clinical interventions, as well as additional review of other research methods from which causality may be indicated, specifically social psychological experiments and psychotherapeutic modalities. The aim of the present review is not to catalogue every single such intervention, but to describe with a high degree of inclusion the themes and focal points of published efforts to change meaning in life. Eight focal points and five themes were identified across the hundreds of studies identified. It is suggested that to the extent researchers and practitioners target interventions at these focal points and themes, they may anticipate being able to benefit those who participate in such interventions. Further, it is hoped that these focal points and themes may facilitate bridges between meaning in life research and practice and other disciplines.

Copyright
© 2022 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the Meaning in Life International Conference 2022 - Cultivating, Promoting, and Enhancing Meaning in Life Across Cultures and Life Span (MIL 2022)
Series
Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities
Publication Date
27 December 2022
ISBN
10.2991/978-94-6463-096-1_2
ISSN
2667-128X
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-096-1_2How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2022 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Michael F. Steger
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/12/27
TI  - Making Meaning in Life: A Thematic Review of Successful Experimental Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Interventions
BT  - Proceedings of the Meaning in Life International Conference 2022 - Cultivating, Promoting, and Enhancing Meaning in Life Across Cultures and Life Span (MIL 2022)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 5
EP  - 20
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-096-1_2
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-096-1_2
ID  - Steger2022
ER  -