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P R E S I D E N T ' S C O L U M N
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Milestones — Past and Future
I want to wish every Meaning Partner a Happy New Year!
Looking back, it has been an exciting year with our 20th anniversary celebration for the INPM and my 80th birthday celebration. As part of this celebration, we have finished and will publish the Inspirations for Difficult Times as a fundraiser for the INPM. This is our first ever fundraising campaign, and I hope I count on your support when we release the book!
Another milestone is the special issue of Counselling Psychology Quarterly devoted to Second Wave Positive Psychology (submission deadline: Feb. 28, 2019). Other items which may be of interest include my recent lecture in Spain and TV interview, and the featured article of the last 2018 issue of the APA Monitor — “In Search of Meaning” — has incorporated their interview with me on meaning therapy.
Looking forward, we anticipate an even greater impact on psychology and society. My optimism is based on these observations.
- An increasing number of practitioners and researchers from many parts of the world have requested collaboration and permissions to use our meaning-oriented test instruments.
- The revamped www.meaning.ca will complete its updates this year. It will become an important resource for meaning-oriented research and interventions. This gigantic task was made possible by the generous support of Melanie Alsager, Administrator of Sunshine Coast Health Centre.
- An increasing number of individuals have requested training in meaning therapy. On April 12, 2019, I will give a one-day workshop at the Royal Mental Health Centre in Ottawa, Canada. On July 20-21, 2019, I will give a two-day workshop on Trauma, Resilience, and Meaning Therapy at the Novotel North York Hotel in Toronto, Canada.
- We will develop more online modules on meaning therapy and PP 2.0 this year.
Additionally, there will be some changes to the Board of Directors. After four years of service, Luis Marrero and Gordon Medlock have left the Board, and they are now replaced by Geoffrey Thompson and Mega Leung. I am pleased that Geoffrey will be responsible for our Publication Portfolio and take over the editorship of this newsletter. Mega will be a Board member at large. We are still in need of Board members for the Research and Development Portfolios; I encourage interested members to apply by writing to me (drpaulwong@gmail.com) or Daniel Jordan (danielj@schc.ca).
Finally, we are still working on the succession plan. Daniel Jordan is now the acting Executive Director and Chieh Hsu, Deputy Chair of the Board, pending approval. We are still in need of a President-Elect, who is committed to carrying on the unique big-tent mission of the INPM.
 Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych.
President, INPM
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N E W I N P M B O A R D M E M B E R S
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Geoffrey R. Thompson, Ph.D.
Geoff has a 16-year history with INPM, beginning in 2002 with the second Meaning Conference. In 2006, he was INPM’s executive director, program director for its conference, and managing editor of its journal. He has presented at several of the nine meaning conferences he has attended.
Much of his work focuses on the nature of addiction and recovery. INPM published his book on how the Nobel-prize winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, overcame his alcoholism, a meaning-centered interpretation of the writer’s addiction and recovery. He later helped edit INPM’s The Positive Psychology of Meaning and Addiction Recovery.
READ MORE »
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Mega Leung, R.C.C.
Mega’s involvement with the INPM began shortly after working closely with Dr. Paul Wong as his student, research assistant, and teaching assistant during her graduate studies in the M.A. Counselling Psychology program at Trinity Western University between 2000 and 2003. She has volunteered and presented in four of the nine Meaning Conferences starting from 2002.
Upon her graduation and completion of her thesis project with Dr. Paul Wong on tragic optimism and the development of the Life Attitudes Scale—a subpart of the Meaning-Centered Counselling Therapy that focuses on the resilient growth from adverse circumstances—Mega...
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F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E S
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Featured Member: Roumen Bezergianov
I am the author of Character Education with Chess, published as an e-book on Amazon, and translated in Bulgarian, Farsi, Slovak, and Turkish. I am a licensed professional counselor at Arizona State University Counseling Services.
I was born in Bulgaria in 1976 and immigrated to the United States in 1993. I earned my Master’s in Counseling at Arizona State University and have worked in various settings: with seriously mentally ill patients in the Phoenix area, with juveniles in detention in Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections and Maricopa County Juvenile Probation, and with patients suffering from various addictive behaviors at the Meadows in Wickenburg, Arizona.
When I first read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, I knew that was the theoretical orientation that spoke most eloquently to me...
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The Opioid Crisis as a Problem of Meaning
Geoff Thompson
The opioid crisis and fentanyl, the opioid most responsible for drug overdoses, has once again brought addiction into focus. In British Columbia, where the crisis is at its worst in Canada, the overdose death rate from illicit drugs has been rising since 2008. By 2015, overdose deaths had reached 526, a number never seen before in the province, of which 152 were fentanyl-related (29%). In response, on April 14, 2016, BC’s Chief Medical Officer declared a provincial health emergency. Since then, our interventions have focused on reversing overdoses, treating users with opioid substitution medications, educating drug users on the dangers of fentanyl, and funding new treatment beds.
Two-and-a-half years into the health emergency, we appear to have accomplished little. In 2016, there were 667 fentanyl-related deaths, 67% of...
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A N N O U N C E M E N T S
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International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy
In addition to the 11 previously announced articles, the Special Issue for the Proceedings of the 2016 Meaning Conference now includes 4 new articles:
INVITED SPEAKER
PP 2.0 STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP
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Inspirations for Difficult Times
It will be published both as a print book and an e-book. Stay updated by liking the official Facebook page.
Over the years, Paul has posted numerous inspirational statements on Facebook. Many of his friends have urged him to publish these little gems in a book. This publication is the answer to these requests, and a “thank you” for the thousands of friends who have responded positively to his postings.
Paul has composed these statements for years, starting during the difficult days of unemployment after his high school graduation, which he described as “writing my way out of darkness into light.” This was the beginning of a lifelong habit of writing daily inspirational statements to lift up his own spirit and inspire others.
Whether in the vale of tears or on the mountaintop, Paul seems to have a unique insight into the human condition and finds creative ways to ignite a spark in people. His life motto is: “My happiness is to bring happiness to the suffering people.”
The inspirations included here are some of his favourites and the most popular ones. This book was initiated as part of the celebration of his legacy at his 80th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the INPM, which he founded.
Whatever your ongoing battle, be it sickness, loss, loneliness, or depression, it is my hope that these words and pictures will inspire you, and give you new grounds for hope, renewed reasons for living, and unexpected joy.
 Lilian C. J. Wong, Ph.D., R.P.
Editor, Inspirations for Difficult Times
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 Counselling Psychology Quarterly
Submit to this Special Issue on Second-Wave Positive Psychology in Counselling Psychology
Counselling psychology values and respects client strengths, resilience, and other adaptive capacities. Undoubtedly, positive psychology has a lot to offer to counselling psychology. Although positive psychology has indeed informed the research and practice of counselling psychologists, critics have noted that an overemphasis on “positive” qualities was too simplistic to understand the complexity of human psychological functioning and change processes.
A “second wave” positive psychology has more recently emerged, which questions the dichotomy between positive and negative, challenges the very notion of “positive,” and explores the intricate interplays between so-called positive and negative psychological processes. Such an approach is expected to bring clinically more meaningful implications for counselling research and practice.
Counselling Psychology Quarterly thus invites empirical research articles, research-based systematic reviews, and research-informed conceptual papers relevant to an anticipated special issue or section on the application of a second-wave positive psychology in counselling research and practice.
Empirical papers, both quantitative and qualitative, that advance our knowledge in this area are welcomed, as well as clinical materials illustrating counsellors’ interventions and client change processes.
Areas of further interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- How a particular psychological trait, quality, and/or process that has traditionally been regarded as “negative” can bring “positive” influences on psychological functioning and change processes in counselling.
- How the dialectic process of “positive” and “negative” captures the complexity of well-being and other important psychological processes in the practice of psychotherapy.
- Narratives of those who are using the ideas of second-wave positive psychology in their practice of psychotherapy (advantages/disadvantages, effect of such experiences personally and professionally, perceived effects on clients, lessons learned, etc.).
- Particular challenges faced when using second-wave psychology as part of the practice of counselling and psychotherapy.
- How counselling psychologists’ professional training prepares them to make use of principles and ideas of a second-wave positive psychology.
- Multicultural considerations in second-wave positive psychology in the practice of counselling and psychotherapy.
- Ethical considerations relevant to applying second-wave positive psychology in the context of counselling and psychotherapy practice.
Instructions for Authors: For instructions on how to submit your paper, visit here.
Editorial Information: Guest editor, Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., Trent University and Saybrook University (dr.paul.wong@gmail.com).
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 The INPM is dedicated to advancing health, spirituality, peace and human fulfillment through research, education, and applied psychology with a focus on the universal human quest for meaning and purpose.
If you are interested in becoming a member of INPM, please email info@meaning.ca or click here.
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