Time to Refocus
September is often thought of as the end of one season and beginning of another. But it has a different feeling than the other transition months (March, June, December), mainly because many people return to work after the summer holidays and the new school year begins. September has thus been called a time to refocus our energies.
INPM has also started to refocus after the summer, first, by publishing this newsletter, and, secondly, holding our Board retreat. Although the INPM Board meets regularly online, Board members got together in Vancouver, September 28 and 29, to refocus their energies. Apart from the usual administrative tasks, members discussed plans for the 2020 Biennial International Meaning Conference, software platforms for podcasts and webinars, progress on updating INPM’s website (www.meaning.ca), and exploring avenues to promote meaning in the public and professional community.
The Board has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on these projects during 2019. As we focus our efforts, we’re planning on bringing them to fruition in the near future.
In This Issue
With September come memories of 9/11. Paul Wong’s president’s column, “What is the Greatest Need Today?” focuses on responsibility as key to surviving and thriving in difficult times. Citing expert passages from the anthology Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility, Wong explains why each of us should work hard to practice a responsible life in our personal affairs, with others, and by attaching our lives to something greater than ourselves.
Geoff Thompson’s column on “Addiction and Shame” suggests that shame over personal addiction can cajole and goad a person into finding a new way of living. Although addiction psychologists routinely dismiss shame as a “nonadaptive” and “deleterious” emotion, Thompson points out that philosophers and literary artists have had little problem pointing out shame’s beneficial effects.
Daniel Jordan’s article, “Emotions and Positive Change,” summarizes his qualitative research studying positive and significant changes in those who have completed residential addiction treatment. Rather than interpret their negative emotions as harmful or hindering recovery, participants reported that both positive and negative emotions contributed to meaningful changes in their lives.
The play Equus has been the subject of numerous articles (and one special edition) in clinical psychology journals and in psychology classes. Geoff Thompson’s article, “‘Subversive’ Thoughts on Psychotherapy,” suggests that the play’s popularity likely comes from its interpretation of suffering as the source of passion and vitality.
We welcome new and renewing members to the INPM, and three have written introductions of themselves. Piers Worth is a retired UK psychology professor (Reader) and a chartered psychologist, whose interests include Carl Rogers’ core conditions. Edward Chang is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, who has agreed to be an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Existential Positive Psychology. Lilian Jans-Beken shifted gears in mid-life from truck driver to a psychologist studying gratitude. She provides an extended introduction to include her research on gratitude with Dr. Wong.
Finally, “Miscellany” is a collection of small items on September’s World Suicide Prevention Day, the Roseto Effect, and an invitation to submit articles to the newsletter.
I hope the newsletter reminds you of our shared goal: living well despite adversity.
 Geoffrey Thompson, Ph.D.
Editor, Positive Living in Difficult Times
INPM Newsletter
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P R E S I D E N T ' S C O L U M N
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What is the Greatest Need Today? Responsibility is the Key to Surviving and Thriving in Dangerous Times
Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D.
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In a democratic society, people are free to choose, but are not free from the consequences of their choices. A sense of responsibility towards the self, others, and a higher authority serves the important function of guiding people to make the right choices. Therefore, the survival and wellbeing of individuals and society depends on the responsible use of freedom. Most areas of self psychology, such as internal control and self-efficacy, are predicated on the assumption of human beings as responsible instrumental agents (Wong, 2019a), but the important role of responsibility in wellbeing remains underresearched.
It seems most appropriate that for the 18th anniversary of 9/11, this paper maps out major areas of responsibility for further research and draws extensive support from the book, Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility by Ken Shelton and Daniel L. Bolz (2008)...
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F E A T U R E D M E M B E R S
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Piers Worth, Ph.D.
Piers worked until his recent retirement as Associate Professor (the local title is “Reader”) in Psychology at Bucks New University. He wrote, validated, and co-led the university’s M.Sc. Applied Positive Psychology for seven years, which established an international reputation for student care. His continuing research and writing interests include Second Wave Positive Psychology and Existential Positive Psychology, and the psychology of ageing well. His doctoral thesis explored how creativity develops and changes as we age...
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Lilian Jans-Beken, Ph.D., and her Gratitude Research
My name is Lilian Jans-Beken (49) and I am from the Netherlands. I am a late bloomer in science. Before I went to university at 39, I earned a living as a truck driver. But then, one day, my husband suggested that I go to university because he thought I could do it.
It turns out that he was right. As a result, I graduated from the Open University Netherlands in 2014 in Lifespan Psychology with a thesis on measuring gratitude. Four years later, in 2018, I received my Ph.D. at the Open University Netherlands based on my dissertation Appreciating Gratitude: New Perspectives
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F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E S
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Emotions and Positive Change: Thinking Beyond the Good/Bad Dichotomy
Daniel Jordan, M.A. Student
My current research concerns how people suffering from emotional distress undergo significant, positive, and enduring change. Although the people I interviewed for my qualitative study were adult males with addictions, I hope that sharing a few of their experiences will inform the work of researchers and clinicians, regardless of the population they work with.
According to Wong (2006), “The recovery process needs to move beyond healing of brokenness to personal transformation and full integration into society” (p. v). With this in mind, I interviewed seven participants who self-identified as having experienced personal transformation...
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Edward Chin-Ho Chang, Ph.D.
I emigrated from South Korea when I was five and have much to thank my parents for in giving me the opportunity to create a good life in Hawaii and later in New York City. I graduated from SUNY at Buffalo with a double major in psychology and philosophy. Thereafter, I completed my doctorate in Clinical Psychology at SUNY at Stony Brook, followed by a one-year internship at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center, in New York City. Currently, I am a Professor of Psychology in the Clinical Science area and a Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan...
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on the Gratitude – Mental Health Connection.
Since then, I have continued my research on gratitude as an independent researcher under the direction of Dr. Paul T. P. Wong. I’m affiliated with the International Network on Personal Meaning and the Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education. Recently, I published a book in Dutch for the non-scientific audience called A Search for Gratitude, which contains life stories of people for whom gratitude plays an important role.
My Research Interest in Gratitude
My interest in gratitude arose from a personal experience of intense gratitude. I started to dive into the science of this topic. I learned that gratitude was a positive emotion and that it occurred after positive events. However, life is not...
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“Subversive” Thoughts on Psychotherapy
Geoff Thompson, Ph.D.
Sir Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play, Equus, follows psychiatrist Martin Dysart’s struggle to make sense of his work. Although he’s treated hundreds of troubled young people in his hospital, his therapy with 17-year-old Alan Strang has triggered questions about whether he is helping his patients live better lives. Dysart tells us that these questions are, for a psychiatrist, “subversive.”
Shaffer’s expertise is, of course, as a playwright. But he has an understanding of Freud and R. D. Laing, both of whose ideas are present in the play, and he said that he consulted a child psychiatrist to ensure his therapy scenes were accurate.
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A D D I C T I O N C O L U M N
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Addiction and Shame
Geoffrey Thompson Ph.D.
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In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, the prince comes upon the tippler:
“What are you doing there?” he said to the tippler, whom he found settled down in silence before a collection of empty bottles and also a collection of full bottles.
“I am drinking,” replied the tippler, with a lugubrious air.
“Why are you drinking?” demanded the little prince.
“So that I may forget,” replied the tippler.
“Forget what?” inquired the little prince, who already was sorry for him.
“Forget that I am ashamed,” the tippler confessed, hanging his head.
“Ashamed of what?” insisted the little prince, who wanted to help him.
“Ashamed of drinking!”
Addiction Psychology Interprets Shame as a Negative Emotion
Our Western culture does not like to talk about shame; we hide it, feeling ashamed of being ashamed. But the new discipline of affective science has promoted examining emotions, including the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt. And it seems that shame is an integral part of addiction. Psychological studies have consistently shown that those suffering from addictions score higher than the general population on measures of shame. And they score higher on measures of shame than on guilt...
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C A L L F O R P A P E R S
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Meaning Conference 2020
— Submission and Scholarship Deadline: April 30, 2020 —
We have chosen the conference theme, because at a time when our vulnerability is laid bare by the external threats and our collective existential crisis, we embrace it as an opportunity to explore and discover new pathways to resilience and well-being; this is the basic orientation of existential positive psychology or second wave positive psychology (PP2.0). PP2.0 may be defined as the scientific study of meaning, resilience, virtue, and well-being, as well as evidence-based applications to improve the life of individuals and society by embracing the dark side of human existence. We welcome researchers and practitioners from all disciplines and theoretical stripes to join us in tackling any of the following areas (click to read more).
Presentation Types
- Symposia (60 min, 3-5 people)
- Paper Sessions (10 min)
- Workshops (1-2 hours)
- Posters
Pre-Conference Workshops and Continuing Education (CE) Credits will be offered. See the site for more information on submission guidelines, registration, and more.
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» September 10, 2019: World Suicide Prevention Day
September 10, 2019, was World Suicide Prevention Day, a directed effort of the United Nations (UN) and other agencies to focus public and professional energies on the problem. The UN health agency, the World Health Organization (WHO), published its first global report on suicide prevention in 2014. Dr. Margret Chan, then Director-General of WHO, said suicide is a “large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long.” ...
» Remembering Roseto, Pennsylvania
At a time of difficulties, when we are facing widespread loneliness, despair, and drug use, Roseto stands as an example of the benefits of a closely-knit community.
Roseto, an isolated community of Italian immigrants in Pennsylvania, became famous in the 1950s and early 60s for its medical mystery. Stewart Wolf, a medical researcher from the University of Oklahoma, learned from a local physician that there didn’t seem to be much heart disease in Roseto...
» Four Reasons to Submit Articles to the INPM Newsletter
1. You don’t need to be a psychologist — Our readers are a diverse group, from all walks of life, in many different countries. You’ve likely noticed that INPM’s Biennial International Meaning Conferences have speakers with backgrounds in, for example, philosophy, theology, business, neuroscience, and personal experience overcoming life difficulties...
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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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