A journey towards meaning: An existential psychobiography of Maya Angelou

This psychobiography focuses on meaning making in the early life and young adulthood of acclaimed African American author Maya Angelou (1928-2014) through the lens of Frankl’s existential psychology with a specific focus on the tri-dimensional nature of human beings and the fundamental triad. The primary data source was Angelou’s own published autobiographies, which contain an in-depth narrative of her early life and young adulthood. Data was extracted, organised and analysed according to established qualitative research methods as well as through the identification of psychological saliences. The search for meaning within Angelou’s own narrative of her life was clearly apparent in the thematic analysis. Angelou’s narrative of her journey through the physical (childhood and adolescence), psychological (travelling and searching years) and spiritual (sensemaking years) dimensions was core to her meaning making. The three tiers of the fundamental triad (awareness of meaning, will to meaning, freedom of will) were present in various aspects of Angelou’s existential journey, manifesting as a focus on choice, responsibility, purpose, and acceptance. This study provides a more in-depth understanding of meaning making processes in the lives of extraordinary individuals, as well as contributing to the development of the research method of psychobiography, with a specific focus on meaning making.

THE PHENOMENON OF HAPPINESS IN EXISTENTIAL AND CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

The relevance of this topic is due to the need to understand the deep determinants of such a central concept for a person at all times as happiness. The human need for happiness is fundamental and is one of his main motives. Existential psychology is a field for research here because of its weighty philosophical, phenomenological support, which determines the qualitative depth of research into the content of a given concept. Christian — because it is based on general psychology, and also unreducedly approaches all dimensions of human nature, including the metaphysical (freedom, love, happiness — all these are concepts that presuppose the presence of a soul, the doctrine of which, with its spiritual dimension, is the center of Christian anthropology). It is also important that the representatives of these directions took into account and take into account the research of other derivatives of psychology. This circumstance makes it possible to more objectively and fully understand the laws of achieving happiness and its content.

UNDERSTANDING THE PHENOMENON OF HAPPINESS IN EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY

The turbulent events of today, posing new challenges to humanity, in turn, actualize the negative effects and provoke the growth of people's mental tension, anxiety, depression, and crisis, moreover. In contrast, in recent years, there has been a tendency among scientists to understand and conceptualize the concepts of "psychological health" and "happiness", which correspond to the desire of philosophers and psychologists to form new guidelines for overcoming and preventing these negative influences. The article provides a brief historical and theoretical review of the understanding of the concept of happiness in the framework of existential psychology and psychotherapy from the point of view of leading representatives of this field, in particular, S. Kjerkegor, F. Nietzsche, E. Husserl, M. Heidegger, L. Binswanger, M. Boss, E. Van Deurzen, V. Frankl, A. Lengle. KEY WORDS: the phenomenon of happiness, existential psychology, existence, being.

Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy

Existential concerns carry significant distress, particularly among patients with advanced cancer. For patients who are facing death, a sense of meaning—and the preservation of that meaning—is not only clinically and existentially important but also central to providing holistic, high-quality end-of-life care. Nearly two decades ago, the authors’ research group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center began to understand that a meaning-centered approach to psychosocial care was imperative to alleviate the existential distress that plagued many patients with advanced cancer. Based on Viktor Frankl’s work on the importance of meaning and principles of existential psychology and philosophy, they developed Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP) to help patients with advanced cancer sustain or enhance a sense of meaning, peace, and purpose in their lives in the face of terminal cancer. This chapter provides an overview of MCP in working with patients with cancer. It summarizes the ever-growing body of research that has demonstrated the effectiveness of MCP in improving meaning, spiritual well-being, and quality of life and in reducing psychological distress and despair at end of life. Adaptations of MCP for other purposes and populations, such as cancer survivors, caregivers, and bereavement, are mentioned but are elaborated on in other specific chapters related to these issues in this textbook.

A Angústia Existencial como Disposição Afetiva Fundamental para a Prática Psicoterápica

Anguish is a fundamental concept in the phenomenological-existential clinic. This affective disposition has in Martin Heidegger's work a privilege over other dispositions, since it, in its ontological character, is the engine of human existence. This paper aims to understand anguish as revealing the truth of Being-there in the psychotherapeutic process, based on the contributions of philosopher Heidegger and his commentators, especially exponents of phenomenological-existential psychology. Questions such as "What is the truth of Being-there?" And "What does anguish reveal about this truth?" Guided the construction of this work. The study is characterized as a qualitative research, whose methodology is bibliographic research. The results indicated that anguish reveals the truth of Being-there. What we call the truth is the essence of this being: having to be. It points to its ontological character of openness, its possibilities, its own power-being, freedom and the unveiling of the meaning of Being. Finally, the ontological anguish, not restricted to the psychotherapeutic process, moves Being-there and reveals possibilities that, by their very nature. through care makes its uniqueness possible. Thus, it is essential for the psychotherapist to understand distress, facilitating the patient's appropriation and accountability of what it reveals. Palavras-chave : Anguish; Heidegger; Truth; Being-there; Psycotherapy.

A Pessoa com Deficiência Intelectual e a Compreensão de sua Existência

Often people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are not recognised as capable of attributing meanings to their existence because they have an intellectual limitation. However, they can understand various psychological issues in their lives. Based on the Sartrian existential psychology, the objective of this study is to investigate how the person with ID understands his/her existence, from the meanings they attribute to themselves and their relationships. The phenomenological method was chosen for data collection and analysis. Ten adults with ID participated, students of a Special School in Curitiba. The results showed feelings of loneliness and abandonment on the part of the participants, resulting from absence of affect and dialogue with others; the anguish before their freedom, in a context where they are not allowed to make authentic choices; the difficulty of understanding their feelings, and the desire to value their emotions; the school as the place where they find greatest opportunities for relationships, but where reflection on the everyday situations they experience is limited. It is argued that these existential aspects must be considered in the studies and services directed to people with ID, so that their freedom is recognized, enabling the construction of their existential project. Palavras-chave : Intellectual disability; Existential psychology; Interpersonal relations.