A Brief Manual for Meaning-Centered Counseling
Paul Wong
Ph.D, C.Psych

This manual grows out of MCC workshops I have given in the last ten years to psychologists, counselors, coaches, and other mental health professionals all over the world. The feedback I have received from attendees and alumni of these workshops confirm that MCC’s focus on positive motivation and the transformation through meaning has been very helpful for those devastated by the tsunami of life.
(Preface) (Chapter One) (Chapter Two)

Existentialism and ACT
Exposition in existential terms of a case of “Negative Schizophrenia” approached by means of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Marino Pérez-Álvarez
Universidad de Oviedo
José M. García-Montes
Universidad de Almería

The present work attempts to show, through a case study, the possibilities of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) applied from existential thought. First of all we describe the symptoms referred to by a patient diagnosed as suffering from “negative schizophrenia”. These symptoms are then analyzed in existential terms, with special emphasis on the notion of “personal identity”.
(Full Article)

Existentialism and ABC
Connecting Theory to Programming:
Using Existentialism and Adventure Based Counseling with Adolescents
J. Scott Glass
East Carolina University
Jeanna Jackson
East Carolina University

Adventure based counseling programs have been used with adolescents in a variety of settings. Typically, adventure based counseling programs are group oriented and help participants take responsibility for their own actions, increase self-awareness and connect with others. One potential limitation of adventure based counseling programs is that they are rarely identified with any established counseling theory.
(Full Article)

Harm Reduction Approaches to Addiction Treatment
Executive Director’s Column
Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC

Harm reduction (HR) approaches to addiction treatment are famous mostly for ending up on the front pages of newspapers: tax-payer funded sites for injection drug users to shoot up, supplying heroin to heroin addicts, needle exchanges, and the like.
(Full Article)

Course outlines on Meaning-Centered Counseling and Therapy
Dr. Paul T. P. Wong has given workshops and courses on Meaning-Centered Counseling around the world. We are happy to post the course syllabus and lecture notes of the Meaning-Centered Course given by Dr. Paul Wong at Tyndale University College; these lecture notes will be posted in installments on this webside. The course explores Dr. Yalom's existential psychotherapy, Dr. Viktor Frankl's logotherapy and Wong's integrative meaning-centered counselling. If you have any questions regarding the course, please contact
pwong@tyndale.ca
(Index of Outlines)

Abstinence approaches to addiction treatment
Executive Director’s Column
Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC

The public in Canada and the United States has been educated (or, perhaps more accurately, ‘trained’) to accept Hollywood’s version as the addict’s reality. Professionals label this the ‘abstinence approach’, which sees the recovering addict doomed to struggle throughout the lifespan...
(Full Article)

What Makes Therapy Theraputic?
George Kunz
Seattle, WA

"What makes therapy therapeutic? Is it transference and counter transference? Is it the therapeutic alliance? Is it unconditional positive regard? Yes! All these are therapeutic. However, we need to ask deeper philosophical questions about the nature of this relationship...."
(Full Article)

Radical positive psychology for radical times
Paul T. P. Wong,
Ph.D. C.Psych

"International terrorism, radical fundamentalism, natural disasters, AIDS, ethno-geographical wars, oppressive regimes, devastating poverty and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots indicate that the state of the world is not well. Radical positive psychology is needed for the radical times of 21st century..."
(Full Article)

Viktor Frankl: Prophet of Hope and Herald of Positive Psychology
Paul T. P. Wong,
Ph.D. C.Psych

"The legacy of Viktor Frankl was assessed in terms of his prophet voice of hope and his contribution to positive psychology. Viktor Frankl’s (1985) tragic optimism (TO) posits that one can remain optimistic in spite of tragic experiences..."
(Full Article)

The Mental Health of Immigrant Women & Their Rights
Caroline Fei-Yeng Kwok
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

"It is the contention of my presentation today that the mental health of immigrant women are often affected by their lack of language skills, coping skills in Canada, information about medications and their understanding of their rights within the mental health institutions..."
(Full Article)

Transpersonal Psychology and Spiritual Wisdom Traditions
John Davis, Ph.D.
Naropa University
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.

"Some thirty years after its birth as a field of study, transpersonal psychology is moving into a new level of maturity and possibility. Its central interests are becoming both more well-defined and more broad-ranging. Its applications in clinical and counseling psychology, health care, social services, education, business settings, and community development are growing in number and depth..."
(Full Article)