Meaning Centered Psychotherapy for Patients with Cancer
June 28, 2021Information
Angela Khairallah, LCSW and Brian Jin, LCSW, discuss meaning centered psychotherapy (MCPT) in honor of Cancer Survivors Month. MCPT focuses on creating, experiencing, and keeping a sense of meaning in life.
ID6764
To CiteDCA Citation Guide
- 00:00Hello everybody and welcome to
- 00:03mini centered psychotherapy for
- 00:05patients with cancer for Yale.
- 00:07New Haven Hospital's 2021
- 00:08cancer survivorship day.
- 00:09My name is Angela Corral and
- 00:12I'm a clinical social worker.
- 00:14I work in the Yale Cancer Center,
- 00:16Smilow Cancer Hospital,
- 00:17survivorship clinic,
- 00:18and I'm here today with my colleague Brian.
- 00:22Hello everyone, I'm Brian Jenn.
- 00:24I'm the clinical social worker with Smilow,
- 00:26Greenwich and Smilow Trumbull.
- 00:30And thank you for having us today.
- 00:33So meaning centered psychotherapy
- 00:34for patients with cancer so bright,
- 00:36and I thought it would make sense
- 00:39just to review some background
- 00:40information for those of you who
- 00:42may not be familiar with what many
- 00:45center psychotherapy is all about.
- 00:47So really, it's about aiming to
- 00:49decrease feelings of sadness and
- 00:51hopelessness by teaching patients how
- 00:53to focus on the importance of creating,
- 00:55experiencing and keeping a
- 00:57sense of meaning in life.
- 00:59It was developed by Doctor
- 01:00William Bright Bar.
- 01:02I think approximately 20 years ago.
- 01:04With this colleagues at Memorial
- 01:05Sloan Kettering and they created and
- 01:07designed this treatment to be used
- 01:09with cancer patients facing illness,
- 01:11it can be utilized in both with both
- 01:14individuals as well as in a group setting.
- 01:16It's based on the work of Doctor Viktor
- 01:19Frankel's man's search for meaning,
- 01:20and there's a lot of research
- 01:22to show that meaning centered
- 01:24psychotherapy is very helpful to
- 01:26those who have cancer but also for
- 01:28family members and for those who
- 01:30are caring for someone with cancer.
- 01:34So what will you learn?
- 01:35So you learn to cope better by
- 01:37finding and creating a sense of
- 01:40meaning and purpose in your life.
- 01:42It's really not uncommon in the cancer
- 01:44survivorship clinic that I meet with
- 01:46patients and you're not only dealing
- 01:48with the fact that she had cancer,
- 01:49but also the impact that cancer
- 01:51and cancer treatment may even
- 01:53still be having on your life.
- 01:55You'll also learn about different
- 01:56sources of meaning that can be used
- 01:58to help you during your illness,
- 02:00and Brian will be reviewing that
- 02:02with you in just a few moments,
- 02:04as well as learn new ways to face
- 02:06and overcome the challenges that may
- 02:08have been caused by your illness.
- 02:10And it's important to point out that.
- 02:12Survivorship really begins the
- 02:14day that you're diagnosed,
- 02:15and it's really about living with
- 02:17through an beyond your cancer
- 02:19diagnosis and treatment.
- 02:21And really,
- 02:22we can explore meaning and purpose
- 02:25in our life at any point in time.
- 02:29So how does it work?
- 02:30Well meaning centered psychotherapy
- 02:32is meant to help patients look
- 02:34for meaning in their past,
- 02:36their present, as well as their
- 02:38future in their everyday life.
- 02:40By teaching,
- 02:40answering questions together
- 02:41through homework assignments,
- 02:42as well as discussions with your
- 02:45clinician and group members.
- 02:46If you're participating in a group,
- 02:48it helps you to use meaning in
- 02:50life in order to gain a greater
- 02:53sense of purpose and meaning.
- 02:55Centered psychotherapy is usually
- 02:56done over 7 to 8 sessions.
- 02:59But it may change based on what
- 03:01your needs are as well as what the
- 03:03clinician thinks might be best for you.
- 03:05There are some forms of meaning
- 03:08centered psychotherapy that can be
- 03:10done in just a very brief session
- 03:12or over just a couple of days.
- 03:15So what will we talk about?
- 03:16Well,
- 03:17with the curriculum of meaning
- 03:18centered psychotherapy,
- 03:19we talk about different ways that you
- 03:21can find meaning through what does meaning,
- 03:24why does meaning matter to you?
- 03:25Why is it even important to talk about this?
- 03:28What are the sources of meaning?
- 03:30Who are you not?
- 03:32Just who are you now in today?
- 03:34But who were you before
- 03:36your cancer diagnosis,
- 03:36and who are you now after learning
- 03:39and living through cancer,
- 03:40what is your story looking at your past,
- 03:43your present, and your future?
- 03:45What is the attitude that you have
- 03:47and how has that shaped your cancer
- 03:49story and where you're at how you
- 03:51live your life through creativity,
- 03:53courage, responsibility and also
- 03:54how you can connect in your life,
- 03:57not only through love and nature,
- 03:59but also humor as well.
- 04:00And what are some of the hopes
- 04:02that you have for your future?
- 04:08So we're gonna talk base about Viktor
- 04:11Frankel's basic concept of meaning,
- 04:13and Viktor Frankel was an existential.
- 04:16Guys, psychiatrist,
- 04:17and what he came for believing about
- 04:20human existence is that all life has
- 04:23meaning that we apply the meaning
- 04:25at any given time that we are the
- 04:28creators and progenitors of meeting
- 04:30that we as human beings are motivated,
- 04:33motivated by this and that's the will
- 04:35to meaning that for him this was the
- 04:38fundamental concept of being human,
- 04:40that we were motivated by our purpose,
- 04:43our values and our answers to
- 04:45life's difficult questions.
- 04:47And with this capacity there is the
- 04:49freedom of will that we always have
- 04:52the chance to choose our response,
- 04:54no matter how dire the situation,
- 04:57how difficult the circumstances and
- 04:58how little control we might have
- 05:01over those external circumstances.
- 05:02We have the ability to choose internally
- 05:06how we live and how we find purpose
- 05:09and how we respond next please.
- 05:12So the definition of meaning what meaning
- 05:15can be a lot of different things,
- 05:17and it's unique to each person person.
- 05:19But what we look for is what pulls us
- 05:22through the difficult times that when
- 05:24we have purpose when we have meaning,
- 05:27we can endure anything we can.
- 05:30Overcome any obstacle and challenge
- 05:32by having a purpose that we are driven
- 05:35by and there is a responsibility.
- 05:37There is a responsibility to ourselves,
- 05:39to the people we care about.
- 05:41There is a concept of existential
- 05:43guilt of are we living the life we're
- 05:46supposed to be living and this is
- 05:48an intervention that allows us to
- 05:50examine our life and something like
- 05:53a cancer diagnosis might change how
- 05:55we look at the world and how we feel.
- 05:58And it's an opportunity for change.
- 06:00It's a it's a.
- 06:01Catalyst for growth,
- 06:02and so this is intervention.
- 06:04Builds off of that that we are the
- 06:07authors of our meeting and we can find
- 06:10what makes it worth living next weeks.
- 06:13So there are four basic sources of meaning
- 06:15that are defined in this intervention.
- 06:18One is 6 historical is Angela mention
- 06:20you know that's the continual,
- 06:22it's the past.
- 06:23It's the present and it's what we
- 06:26are giving to the future.
- 06:27It's an alive concept.
- 06:29Sometimes it's referred to as a legacy.
- 06:32Sometimes it's referred to our
- 06:34store and we have it throughout
- 06:36our our our stories that we share
- 06:39with other people like our fathers.
- 06:41Resiliency in a time of struggle or
- 06:44traditions that our family upholds
- 06:46every Christmas or you know Sunday
- 06:49dinners there are the things that
- 06:51make our life have.
- 06:53Sort of a coherent narrative and
- 06:55belief throughout it,
- 06:56and it's one of the sources we tap into,
- 06:59and we reflect.
- 07:00Attitudinal is a very important one.
- 07:03That's the ability to choose our
- 07:05response that we can choose how
- 07:07we respond to difficulty,
- 07:08how we respond to obstacles
- 07:10whenever we hit something,
- 07:12there is suffering.
- 07:13There's loss,
- 07:14there's difficulty,
- 07:14but we can choose how we now want
- 07:18to live our life and what new
- 07:20purpose we gain
- 07:21from.
- 07:23There's creative,
- 07:24creative isn't just painting,
- 07:26it isn't just creating great
- 07:27works of art. It's whatever.
- 07:29We invest our life's energy.
- 07:31It can be volunteering.
- 07:32It can be cultivating a garden.
- 07:35It can be our hobbies that can be
- 07:37playing with our grandchildren.
- 07:39It's very fluid, it's very open.
- 07:41It's whatever makes our heart feel happy.
- 07:44Whatever resonates with our creative
- 07:46energy is our energy in the world.
- 07:49Experiential is something we
- 07:50have access to all the time.
- 07:52It's really about being
- 07:54alive and feeling alive.
- 07:55It's about sitting with your best
- 07:57friend and joking and laughing.
- 07:59It's about sitting at the seaside and
- 08:01watching the waves coming and being
- 08:04over overwhelmed by the beauty of a
- 08:06sunset and the majesty that's out there.
- 08:08It's about anytime in moment where
- 08:11we feel connected and alive and
- 08:13it's something we have access
- 08:15just by sitting looking out the
- 08:17window and seeing a plant.
- 08:19Or flower next please. So.
- 08:24How is this helpful for cancer survivors?
- 08:27Angela is gonna share a few of her thoughts.
- 08:32So in meeting patients like you
- 08:34and the cancer survivorship clinic,
- 08:36it's really not uncommon.
- 08:40That cancer survivors expressed
- 08:42to me that they feel lost,
- 08:44that their perspective has changed,
- 08:46that the priorities have changed,
- 08:48that they're really,
- 08:49truly wanting to be a part of
- 08:52something bigger than themselves.
- 08:54After going through something
- 08:56like cancer and cancer treatment,
- 08:58and you know this curriculum.
- 09:01Can be utilized again at any point in
- 09:04time throughout your cancer journey.
- 09:06You know at the beginning at the middle,
- 09:08in survivorship or even at the
- 09:10end of life at any point in time
- 09:13you can be examining what brings
- 09:15purpose and meaning to your life.
- 09:17You know just some examples I've had.
- 09:20Patients come to me who've participated
- 09:22in meaning centered psychotherapy,
- 09:23and they decide that they want
- 09:25to change jobs that they want to
- 09:27akarere a career change because the
- 09:29current job that they're working in.
- 09:32Isn't bringing in purpose and meaning,
- 09:34and they want to do something else?
- 09:37I've had patience and some negative
- 09:39relationships that they were involved
- 09:41with and wanting to cultivate
- 09:43more positive relationships as
- 09:45they move forward in the future.
- 09:47Another patient of mine created
- 09:49a lending library at her church.
- 09:51Somebody else went ahead and
- 09:53cataloged all of their family
- 09:55photographs to be able to pass that
- 09:57down to to their grandchildren.
- 10:00So again, there's lots of.
- 10:02Wonderful inspirational.
- 10:05Things that come out of somebody
- 10:07participating in this form of psychotherapy?
- 10:09Ryan,
- 10:09do you have any experiences to share?
- 10:12Yeah, I mean just what you said.
- 10:14I mean it's it's beautiful.
- 10:15It's really sort of the unsought gifts
- 10:17of cancer is that people suddenly
- 10:19find out what is most significant
- 10:21and what is most meaningful and they
- 10:23live their life according Lee Ann.
- 10:25It's really empowering and it
- 10:27feels good and similar things of a
- 10:29person quitting their job and it
- 10:31being the happiest day of their
- 10:32life and other people of you know,
- 10:34described it as sort of a rebirth
- 10:36for themselves and the recognition
- 10:38that maybe they didn't stand up for
- 10:41themselves before and now they do because.
- 10:43They know how valuable they are and
- 10:44and in this it's it's worth while.
- 10:47They have their reasons to do
- 10:48it so you know it's it's it's.
- 10:50It's very unique to each individual and
- 10:52you get to shape it the way you want to.
- 10:58So we wanted to end with meaningful moments.
- 11:01This is the type of exercise
- 11:02that you do in the intervention.
- 11:05This is really looking at your
- 11:06life and running down one or two
- 11:09significant moments in your life.
- 11:10Something that felt good,
- 11:12something that just comes to mind.
- 11:13It can be something that was really,
- 11:16truly significant,
- 11:16or it could be something very simple.
- 11:18Whatever comes to your heart
- 11:20right down the jot down and think
- 11:23about what it moment that was and
- 11:25why it felt so special to you.
- 11:27And we felt alive or just connected
- 11:29and we want you to take this experience
- 11:32and share it with someone you love.
- 11:34Take this moment and give it to
- 11:36them and and just explore because
- 11:38this is really those things that
- 11:40we don't really always take time
- 11:42to reflect on and think about.
- 11:44But it's the pure goal that we're all.
- 11:46We all have inside.
- 11:48So if you take this moment and
- 11:50then some of the examples is,
- 11:52you know,
- 11:53spending time with your grandkids or
- 11:55playing catch with a family member or.
- 11:57One group everyone was talking about
- 11:59trees and someone mentioned this
- 12:01beautiful red tree and the whole
- 12:03group went and drove past this red
- 12:05treat and it was all inspiring and
- 12:07so these are things we can share
- 12:09with each other and and you know,
- 12:11we thank you for this opportunity
- 12:13and thank you, Angela.
- 12:15Yes, thank you, Brian and thank
- 12:17you to all of you who took a few
- 12:20minutes out of your day to listen
- 12:22to us present and if any of you are
- 12:25interested in learning more about
- 12:26meeting centered psychotherapy or
- 12:28would like to speak to any one of us,
- 12:30please feel free to contact myself again.
- 12:32My name is Angela Corolla and I'm
- 12:34through the Yale Cancer Center
- 12:36survivorship program at Smilow and Brian.
- 12:39I'm in a I'm Brian General Jin,
- 12:41and I'm in trouble in Greenwich. Alright
- 12:44buddy, have a great day bye bye thank you.