Book Review: The Transformation of Meaning in Psychological Therapies: Integrating theory and practice

* The Transformation of Meaning in Psychological Therapies: Integrating theory and practice Edited by Mick Power and Chris R. Brewin. Wiley 1997. 207 pp

With "meaning" as its central focus, the title of this book suggests that it will be of particular interest to existential psychotherapists who use meaning as a central concept in their understanding of Dasein and of therapeutic practice. In the book, the contributors attempt to operationalise the term "meaning" and also the psychotherapeutic methods that are available to the therapist when attempting to assist the client in aspects of change.

Despite the title the contributors take a focus that is not necessarily aligned with an existential approach to therapy. Indeed, not one of the contributors is identified as an existential, or existentially oriented, psychotherapist. Where the contributors identify their speaking positions it is generally as cognitive-behavioural theoreticians and psychodynamicists. In this regard, the book is more of a challenge than I had anticipated. For instance, in chapter 1, the editors provide an overview of a range of different models and their stance towards meaning. While the existential approach is considered in its own right (rather than a subsection of humanistic as frequently happens) it is in a very limited manner with the majority of the attention being paid to Frankl's work - Yalom merits a brief mention and there is a very brief reference to Cohn.

In some respects I was very pleased to read this book. It seems almost that psychological professions have begun to attend to the concepts that existentialists have long thought were crucial. Indeed the attempts to operationalise and research the transformation of meaning could actually be useful in teaching and developing psychological therapy. It might do the existential Psychotherapeutic community some good to address the vagueness with which these issues are sometimes discussed and attempt to codify our more esoteric concepts more clearly if, as some of us do, wish to benefit from a home in the Health Service or if we are to be recognised (by the decisions makers) as having something to offer the wider field of psychotherapy. Maybe now the support for this focus can be used by

existential psychotherapists in linking philosophical and scientific discourses and getting our own research agenda on the map.

While the book does cover psychodynamic views of meaning, I found the cognitive framework to be the best represented and at times this is of concern. Meaning is frequently reduced to concepts such as schemas and automatic thoughts. While this might just be a useful research strategy, allowing concepts to be considered, identified and captured, this book does not acknowledge this as a strategy. Indeed the book appeared to see these concepts as representative of a true understanding of meaning. The split between experience and theory is not well addressed and a very dry view of meaning is provided.

I was reviewing the book with a question as to whether the book was useful to the existential therapist and in this regard there are definite limitations. However, it also behoves the existential therapist to be open to alternative meanings and to explore these, in theory as much as we would in practice. I think that where Meaning is of interest, or where the existential therapist is interested in the relationship between existential and other models of therapy, this book may be worth the effort that it requires to critique the stand points that the authors promote. Indeed at times I felt that the book opened up some areas where existential and cognitive-behavioural therapies might have something in common - for instance Hackmann's chapter had me considering some cognitive practices as being phenomenologically focused. Overall, it is a book that is thought provoking and requires some careful reading but one that I feel will be useful in clarifying some of our own concepts and possibly engaging in some of the current debates in more general research and practice settings.

Martin Milton