Het belang van zingeving en zingevingsgerichte therapie

The importance of meaning in life and meaning-centered psychotherapy: an overview and application for eating disorders This review article discusses meaning in life, a topic that for a long time received little attention in psychology. However, the development of clear definitions and reliable measures resulted in a renewed interest. Studies showed that low levels of meaning in life are associated with a variety of mental problems, while high levels of meaning in life are related to positive mental health. Furthermore, research showed that meaning in life can be effectively increased by means of meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP), an intervention that may have broad applicability across a variety of conditions. The current article describes an application of MCP for eating disorders (MCP-ED). Two studies in women with weight and shape concerns showed that MCP-ED can effectively increase meaning in life and reduce eating disorder symptoms. Therefore, future clinical research should examine whether MCP-ED might be an important addition to the treatment of eating disorders, and whether MCP can be effectively applied to other mental disorders.