Meaning of life therapy: a pilot study of a novel psycho-existential intervention for palliative care in cancer

Ana Rita Cardoso; Sónia Remondes-Costa; Elisa Veiga; Vera Almeida; José Rocha; Ricardo João Teixeira; Gerly Macedo; Manuela Leite

doi:10.1177/00302228231209654

Meaning of life therapy: a pilot study of a novel psycho-existential intervention for palliative care in cancer

Ana Rita Cardoso
, Sónia Remondes-Costa
, Elisa Veiga
, Vera Almeida
, José Rocha
, Ricardo João Teixeira
, Gerly Macedo
, Manuela Leite^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

264 Downloads

Abstract

Intervention in Palliative Care aims to provide physical, psychosocial, and spiritual relief for patients and family members. Brief interventions with a psycho-existential approach have shown positive responses; however, cultural adaptations are needed. This pilot study aimed to develop the Meaning of Life Therapy (MLT), a novel psycho-existential intervention, rooted in the Dignity Therapy, Life Review, and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy. MLT was culturally adapted to the Portuguese context to include questions about forgiveness, apology, reconciliation, farewell, and a legacy document, i.e., the Life Letter. Nine PC cancer patients answered a 14-question MLT protocol, intended to help patients find purpose and meaning in life. Eight themes emerged: Family, Preservation of Identity, Life Retrospective, Clinical Situation, Achievements, Socio-Professional Valorization, Forgiveness/Apology/Reconciliation, and Saying Goodbye. MLT has proved its ability to respond to the psycho-existential needs of PC patients. Further studies should be conducted to gain extensive knowledge of the effectiveness of culturally responsive interventions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1529-1558
Number of pages	30
Journal	Omega (United States)
Volume	92
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228231209654
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Cancer
Dignity
Meaning of life therapy
Palliative care
Psycho-existential interventions

Access to Document

10.1177/00302228231209654Licence: CC BY

88021719Final published version, 607 KBLicence: CC BY

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/43042Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Meaning of life therapy: a pilot study of a novel psycho-existential intervention for palliative care in cancer",

abstract = "Intervention in Palliative Care aims to provide physical, psychosocial, and spiritual relief for patients and family members. Brief interventions with a psycho-existential approach have shown positive responses; however, cultural adaptations are needed. This pilot study aimed to develop the Meaning of Life Therapy (MLT), a novel psycho-existential intervention, rooted in the Dignity Therapy, Life Review, and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy. MLT was culturally adapted to the Portuguese context to include questions about forgiveness, apology, reconciliation, farewell, and a legacy document, i.e., the Life Letter. Nine PC cancer patients answered a 14-question MLT protocol, intended to help patients find purpose and meaning in life. Eight themes emerged: Family, Preservation of Identity, Life Retrospective, Clinical Situation, Achievements, Socio-Professional Valorization, Forgiveness/Apology/Reconciliation, and Saying Goodbye. MLT has proved its ability to respond to the psycho-existential needs of PC patients. Further studies should be conducted to gain extensive knowledge of the effectiveness of culturally responsive interventions.",

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AU - Cardoso, Ana Rita

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AU - Almeida, Vera

AU - Rocha, José

AU - Teixeira, Ricardo João

AU - Macedo, Gerly

AU - Leite, Manuela

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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N2 - Intervention in Palliative Care aims to provide physical, psychosocial, and spiritual relief for patients and family members. Brief interventions with a psycho-existential approach have shown positive responses; however, cultural adaptations are needed. This pilot study aimed to develop the Meaning of Life Therapy (MLT), a novel psycho-existential intervention, rooted in the Dignity Therapy, Life Review, and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy. MLT was culturally adapted to the Portuguese context to include questions about forgiveness, apology, reconciliation, farewell, and a legacy document, i.e., the Life Letter. Nine PC cancer patients answered a 14-question MLT protocol, intended to help patients find purpose and meaning in life. Eight themes emerged: Family, Preservation of Identity, Life Retrospective, Clinical Situation, Achievements, Socio-Professional Valorization, Forgiveness/Apology/Reconciliation, and Saying Goodbye. MLT has proved its ability to respond to the psycho-existential needs of PC patients. Further studies should be conducted to gain extensive knowledge of the effectiveness of culturally responsive interventions.

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Meaning of life therapy: a pilot study of a novel psycho-existential intervention for palliative care in cancer

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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