Meaning in life and work among counsellors: a qualitative exploration

Work and active aging: is there a relationship between health and meaning in life?

Purpose

This study aims to explain the health impact of work demands and organization, job content, leadership and values in the workplace. It also explores the extent to which health conditions influence the meaning in life in late career.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 1,330 Portuguese-based individuals aged 55–75 years. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the data analysis and to test the research questions.

Findings

The results showed that stress and burnout are influenced by work demands and organization, job content, leadership and values in the workplace. Employment status had no influence. Health status affects the meaning in life.

Research limitations/implications

Although participants were asked to answer the questionnaire bearing in mind their last work experience, retirees could have had difficulty reporting on their last work; therefore, in future research, the use of a qualitative methodology could also be equated as to complement richer information regarding past experiences in the work context.

Practical implications

Considering the main goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, this study contributes, namely, to the third one – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. In fact, directing a look at the condition in which older people work and at their health contributes not only to more productive organizations, to less spending of public money on health, but also to a more inclusive society. Bearing in mind workers are progressively retiring later and that the exposure to certain work conditions during the late career is problematic for organizations and for society in general, this study has practical and social implication.

Originality/value

Considering demographic changes and the aging of the active population in Portugal and the scarce studies carried out in the country concerning this relevant theme, the authors believe that the conclusions may constitute an important input for workplace policies regarding older workers. In addition, little research has focused on the effect of health in meaning in life.

The interaction between good life conceptions and psychotherapeutic practice - an interpretative phenomenological study of psychologists' experiences

Based on qualitative interviews with four Danish psychologists and employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study explored psychologists' understandings about the good life and how these influence the participants' clinical practice. The study found that the participants were quite aware of how their conceptions of the good life play a role in their work. Good life understandings that influenced therapeutic practice were quite similar amongst participants and were largely characterized by traits often associated with good mental health. Themes identified were: "Everyday well-being," "presence", and "taking care of oneself and others," and subthemes were "contact with the self," "awareness of the good things in life," "connectedness," "to mean something to others," "coping with distress," and "compassion for oneself and others." Among participants, these good life conceptions had a similar influence on different areas of their practice in terms of how the participants understand their clients' issues, which impacted what they talk to their clients about, and what they seek to achieve with the clients in therapy. Therefore, the good life conceptions influenced the methods, techniques, personal behaviors, and therapeutic approaches used to provide good and effective therapy. Another finding was that participants' clinical experiences also seemed to impact their good life conceptions. The interpretation of the participants' experiences represented a hermeneutic model suggesting that the participants' good life conceptions and their clinical practice experiences might inform and reinforce each other in a continuously expanding overlap. The actual nature of this interaction and its implications are relevant for future research.

'If I am not well, I can't do sessions well': An analysis of the narratives of Filipino Therapists during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research is uncovering the repercussions of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental and emotional state of various populations around the world. It is of particular interest to this study to explore how the pandemic has affected psychologists conducting therapy with clients in distress during this time. A qualitative approach was used to analyse the narratives of eight Filipino psychologists who were living in community quarantine while conducting therapy from March to December 2020. The results revealed four chapters: (1) ‘thrown up in the air’, (2) struggling to find their footing, (3) gaining stability and (4) ‘finding new rhythm’. It was found that these psychologists suffered the emotional distress from the pandemic that many are experiencing around the world. They needed to first regain stability in their well‐being before being able to become effective helpers to their clients again. Moreover, they eventually found new purpose and growth in their practice. This study documented and discussed the journey of therapists in a shared traumatic reality, from first exposure to growth.