Maternal overprotection predicts consistent improvement of self-compassion during mindfulness-based intervention and existential approach: a secondary analysis of the EXMIND study

Self-reported low self-esteem due to poor maternal care improves with the existential approach in bipolar disorder: a case report

Parental nurturing attitudes influence children and are linked to the establishment of self-esteem. Females who have experienced poor maternal care during their childhood may have low self-esteem, and this factor may significantly augment the likelihood of depression. Particularly, childhood maltreatment among individuals with bipolar disorder is associated with unfavorable clinical features, such as a heightened risk of severe manic, depressive, or psychotic symptoms, as well as suicide attempts. Here, we report a case of a woman with bipolar disorder who had self-reported low self-esteem due to poor maternal care, which subsequently improved via an existential approach. This existential approach confers meaning to the lives of every individual, even in the face of adversity. Our findings suggest that the existential approach may enable the discovery of more positive life values during times of hardship and could improve self-reported low self-esteem due to poor maternal and change the way of life in patients with bipolar disorder.

The Present State of Existential Interventions Within Palliative Care

Existential psychotherapy is rooted in the European tradition of existential philosophy. Existential philosophers include Husserl and Heidegger, who were German, and Camus, Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Merleau-Ponty, who were French. Their works contain existentially ultimate themes such as death, freedom, meaninglessness, and isolation. Based on their knowledge of existential philosophy, Binswanger, Frankl, and Boss developed the earlier existential psychotherapies such as Dasein-analysis and Logotherapy, while May, Laing, Yalom, May, and Wong started later existential psychotherapies in the British and American culture. Focusing on patients with advanced cancer and/or terminal care, we found nine types of existential psychotherapies which were investigated using randomized controlled trials (RCTs): Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy (MCGP), Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (IMCP), Meaning-Making intervention (MMi), Meaning of Life Intervention, Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), Hope Intervention, Cognitive and Existential Intervention, Dignity Therapy, and Life-Review Interviews, from 19 relevant RCTs. All deal with death, meaninglessness, isolation, and freedom. Particularly, MCGP, IMCP, MMi, Meaning of Life intervention, and CALM emphasize finding and/or making meaning in the individual's life. The effects on existential or spiritual well-being were confirmed in MCGP, IMCP, Meaning of Life intervention, and Life-Review intervention although the number of studies were very few. In the other interventions, there were heterogenous findings and again the number of studies was very small. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of existential psychotherapy on patients with advanced cancer.