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Multiculturalism and Meaning in Existential and Positive Psychology

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Clinical Perspectives on Meaning

Abstract

Positive psychology and existential psychology have both struggled with multiculturalism. Despite challenges, important progress has been made in recent years. Positive psychology and existential psychology need to learn from multicultural perspectives; however, they also have something to offer multicultural psychology. Several applications relevant to meaning are discussed. First, it is emphasized that while meaning is a universal construct, it must be understood in an individual and cultural context. Second, the meaning aspects of freedom are considered within the context of oppression and privilege. Freedom is often experienced quite differently across different cultural groups. Third, meaning is considered in the context of identity and character. Each of these has important clinical considerations, which are discussed. Clinicians need to be aware of the complexities of meaning and culture in order to effectively work with diverse clientele.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The increased frequency of protests began after George Zimmerman, acting as part of a neighborhood watch group, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. Subsequently, several other unarmed Black males were killed by police officers, including Michael Brown, Tamir Rice (age 12), Eric Garner, and numerous others. Many of the individuals who killed the unarmed Black males were not indicted or not convicted, increasing the outrage. Compared to previous similar incidents, these more recent events have been widely publicized through the national media as well as social media.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Heatherlyn Cleare-Hoffman and Brent Dean Robbins for the feedback on various drafts of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanistic and Clinical Psychology, Saybrook University, 475 14th Street, 9th Floor, Oakland, CA, 94612, USA

    Louis Hoffman Ph.D., Nathaniel Granger Jr Psy.D. & Monica Mansilla Ph.D.

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  1. Louis Hoffman Ph.D.
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  2. Nathaniel Granger Jr Psy.D.
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  3. Monica Mansilla Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Louis Hoffman Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Pninit Russo-Netzer

  2. Department of Psychology Clinical-Disaster Research Center (UM-CDRC), University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, USA

    Stefan E. Schulenberg

  3. International Academy of Philosophy, University in the Principality of Liechtenstein, Vienna, Austria

    Alexander Batthyany

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Hoffman, L., Granger, N., Mansilla, M. (2016). Multiculturalism and Meaning in Existential and Positive Psychology. In: Russo-Netzer, P., Schulenberg, S., Batthyany, A. (eds) Clinical Perspectives on Meaning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41397-6_6

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