Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Existential Distress in Advanced Cancer

Writing in OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, Vaia Pappa and Diomidis Antoniadis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki review randomized and controlled studies of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP) for adults with advanced cancer. Grounded in Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, MCP was developed to address the existential dimensions of suffering: existential distress, demoralization and the loss of meaning that are common near the end of life.

Across the studies, MCP consistently improved meaning in life and spiritual well-being, with more modest effects on depressive symptoms and variable effects on anxiety and overall quality of life. The authors conclude that MCP is a feasible and clinically relevant intervention, and call for research on long-term outcomes and on how it can be built into routine oncology care.

A note from the lab

Existential distress and demoralization are central concerns in our work in psycho-oncology and palliative care, and they are easily overlooked when care attends to symptoms alone. A review that gathers the evidence for a structured, meaning-centered approach is directly useful for clinicians and educators who want to address these forms of suffering on their own terms, and it points to the question that matters most to us next: how such care can become part of routine oncology practice.