Topic: In this session, we will explore some key questions: What is meaning in life? How can meaning in life be relevant for me? How can meaning help to get through stressful and difficult life situations? What are popular myths about meaning? How can I discover my meaning in this training? How can I make maximum use of this training?

Before the session: The trainer will send you an email with some general information about the training (e.g. you will receive a copy from the Safe Space Policy, which you can also find on the website; this describes our aim to treat each other with respect and create a space in which everyone feels safe), a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about general meaning in life that you may want to fill in. The trainer will also send a questionnaire in which the students can write their own personal goals for this training, about what they want to achieve; in week 10, the students may look back at these goals to evaluate to which extent they have achieved these goals.  

Topic: In this session, we will look at why you have chosen to do this training at this moment in your life. Some trainees may have decided to do this training because of longer-running questions around meaning in life, or to develop a general understanding of how to live a meaningful life. Some trainees may be at a crossroads in their living, having to make an important decision, or they have been through a stressful or traumatic period. Sometimes, individuals cannot precisely describe their gut feeling why they decided to join this course, but they feel that they could learn how to live life more to the fullest and to enjoy life more. We will also look how our sense of meaning can change over time, and how we can make deliberate decisions to live a more meaningful life.   

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session, and also a questionnaire about meaning in life that you may want to fill in. The student will be recommended to keep a ‘meaning diary’: at the end of each day, students write at least three examples of the most meaningful moments in life; these can be very small moments. Students often find it helpful to keep  a meaning diary, to start seeing more of these tiny moments of meaning in life that we often overlook in the busy-ness of daily life; over the course of several weeks, students often start to see a pattern across all the meaningful examples that they have written. Again, like all home exercises, students are not required to do this, but it can be helpful.

Topic: Building on week 2, we will explore what you have already learned about meaning in life via your life experiences. Everyone already has some wisdom about living a meaningful life, but sometimes we need a reminder of this. We will particularly look at how we have been able to get through difficult periods in our life, and what was so meaningful in that period that we could get through this. How can you use your previous life experiences and wisdom in your current life situation and future? This will be called ‘resilience’, which is the ability to cope flexibly and use your existing resources to cope with difficult life situations, and live life more the fullest.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about resilience that you may want to fill in.

Topic:  In this and in the next weeks, we will systematically explore a broad range of possible types of meaning. Research has shown that people across the globe experience six types of meaning: materialistic, hedonistic, self-oriented, social, larger, and existential-philosophical types of meaning. In the following sessions, we will examine examples of each of these types of meaning. In the exercises you will look for examples of each type of meaning in your past, in the here-and-now and possibly in your future. Going systematically through a comprehensive list of possible types of meaning can be helpful to be reminded of meanings that we may have forgotten, or to learn about new types of meaning which we may never have considered. At the end of each session, the students will reflect on the question whether they want more of some types of meaning in their life, and if so what they can practically do to focus more on this type of meaning in their life. We systematically explore these types of meaning as reminders and possible suggestions of examples where you could find meaning in life, but we will not tell you what is meaningful for you: you will need to decide for yourself what feels meaningful to you, and what direction you want to go in life. This week will focus on materialistic types of meaning, such as finding meaning in your study, career, or material possessions. This week also addresses hedonistic types of meaning, which is about enjoying things in life, sports, and health. Not everyone experiences these types of meaning as important in their life, but it can be helpful to either consider introducing some examples of these types of meaning in their daily life, or it can be helpful to decide (again) that this type of meaning is not important for them.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about types of meaning in life that you may want to fill in.

Topic: In this week, we will discuss self-oriented types of meaning, such as finding meaning in self-development, authenticity, building personal strength, and self-care. Focusing on self-oriented types of meaning does not mean that you are selfish. It is important to be compassionate and caring for yourself; many people find it difficult to be self-compassionate and do self-care; we will look at some ways how you may do introduce some more self-compassion and self-care in your daily life. Not everyone experiences this type of meaning as important in their life, but it can be helpful to either consider introducing some more examples of this type of meaning in their daily life, or it can be helpful to decide (again) that this type of meaning is not important.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about self-care and self-compassion that you may want to fill in.

Topic: In this week, we will explore social types of meaning, such as finding meaning in friendships and family relationships, intimate partners, belonging to a community, helping others, and looking after young and vulnerable people. We will discuss how you can be authentic and develop meaningful and fulfilling relationships, with a balance between what you and others contribute to the relationship. Not everyone experiences this type of meaning as important in their life, but it can be helpful to either consider introducing some more examples of this type of meaning in their daily life, or it can be helpful to decide (again) that this type of meaning is not important.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about relationships that you may want to fill in.

Topic: In this week, we will examine example of larger types of meaning that individual may experience in life. For example, some people say that they experience a specific purpose in life, they find meaning in their religion or spirituality, or they find meaning in trying to be ethical and making the world a better place. This also includes feeling a sense of coherence in your life, where your past, present and future feel logically connected with each other, and with the generations before and after you. Not everyone experiences this type of meaning as important in their life, but it can be helpful to either consider introducing some more examples of this type of meaning in their daily life, or it can be helpful to decide (again) that this type of meaning is not important.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about larger types of meaning that you may want to fill in.

Topic: In this week, we will look into some more abstract and theoretical types of meaning, which are called existential-philosophical types of meaning. Some people say that they find meaning in the fact that they are alive, in their freedom and uniqueness, or in their general gratitude towards life. In this session, we will also talk about how we can live a meaningful life, even when we are confronted with inevitable moments of suffering, limitations, loss and pain in life (the word ‘existential’ comes from the word ‘existence’, which means ‘life’).  Not everyone experiences this type of meaning as important in their life, but it can be helpful to either consider introducing some more examples of this type of meaning in their daily life, or it can be helpful to decide (again) that this type of meaning is not important.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about existential types of meaning that you may want to fill in.

Topic: In this week, we will look back at what we have learned in this training, and make some conclusions for ourselves. For example, some trainees may decide to make some changes in their life, to focus more on some types of meaning of meaning in their life. We will examine how we can make meaningful changes in daily life, via setting clear achievable goals and creating a clear step-by-step plan.

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and also a questionnaire about setting and managing goals in daily life that you may want to fill in.

Topic: All good things come to their end. Unfortunately, this will be our last session. In this session, students will be invited to share with the group any changes that may have made in their daily life, and any reflections on the goals that they may have achieved. If students want, they can for example show and tell any examples of changes; for example, a previous student has shown a painting to the group as she had decided to pick up her hobby of painting again; another student showed a book of recipes that they had written for their children as they wanted to do more for their family; another student showed a picture together with his friends, as he had decided to spend more time with his friends. It can feel meaningful and fulfilling to take stock and be proud of our achievements, and share these with the group. Undoubtedly, you will have some more things that you may want to change or achieve after this training, and therefore we will examine how you can continue learning to live a meaningful and satisfying life. If students want (this is not required) they could personally share their contact details with each other during this session to stay in touch with each other (students in previous groups wanted to stay in touch, and friendships developed; some previous training groups have developed very active WhatsApp and email groups or they organise regular drinks together; however, this is just a suggestion and this is not necessary).

Before the session: The trainer will send you a handout for this week’s session (the handout will tell in detail what we will do in this session, including the Powerpoint slides), and the students are also reminded to look back at the goals that they have filled in before session 1 and to assess to which extent they feel that they have achieved these goals.

The live sessions will be from 18:00 to 20:00 current UK-time on Monday evenings: 23, 30 May, 6, 13, 20, 27 June, 4, 11, 18, 25 June 2022 (subject to change)

Click on the link below, and follow the instructions.

There is a temporary discount until 1 June 2022. Sign up now, not to miss this unique 50% discount!

Yes, you can! For each person that signs up for the training, you get a discount of 50GBP (with a maximum of 50% of the total price, and the total discount can never be more than the maximum price). If another student signs up thanks to you, you need to ask them to send an email with your name to [email protected] As a suggestion: to get others sign up for this course, share the link on Facebook or Twitter, or send an email to your friends, colleagues and family.

We know how hard financial struggles can be. Therefore, we offer an extra 10% discount for individuals who can prove that they have no salary (e.g. benefit papers, retirement card); after paying for your course, send an email with the evidence to [email protected] If you cannot afford to pay for the course but you believe that you need this training to get out of long-term unemployment, you can apply for a further discount by writing an email to [email protected]. There is only a limited number of discount places available; priority will be given for paying students if the maximum number of students is reached.  

Be quick to sign up for this training! There is a maximum of 20 students, and this course is likely to fill-up quickly. The course has a minimum of six students; if there are less than six, we may unfortunately need to postpone the course.

Absolutely! We strongly recommend combining this training with other training courses offered by IMEC. For example, if this training made you excited about helping other people live a more meaningful life, you may want to follow an IMEC training to become a certified Evidence-based Meaning-Centered Practitioner (EMCP)! Practitioners who intend to help clients with meaning in life, are recommended to also follow a personal training course to discover their personal meaning in life; this will help them develop their own sense of meaning in lift, to experience how it is like to be a client, and to understand how evidence-based meaning-centered practice looks like in practice. Other IMEC courses offer professional training on other topics, and there will be no or minimum overlap with this training.

There are ten sessions of each 2.5 hours (25 hours total). The suggested reading and suggested homework will cost maximum 10 hours.

No. You do not need to do the suggested home exercises. However, for the best learning experience we recommend you to do the home exercises.

You will need to write an assignment; you will get very specific instructions during the live sessions. You will need to write a text of minimum 500 and maximum 800 words on three questions: what new insights have you learned about your personal meaning in life during this training (e.g. what types of meaning do you experience in your life; how do you usually approach meaning); how have you discovered these new insights (e.g. by reading a specific text, doing exercises); what do want to do with what you have learned in your personal life and in your professional life (e.g. what are your goals, and what steps do you intend to do to achieve these goals)? You will need to submit the final assignment within two months after the last live session to [email protected] You will receive an email with individual feedback on how you have done the assignment, and with suggestions for your further personal and professional development. All students have passed the assignment in the past. The student will receive brief feedback on the assignment.  

There is no required reading for this training. The trainer may email some suggested reading, or offer some suggestions for relevant books. Students are strongly recommended to buy the self-help book which explains the fifty most important findings on meaning in life, together with pictures and questions for self-reflection; this accessible self-help book is called: ‘Fifty pictures of living a meaningful life’ by Dr Joel Vos, Independent Publishing (e.g. available via Amazon). If students want to learn more about the psychology of COVID-19, and more in particular about to cope in a meaningful way with the self-isolation and existential threat of the pandemic, they could read: ‘The psychology of COVID-19’ by Joel Vos, 2020, SAGE. Students who are interested may want to buy the handbook that this course has been built upon: ‘Meaning in life: an evidence-based handbook for practitioners’ by Dr Joel Vos, 2017, MacMillan. Those interested in the role of meaning in society can be recommended to read the book: ‘The economics of meaning in life’ by Dr Joel Vos, University Professors’ Press. For an introduction into critical modern mental health care, students may want to read ‘Mental health in crisis’ by Joel Vos, Ron Roberts, and James Davies, 2019, SAGE. All books can be found via Amazon and larger bookstores.

The course will be fully in English: all live sessions, website, readings, and videos. Most pre-recorded videos have subtitles which the student can switch on. The live sessions have unfortunately no subtitles.

Students are requested not to share any personal information about any of the students outside of this training. The trainer will not share any information of any of the students with anyone outside of this training. The trainer will not share the personal assignment and any personal emails with others. Three months after the end of the course, the personal assignment will be permanently deleted. The certificate and name of the student will be saved on a password-protected website until 10 years after the end of the course; if needed, the student can request a copy of the certificate until the end of 10 years, for an admin fee of 50GBP. An exception of confidentiality are legal requirements to share information with authorities, for example when an individual threatens to harm themselves or others.   

Most students benefit personally from this training, by developing more insight into their personal meaning in life. Research has shown that most trainees experience a large improvement in their mental health (e.g. less stress, anxiety or depression), experiencing life as more meaningful, fulfilling and satisfying, and sometimes also better physical health (Vos & Vitali, 2016; Vos, 2022). A variation of this training is also frequently used as psychotherapy groups in professional psychotherapy settings. For example, the theory, exercises and feedback in the sessions will give opportunities to work on personal development. However, during the live sessions, the time needs to be shared between all students, and therefore each student only has limited time to share their personal experiences and questions; students may be asked by the trainer to shorten their contributions to sessions, and it cannot be guaranteed that each student can get much time in each session. Participation in this training cannot replace mental health treatment by a professional. In case of mental health emergency, please contact your family doctor, go to the nearest Accident and Emergency Department, call 111/112/999/911, contact www.samaritans.org Free or low-cost mental health services may be available via https://easewellbeing.co.uk/ or https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/therapy/metanoia-counselling-and-psychotherapy-service/

Yes. You are not required to share any personal information in the sessions, or to do the personal exercises in the sessions. You can give a pseudonym in the Zoom sessions. However, to get the certificate and CPD credits you still need to write the final assignment, preferably about yourself, but you could also write the assignment about a client or a person who you know well; if you want to write this about someone else, write an email to [email protected] for detailed instructions how to do this.

The IMEC motto is: ‘Because everyone deserves to live a meaningful life’. Everyone is welcome in this training, regardless of your education. The live sessions will unfortunately not have subtitles and will not offer sign language to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The live sessions will have a brief break of maximum 10 minutes in the middle. The texts and questionnaires will be provided in the standard print format that the texts have been published, and unfortunately, we cannot change the print format. Students who struggle with dyslexia could make a video recording instead of the written final assignment, and send this to [email protected] We expect students to treat each other with respect. Discrimination or unequal treatment in any form will not be tolerated. Students are expected to have read and follow the IMEC Safe Space Policy which can be found on the website and that we will email to all students before the start of the training. In case that students refuse to follow the Safe Space Policy, for example when they repeatedly treat others without respect despite at least two warnings from the trainer, they may be asked to leave the training without a refund.

During the live sessions, students get time to share their experiences and questions. Students may get feedback from each other and from the trainer. It is not required to share anything; you only share what you want to share (no pressure!). As the time needs to be shared with students, each student gets a limited time for sharing; previous trainees have felt that there was a good balance between how much they could share with each other. Previous students also said that they learned much from other students’ stories: often we can get inspired and get new ideas for our own life.

No. This is a very strong ‘no’. You will need to decide for yourself what is meaningful for you. Nobody else can tell you what your personal meaning in life. We will share examples of what other people have found meaningful, but in the end you will decide yourself what you find meaningful.  

Do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected] You can also contact the trainer, Dr Joel Vos, via [email protected]