Existential Suffering in Palliative Care: An Existential Positive Psychology Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacies of the current healthcare system and needs a paradigm change to one that is holistic and community based, illustrated by the healing wheel. The present paper proposes that existential positive psychology (PP 2.0) represents a promising approach to meet the rising needs in palliative care. This framework has a twofold emphasis on (a) how to transcend and transform suffering as the foundation for wellbeing and (b) how to cultivate our spiritual and existential capabilities to achieve personal growth and flourishing. We propose that these objectives can be achieved simultaneously through dialectical palliative counselling, as illustrated by Wong’s integrative meaning therapy and the Conceptual Model of CALM Therapy in palliative care. We then outline the treatment objectives and the intervention strategies of IMT in providing palliative counselling for palliative care and hospice patients. Based on our review of recent literature, as well as our own research and practice, we discover that existential suffering in general and at the last stage of life in particular is indeed the foundation for healing and wellbeing as hypothesized by PP 2.0. We can also conclude that best palliative care is holistic—in addition to cultivating the inner spiritual resources of patients, it needs to be supported by the family, staff, and community, as symbolized by the healing wheel.