Primary Capacities of Meaning and Ideal
Abstract
This article continues a four-part series that refines the list, definitions, and diagnostic criteria of the primary actual capacities proposed by Nossrat Peseschkian, integrating them with contemporary psychodynamic theory and practice. As the fourth installment, it focuses on the capacities of ideal and meaning. It reviews the literature to clarify their conceptual definitions and scientific grounding in motivation, bodily experience, cognition, behavior, and relationships. Building on this theoretical synthesis, the author proposes clinically oriented diagnostic criteria, sample diagnostic questions, and intervention ideas intended to support more structured assessment, individualized treatment planning, self-help resource development, and future research.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Psychological Testing and Assessment
Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Global Psychotherapist
- Publisher
- World Association for Positive and Transcultural Psychotherapy (WAPP)
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 114–129
- Publication date
- 23 January 2026
- Language
- UK