Beyond My Skin 2023

Meaning of life program for people affected with psoriatic disease

The objective of this psychotherapeutic program from Logotherapy is to increase the perception of sense of life in people affected with psoriatic disease belonging to the community of APAPSO PERU.

Number of participants

14 people participated in this program. All of them live in Peru.

Date and location of the event/action organized

This program had a duration for 4 months and was carried out virtually.

• Start Date: December 05, 2022
• End Date: April 22, 2023

During this time it was carried out:

• 4 virtual workshops, one per month with an hour and a half duration, where different topics will be discussed.

Workshop 1: "I am free for what?

This workshop sought interaction and integration of the participants. In addition to the application of an exercise from the book "Finding and making sense" by Salomon and Del Castillo, which seeks to make
participants aware of the freedom they have as human beings and in distinction with other living beings in nature.

Workshop 2: "Values in Logotherapy"

In this workshop, we carried out two psychotherapeutic exercises with which we sought that the participants could recognize the limiting self-concepts that they have been possessing and the consequences they have in their lives. In addition to the realization of an exercise that helps them to distinguish between moments of pleasure and joy, so they can be aware of their emotions and manage them more easily.

Workshop 3: "How can I discover the meaning of my existence?"

In this workshop, exercises were conducted in pairs to share their answers to questions that help them differentiate between what they choose and what they execute as a reaction to what life presents to them.

Workshop 4: "My sense of life"

The application of two exercises was carried out, which invite the person to generate an understanding attitude with others and with themselves.

The first activity included 4 virtual awareness talks: one per month with a duration of one and a half hours, where different topics will be discussed.

• Awareness Talk 1: "Getting to know Logotherapy"
  In this first talk, the biography of Viktor Frankl, author of Logotherapy, was shown, emphasizing his time in the concentration camps during World War II. Two fundamental concepts of this psychotherapeutic approach were also developed, such as Freedom and Responsibility.
• Awareness Talk 2: "Values in Logotherapy"
  In this second talk, the concept of values from the Logotherapy point of view was touched upon, which invite us to feel life through experiences we have with others and what we can offer to those around us.
• Awareness Talk 3: "Attitudinal values"
  In this talk we talked about attitudinal values, which refer to the capacity of human beings to respond in the face of limiting situations, such as death and pain.
• Awareness Talk 4: "My sense of life"
  The meaning of life for each of the participants was discussed, appealing to their individuality and becoming aware of the capabilities they have to face the difficulties they face in life.

The second activity consisted of one virtual and individual psychological session with a duration of 45 minutes once a week during the 4 months of the program. Each participant had the opportunity to have 14 face-to-face conversations with a psychologist.

Impact

At the beginning of the program, the "Purpose In Life Test" was applied to the 14 participants to determine the degree to which the person has found meaning in life. Graph 1 shows the results of the test in percentages: 54% of the participants scored "Uncertainty about their Meaning in Life", 36% scored "Little Meaning in Life" and 9% scored "Clear Meaning in Life".

At the end of the program, the same "Purpose In Life Test" was applied to determine their perception of their Sense of Life after the application of the psychotherapeutic program. As shown in Figure 2, the results revealed that 18% still present a "low sense of life", another 18% present "uncertainty about their sense of life" and 63% perceive "clarity in their sense of life".

Participants also filled out an anonymous feedback survey about the program, which contained both closed and open-ended questions to learn about their personal experiences. The survey revealed that 75% of participants feel confident that they have understood the concepts worked on in the program, 83% express that the individual psychological sessions have had a great impact on their lives, 92% consider the psychologists in charge of the program to be quite competent. Regarding the duration of the program, the majority suggested that it should be extended from 6 months to 1 year. They also emphasized that aspects such as self-knowledge, self-understanding and limit-setting have improved.

Budget

Item	Euros
Payment of services to the 2 psychologist therapists for talks, workshops and individual psychological sessions with program participants:	1800
Zoom plataform	200
Total	2000

Conclusions

• The comparison of the Pre and Post Test results shows that there is a 54% increase in the participants' perception of meaning in life. This means that the objective of the program has been achieved.
• Regarding the people who still have scores of "Little sense of life" or "Uncertainty in the sense of life", it can be seen that they did have an increase in their scores although they are still in those categories. The program has benefited them, however, it is suggested that they take psychological sessions for a longer period of time.
• We are very happy with the objectives achieved and grateful for IFPA's financial support. We want to continue with these types of programs that benefit the mental health of people affected by psoriatic disease in the APAPSO PERU community.