The expression of meaning and its use in Psychology: an integrative review

Abstract:

The “expression of meaning” was developed over twenty years ago as an instrument of register and reflection in psychotherapeutic practice. It is brief way to register the essential experience of a session, unlike the usual and long session notes. Since its origin, the use of expression of meaning has spread to several regions of Brazil, both in clinical work and in the academia. This integrative review aims to verify the evolution of the concept of expression of meaning since its conception to the present day and in what contexts it is used. The 29 selected works reveal that expression of meaning has been used in several contexts, with a variety of procedures and characterizations that, however, do not eliminate their common intent of facilitating access to the participant’s lived meaning of an event.

Keywords:
expression of meaning; lived experience; report; integrative review; phenomenological method