Aisham Ali

Researcher & Rehabilitation Consultant, Counselling Appraisal Consultants

Aisham Ali is a researcher, writer, and rehabilitation counsellor based in Melbourne. Aisham is currently working with Counselling Appraisal Consultants (CAC), a leading and ARPA award winning provider of workplace health and well-being services specialising in Occupational rehabilitation. After completing his Bachelors and Honours training in Psychology at the University of Melbourne, Aisham pursued further post-graduate specialisation in Rehabilitation Counselling and Public Health research at La Trobe. Currently, Aisham is returning to the University of Melbourne to commence a PhD in psychology, investigating the processes underlying meaning in life, morality, pain, and social behaviour. The primary focus in Aisham's work, both in rehabilitation counselling and research, is to assist others in the pursuit of a happier, healthier, and more meaningful life.

conference presentation

Inspiring Meaning in Life: A New Direction for Rehabilitation Counselling

Meaning in Life (MIL) is conceptualised as the presence of understanding, purpose, and significance of one’s existence. In academic literature, MIL has consistently been found to be positively associated with positive affect, social connectedness, construction of a self-identity, and goal-oriented behaviour. Novel research in vocational psychology is now focusing on MIL as a valuable measure to assist in interventions aiming to assist in a return-to-work, or procurement of meaningful work. Long term unemployment and chronic morbidity are both associated to a reduced MIL, and thus a new direction in rehabilitation is to increase MIL to foster better treatment and vocational outcomes. Rehabilitation counsellors are best poised to lead these interventions aimed at inspiring MIL, which in turn can facilitate a return-to-work. The proposed presentation will discuss a new meaning cantered approach to rehabilitation counselling, evaluating how such interventions can develop employable strengths, increase self-efficacy, and promote treatment adherence.