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Taking Steps in Meaningful Life Directions

Lee, Jonathan, PhD • March 01, 2013

Mental illness has a significant impact on the welfare of our population. It is associated with decreased work productivity (e.g., Kessler, et al., 2008), increased health care cost and utilization (e.g., Ormel, et al., 2008), and decreased quality of life and life satisfaction (e.g., Rapaport, Clary, Fayyad, & Endicott, 2005). In the psychological literature, quality of life has been defined as the extent to which an individual is satisfied with different aspects of daily living. Research consistently demonstrates a strong association between quality of life impairment and mental illness.

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