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Just like the PIL-test, the emphasis is focusingexclusively on the internalfeelings of
the patient/client. He/sheis actually revealinghow he/she is experiencing and/or
seeing life. Introspection, subjectivism, and a verbalizationofyour own "outlook"
on thingsare key issuesthatare addressed in this test. The "I" ofthe client/patient
stands in the center frombeginning to end.
What are lackingin thistest questions are, for example,questions about the past
successes and failures ofa person and the present factors thatare influencing him/her
to experience the feelings and thoughts thathe/she is now experiencing and tryingto
verbalizeon paper.
The avoidance of"getting into the past experiences ofa patient/client"would be seen
as negative by those moving in psychoanalytic circles. The SONG-testput a strong
emphasis on the "feelings" ofa patient/client. In other words, what the patient/client
is busy experiencing, is now seen or taken as the ''real state ofaffairs." The problem
is thatmanyofthe possibleremarks ofpatients/clients may reflect the "irrational"
and/or "distorted thoughts"ofa person, and not necessarily hislher real attitude to­
ward meaning in life - something thatrational-emotive therapists would point out as a
definite weak point in the test (Ellis f962,1971).
Depressed persons are often caught in spirals ofnegativityand distorted feelings and
thoughts that do not necessarilyreflect the true nature oftheir perception, about how,
andifthey are motivated, to find meaningin life. Itis possible that a person is
depressed because he/she is motivatedto find meaningin life but cannot reach that
goal withina certain time-span. People who have completeda SONG-test ques­
tionnaire may fall withinthe above-mentioned example. For Iogotherapists any
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