Prof. Pninit Russo-Netzer, PhD, is an Associate Professor, author, speaker, and internationally engaged scholar whose work advances the science and practice of meaning in life. Her research and applied work bring together logotherapy and existential analysis, positive and existential psychology, spirituality, resilience, posttraumatic growth, and processes of positive change across the lifespan.
Prof. Russo-Netzer serves as an academic advisor and consultant to institutions and organizations worldwide, including the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR). She serves on the Council of Advisors for the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), is an Associate Editor at Current Psychology, and has authored and edited numerous academic papers, book chapters, and scholarly volumes.
She heads the Community, Meaning, and Healing (C.M.H.) Research and Development Center and the Resilience and Optimal Development Lab at Achva Academic College. She is also the Founder and Director of the Compass Institute for the Study and Application of Meaning in Life and the Founding Head of the Academic Training Program in Logotherapy (meaning-oriented psychotherapy) at Tel Aviv University, accredited by the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy in the USA and Vienna. Her work is characterized by a commitment to building bridges: between empirical research and lived experience; between therapy, education, organizations, leadership, and community life; and between academic knowledge and real-world practices that help people and communities cultivate meaning under conditions of uncertainty, rupture, transition, and crisis.
Awards & Honors
- ISSEP Early Career Contributions Award for excellence and impact, International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology, 2025.
- Researcher Award for excellence and impact, Meaning and Spirituality Division, International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), 2021.
Books & Edited Volumes
Russo-Netzer, P. (Forthcoming: October 2026). Logotherapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques. Routledge.
Vos, J., Russo-Netzer, P., & Schulenberg, S. E. (Eds.). (2026). COVID-19 and Beyond. University Professors Press.
Davidov, J., & Russo-Netzer, P. (2022). Existential Authenticity: Theory and Practice. Springer.
Mayseless, O., & Russo-Netzer, P. (Eds.). (2021). Finding Meaning: An Existential Quest in Post-Modern Israel. Oxford University Press.
Russo-Netzer, P., Schulenberg, S. E., & Batthyany, A. (Eds.). (2016). Clinical Perspectives on Meaning: Positive and Existential Psychotherapy. Springer.
Batthyany, A., & Russo-Netzer, P. (Eds.). (2014). Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology. Springer.
Selected Articles & Book Chapters
Russo-Netzer, P., Pargament, K. I., & Wong, S. (2026). What does it mean to be whole? Exploring the lived experience of wholeness. Current Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Icekson, T. (2026). Attachment to God and meaning in life: The role of synchronicity awareness among ultra-Orthodox and secular individuals. Frontiers in Psychology.
Atad, O., & Russo-Netzer, P. (2026). Two pathways to digital flourishing: How meaning and positivity orientations shape online behavior and well-being. Information, 17(2), 156.
Russo-Netzer, P., Tarrasch, R., Saar-Ashkenazy, R., & Guez, J. (2026). Forging unity in crisis: Exploring resilience, volunteering, and individual differences in war-affected populations. Current Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Atad, O. (2025). Embodied meaning-making: A sensory-based intervention to foster psychological well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P., Erel-Brodsky, H., & Taubman-Ben-Ari, O. (2025). When language falters, dreams speak: Search for meaning in the aftermath of collective trauma. Applied Research in Quality of Life.
Russo-Netzer, P. (2025). Positive anxiety: Existential authenticity as a pathway to well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology.
Tarrasch, R., & Russo-Netzer, P. (2025). “Psycho-educational Iron Dome”: Mapping resilience factors among educators during war and crisis. Teaching and Teacher Education.
Russo-Netzer, P., Tarrasch, R., Saar-Ashkenazy, R., & Guez, J. (2025). Meaning and resilience in war-affected populations during crisis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1678205.
Russo-Netzer, P., Niemiec, R. M., & Tarrasch, R. (2023). Developmental, gender, and cross-cultural aspects of meaning. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24(8), 2583-2597.
Russo-Netzer, P., Tarrasch, R., & Niemiec, R. M. (2023). A meaningful synergy: The integration of character strengths and the three types of meaning in life. Social Sciences, 12(9), 494.
Russo-Netzer, P. (2023). Recalibrating the compass in a changing world: Education for meaning and meaningful education. Journal of Constructivist Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Cohen, G. L. (2023). “If you’re uncomfortable, go outside your comfort zone”: A novel behavioral “stretch” intervention supports the well-being of unhappy people. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 18(3), 394-410.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Icekson, T. (2023). An underexplored pathway to life satisfaction: The development and validation of the Synchronicity Awareness and Meaning-Detecting Scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1053296.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Ameli, M. (2021). Optimal sense-making and resilience in times of pandemic: Integrating rationality and meaning in psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 645926.
Niemiec, R. M., Russo-Netzer, P., & Pargament, K. I. (2020). The decoding of the human spirit: A synergy of spirituality and character strengths toward wholeness. Frontiers in Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P. (2018). Prioritizing meaning as a pathway to meaning in life and general well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(6), 1863-1891.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Vos, J. (2026). Meaning interventions: Working with meaning in life in psychological therapies. In L. Hoffman (Ed.), APA Handbook of Humanistic and Existential Psychology.
Russo-Netzer, P., & Schulenberg, S. E. (in press). Pathways to meaning and meaning maintenance in an ever-changing, complex world. In K. Vail, D. Van Tongeren, R. Schlegel, J. Greenberg, L. King, & R. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of the Science of Existential Psychology. Guilford Press.