According to former president of the American Psychological Association Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology, “The aim of Positive Psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life,” Seligman is renowned as a researcher and father of the well-known psychological theory of learned helplessness; he developed it as a working methodology after growing frustrated with psychology’s focus on the negative, observing that most of the attention was directed toward mental illness, abnormal psychology, and the pain and suffering associated with trauma. When he was elected as the APA president in 1998, he proposed Positive Psychology (PosPsy) as a new subfield, and his contributions to holistic psychological care have been invaluable.
The NIH, or National Library of Medicine published an article in their American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine that describes PosPsy as the scientific study of a healthy and flourishing life:
The goal of positive psychology is to complement and extend the traditional problem-focused psychology that has proliferated in recent decades. Positive psychology is concerned with positive psychological states (eg, happiness), positive psychological traits (eg, talents, interests, strengths of character), positive relationships, and positive institutions. We describe evidences of how topics of positive psychology apply to physical health. Research has shown that psychological health assets (eg, positive emotions, life satisfaction, optimism, life purpose, social support) are prospectively associated with good health measured in a variety of ways.
According to Peter D. MacIntyre (Ph.D., 1992 University of Western Ontario), Professor of Psychology at Cape Breton University, Psychology has, since World War II, become a science largely about healing. He finds that it concentrates on repairing damage within a disease model of human function, yet neglects the fulfilled individual and the thriving community. Dr. MacIntyre states that, "The aim of positive psychology is to begin to catalyze a change in the focus of psychology from preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities." He refers to it as a form of rebirth for a much more humanistic form of psychological treatment.
The term positive psychology was first used by Abraham Maslow, 1954, father of Humanistic Psychology and innovator of the renowned "Hierarchy of Needs." Maslow openly claimed that psychology had "... voluntarily restricted itself to only half its rightful jurisdiction, the darker, meaner half." Maslow was most concerned with the positive qualities that make humans successful, fulfilled, and self-actualized.
MacIntyre's research expands on Maslow's thinking while examining emotion, motivation, and cognition interpersonally to delve into the psychology of communication, aiming to answer questions such as:
What characteristics do people with high levels of happiness possess?
What qualities do people who manage their troubles effectively have?
What strengths do these people possess?
If we learn what differentiates happy and resilient people from unhappy and
emotionally vulnerable people, then perhaps we can use this knowledge to increase happiness and boost the resilience of others. According to positivepsychology.com, a Netherlands–based program rooted in research and practice, countless studies have revealed actions and interventions that significantly improve well-being. The studies examine several facets of research, such as:
Which personal qualities help buffer against stress and illness?
How can we increase happiness?
Which characteristics of people and environments are related to a high level of wellbeing?
How can we develop valid measurement tools?
What is the role of positive emotions and experiences?
How can we best embrace the existence of and deal with negative experiences?
How can we create healthy self-esteem?
Their research shows concrete evidence of the effectiveness of interventions, fostering our understanding of the difference between what we believe might contribute to enhanced wellbeing and what actually works. For instance, in a study by McCullough & Emmons (2003), coauthors of a research study titled “Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective wellbeing in daily life,” participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (the gratitude condition, the hassles condition, the events condition) where they completed an extensive daily journal in which they rated the following:
Mood
Physical health
Overall contentment with life
Each participant kept a brief weekly journal for ten weeks. They either described, in a single sentence, five things they were grateful for that had occurred in the past week (the gratitude condition); or they did the opposite, describing five daily hassles (irritants) that had annoyed them in the past week (the hassles condition). The neutral group was asked to simply list five events or circumstances that affected them in the last week, and they were not told to accentuate the positive or negative aspects of those circumstances (the events condition).
The study found that those in the gratitude condition reported fewer health complaints, spent more time exercising and outdoors than the control participants did. The gratitude group participants experienced fewer symptoms of physical illness than those in either of the other two groups. Lastly, people in the gratitude condition spent significantly more time exercising (nearly 1.5 hours more per week) than those in the hassles condition.
Positive Psychology in Practice
According to positivepsychology.com, the insights from positive psychological research can be applied directly to therapy in different ways. Existing treatment programs can integrate positive psychology interventions into the treatment protocol. For example, a cognitive behavioral therapist may use positive interventions like gratitude practice as an addition to the regular programs; patients can actively work on their personal development homework while waiting for the next meeting.
PosPsy interventions have been developed that strongly rely on these insights and principles:
▪ Appreciative Inquiry is an approach, developed in the1980s, that involves searching for the best in people, organizations and communities through the discovery of what gives life to a system when it is at its most effective and most economically, ecologically, and socially capable (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2001).
▪ Positive Psychotherapy is an empirically validated approach to psychotherapy that aims to reduce psychopathology by predominantly focusing on building strengths and enhancing positive emotions and engagement (Rashid, 2015). Seligman and colleagues (2006) showed significant, lasting decreases in depression after positive psychotherapy.
▪ Positive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses of positive cognitive behavioral therapy, not on pathology. Like positive psychology itself, it builds on clients’ strengths and what works for them. This form of therapy draws on research and applications from positive psychology and solution-focused brief therapy.
▪ Strengths-Based Counseling is a model for conducting therapy based on the premises of positive psychology, counseling psychology, positive youth development, social work, narrative therapy and solution-focused therapy (Smith, 2006). The model was created specifically for use with adolescents and aims to increase growth by helping clients use strengths to overcome problems. Strengths-based counseling uses a strength-perspective and guides the psychologist who “searches for what people have rather than what they do
not have, what people can do rather than what they cannot do, and how they have been successful rather than how they have failed” (Smith, 2006, p. 38).
▪ Strength-Centered Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that heavily focuses on building strengths in the change process (Wong, 2006). It is characterized by the social constructivist notion that the subjective views of clients regarding their own pathology and wellbeing are more important in therapy than the expert opinions of mental health providers.
▪ Solution-focused Therapy was developed by de Shazer, Berg, and
colleagues (Berg, 1994; Berg & Miller, 1992; Cade & O’Hanlon, 1993; DeJong & Berg, 2001; de Shazer et al., 1986; O’Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989). It emphasizes the strengths people possess and how these can be applied to the change process. A key ingredient of solution-focused therapy is the use of positive language. By using language that focuses on possibilities and positive exceptions, the therapist influences the way clients perceive their problems to assist them in seeing the potential for solutions, and create expectancy for change (Berg & DeJong, 1996).
One such technique, as mentioned above called Solution-Focused Therapy or SFT is an approach that empowers clients to own their abilities in solving life’s problems. "Rather than traditional psychotherapy that focuses on how a problem was derived, SFT allows for a goal-oriented focus to problem-solving. This approach allows for future-oriented, rather than past-oriented discussions to move a client forward toward the resolutions of their present problem."(positivepsychology.com)
Independent Exercise:
An SFT exercise that I have found vastly helpful over the years is a powerful form of art therapy. I am not a visual artist by any stretch, so I either draw or write a description of something positive in my world:
A miracle I have experienced.
Something I do well.
A day when everything went well for me. (Note: What was different about that day?)
A special person in my life. (Note: How does the person make a positive impact?)
Recommended Reading:
Ackerman, Courtney E. My Pocket Positivity: Anytime Exercises That Boost Optimism, Confidence, and Possibility. Avon, Massachusetts, Adams Media, 2018.
de Shazer, Steve, et al. More than Miracles : The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Milton, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.
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