Therapist's Guide to Positive Psychological Interventions

Jeana L. Magyar-Moe

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780080923017
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Clinical Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Positive psychology - essentially the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive - is a relatively new discipline that has experienced substantial growth in the last 5-10 years. Research suggests that the principles and theories from this area of study are highly relevant to the practice of counseling and psychotherapy, and positive psychology presents clinicians and patients with a much needed balance to the more traditional focus on pathology and the disease model of mental health. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the best-researched positive psychological interventions. It emphasizes clinical application, providing a detailed view of how the research can be applied to patients. Covering the broaden-and-build theory, strengths-based therapy, mentoring modalities and more, the volume will provide numerous assessment tools, exercises and worksheets for use throughout the counseling and psychotherapy process.

• Summarizes the applications of research from positive psychology to the practice of counseling and psychotherapy
• Provides clinician a variety of assessments, worksheets, handouts, and take home and in-session exercises to utilize in the process of conducting therapy from a positive psychological perspective
• Provides general treatment planning guidelines for the appropriate use of such assessments, worksheets, handouts, and exercises
• Bibliography of positive psychology references to compliment the information provided in this book

Chapter 1. What is Positive Psychology and Why is it Important?

Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning, the goals of which are to better understand and apply those factors that help individuals and communities to thrive and flourish. Perusal of the literature on positive psychology reveals many potential applications of the emerging research for a diversity of people within a wide variety of settings (Linley and Joseph, 2004; Snyder and Lopez, 2002, 2007). There seems to be no better fit, however, for positive psychology than within the therapy room. Indeed, research to date supports the notion that client conceptualizations and the incorporation of exercises informed by positive psychology can provide lasting positive outcomes for therapy clients (Duckworth et al., 2005; Seligman et al., 2005, 2006). In this text, strategies and exercises that therapists can use to begin incorporating positive psychology into their work with clients are provided.

1.1. The History of Positive Psychology

In his 1998 presidential address to members of the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman put a call out to applied psychologists to return to their roots and focus on not only curing mental illness, but also on making the lives of people more productive and fulfilling, and identifying and nurturing talent (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Indeed, these were the main foci of applied psychologists prior to World War II. After the war, however, the emphasis shifted to curing mental illness with the other two aims almost completely forgotten. Such a change in focus is understandable, given the number of soldiers coming back from war with psychological problems and the resulting issues they and their loved ones faced as they tried to reorient themselves to civilian life. Following these societal changes, the development of Veterans Administration Hospitals proliferated, as did the availability of research funding by the National Institute of Mental Health for those researching cures for mental illness (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Hence, psychologists realized that jobs and research funding were readily available to those who focused on mental illness. The same could not be said for those focusing on the other two aims of applied psychology.

As a result of the almost exclusive shift in focus to curing mental illness, therapists adopted a disease model of client functioning which almost completely overlooked individual strengths, virtues, and areas of well-being, focusing instead upon pathology, weaknesses, and deficits. Since Seligman’s declaration in 1998, however, a large group of scholars has looked to abandon this negative focus in psychology and to replace or at least augment it with a focus on positive emotions, positive traits, strengths, and talents, as well as positive institutions (Seligman, 2002). According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000), the time is right for the study of positive mental health since psychologists’ understanding of mental illness and of human survival under conditions of adversity is thorough, whereas our knowledge of what makes life meaningful and how people flourish under more benign conditions is lacking.

In the past decade, research in positive psychology has proliferated. Indeed, in 2008 the first issue of the Journal of Positive Psychology was published to accommodate much of the research being done on positive emotions, traits, strengths, and well-being. A variety of books devoted exclusively to positive psychology and even textbooks for use in the college classroom are available as well. Positive psychology is now being taught at over 100 colleges and universities in the USA and Britain and several schools even offer a master’s degree in applied positive psychology. Furthermore, there are several professional organizations (i.e., the International Positive Psychology Association and the Positive Psychology Section of the Society of Counseling Psychology within the American Psychological Association) and conventions (i.e., The Gallup Global Well-Being Forum, the International Positive Psychology Summit, the European Conference on Positive Psychology, and the World Congress on Positive Psychology) devoted to the study of positive psychology.

Although there is still much to be done to fully understand and implement what positive psychology has to offer, the available literature suggests that positive psychology can play a prominent role in counseling and psychotherapy. The rest of this chapter is devoted to addressing some of the core theories and concepts from positive psychology that serve as a foundation for many of the activities and client exercises that will be presented in later chapters.

1.2. Core Positive Psychology Theories and Concepts

1.2.1. Strengths Theory

Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strength, instead of your weaknesses… on your powers, instead of your problems.

Paul J. Meyer

Those who study and practice positive psychology subscribe to strengths theory or the idea that it is vital to understand and build from one’s strengths while managing (rather than focusing on or repairing) weaknesses (Clifton and Nelson, 1996). This perspective is not a common one. According to Clifton and Nelson (1996), many employers, teachers, parents, and leaders work off the following unwritten rule: “Let’s fix what’s wrong and let the strengths take care of themselves” (p. 9). (It seems that this is the perspective of many therapists as well if they fail to practice from a strengths-based or positive psychology viewpoint, but we will address this in more detail in the following chapter.) Indeed, many managers send their employees off to be trained in areas that they struggle with and when they provide reviews of their work, the focus is on what needs improvement while what they are doing well gets little, if any, attention. Many children bring their report cards home and are afraid to show their parents their grades because they know they got a D+. It doesn’t matter that in addition to the D+ were several A’s and B’s. The parental focus, and therefore the child’s focus, is on the area of weakness. Teachers often fall into this same “weakness trap” as well, honing in on what is wrong with a student, rather than what is going right.

Why is this focus on fixing what is wrong while overlooking what is right so prevalent? According to Clifton and Nelson (1996), it is because of several errors in thinking and logic to which most people fall victim. The first error is the idea that fixing or correcting a weakness will result in making a person or organization stronger. This is not true, as eliminating a weakness does not make one great; at best it will only help the individual or organization become normal or average.

The second error is the notion that there is no need to foster strengths, as they will take care of themselves and develop naturally (Clifton and Nelson, 1996). Again, this is faulty because taking one’s strengths for granted results in just normal or average outcomes, as those strengths do not mature to their full potential. In order to capitalize upon strengths, they must be nurtured and honed. For example, a child who does well in spelling but struggles with math is often assisted with his math skills while the spelling ability is ignored. While the child’s math skills may get a bit better, his spelling will likely only slightly improve as well. Ideally, teachers and parents would work to manage his math weakness while simultaneously honing his spelling skills. With such an approach, they may be able to nurture the next national spelling bee winner.

The third error in thinking is the belief that strengths and weaknesses are opposites (Clifton and Nelson, 1996). Although many people think that if they shore up their weaknesses they can turn them into strengths, this simply is not true. We do not learn about strengths by studying weaknesses. For example, we cannot learn why college students stay in school and make it to graduation by studying those that drop out, nor can we understand how to create secure infant attachments by studying infants with insecure attachment styles. Yet, this is often the approach taken by those trying to improve the lives of individuals and organizations. Unfortunately, the study of weaknesses and deficits provides erroneous information about what to work on to improve performance.

The final error in thinking that keeps people from approaching life from a strengths perspective is the idea that people can do anything they put their minds to (Clifton and Nelson, 1996). This notion suggests that anyone can be successful at anything if they are willing to work hard. This is not the case, however, as all people have their own unique sets of strengths that will empower them to be successful in certain areas but not others. Clifton and Nelson (1996) state that “the reality is that we can (and should) try anything we wish to try, but long-term success will elude us unless we determine early on that we have a basic talent for the endeavor” (p. 16). Indeed, working hard to be successful in an area that fails to capitalize on one’s strengths leads to a negative view of oneself and one’s abilities. For example, a person who is tone deaf who “puts her mind to” becoming a musical theater star will surely feel bad about herself as she is rejected over and over again at auditions. However, if she focused on her wonderful acting abilities and tried out for plays, rather than musicals, her dream to be on Broadway could become a reality.

Research on strengths theory has been conducted for the past fifty years, largely by researchers at the Gallup Organization who have studied successful managers, executives, teachers, coaches, athletes, doctors, nurses, salespeople, and more. More recently, research on strengths theory has been carried out by researchers in positive psychology. Indeed, a major ingredient in Seligman’s (2002) happiness formula is for one to discover his or her character strengths and then to find ways to capitalize upon those strengths on a regular basis. Doing this will lead one to feel engaged with life and therefore to be more satisfied and happy. There are many applications of strengths theory and many measures of strengths that can be utilized in the therapy room. These applications and measures will be further elucidated in the following chapters.

1.2.2. The Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions

The strangest and most fantastic fact about negative emotions is that people actually worship them.

P.D. Ouspensky

The broaden and build theory of positive emotions is another key theory that underpins many of the ideas of positive psychology. This theory provides an explanation of the utility and importance of positive emotions in people’s lives. Prior to the development of this theory about a decade ago, little to no research existed on the value of positive emotions. In contrast, negative emotions have been studied for many decades and most people understand that negative emotions are important for a variety of reasons, including survival. For example, if you were to ask the average person if they would like the ability to no longer feel negative emotions such as fear, anger, or sadness, most, if not all, would say “no” to this ability. This is because they realize that these emotions are important for functioning safely in the world. Indeed, without the ability to feel fear, one would not run from danger and without the ability to feel anger, one would not defend oneself when appropriate. However, most people, including those who have researched negative emotions, conclude that positive emotions have little utility beyond signaling that one is free of negative emotions. The broaden and build theory explains that positive emotions do much more than just signal that there are no problems. In fact, this theory posits that positive emotions are just as important to our survival and our ability to flourish in life as negative emotions (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001).

The broaden and build theory is a multifaceted model of positive emotions, consisting of the broaden hypothesis, the build hypothesis, the undoing hypothesis, the resilience hypothesis, and the flourish hypothesis (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). In the following sections, each of these hypotheses will be defined and examples of research findings that support these ideas will be described as well.

The Broaden Hypothesis

We are wide-eyed in contemplating the possibility that life may exist elsewhere in the universe, but we often wear blinders when contemplating the possibilities of life on earth.

Norman Cousins

According to Fredrickson (1998, 2001), positive emotions broaden momentary thought-action repertoires,...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1. What is Positive Psychology and Why is it Important?
• Chapter 2. The Intersection of Positive Psychology and the Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Chapter 3. Positive Psychological Tests and Measures
• Chapter 4. Positive Psychological Interventions
• Chapter 5. Deciding Upon and Carrying Out a Positive-Psychology-Infused Treatment Plan
• References
• Bibliography of Useful Positive Psychology Resources
• Index