Positive Psychology

All the activities in our program come from scientific studies in positive psychology.

“Although recently popularized, positive psychology has its roots in the very beginning of psychology with William James' (1902) research on healthy mindedness and Maslow's (1954) call for the study of positive psychology. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) reinvigorated the field of positive psychology and described the aim of the field to be one in which the focus on building positive qualities is just as strong as the focus on repairing the negative things in life.”

Gilbert, S., & Kelloway, E. K. (2014). Positive psychology and the healthy workplace. In A. Day, E. K. Kelloway, & J. J. Hurrell, Jr. (Eds.), Workplace well-being: How to build psychologically healthy workplaces (pp. 50–71). Wiley Blackwell.

For the last 20 years, thousands of scientific studies have been performed in the field of positive psychology. Indeed, a Google Scholar search of “positive psychology” returns 385,000 results! Here is some of the most relevant information:

Positive psychotherapy is based on a set of fifteen practices:

1- Gratitude Journal

2- Character Strengths

3- Practical Wisdom

4- A Better Version of Me

5- Open and Closed Memories

6- Forgiveness

7- Maximizing versus Satisficing

8- Gratitude Letter

9- Hope and Optimism

10- Post-Traumatic Growth

11- Slowness and Savoring

12- Positive Relationships

13- Positive Communication

14- Altruism

15- Meaning and Purpose

Over the years, these interventions were validated on their own or in small sets, were independently replicated numerous times around the globe, and became the foundations of positive psychotherapy.

Rashid, T., & Seligman, M. P. (2018). Positive psychotherapy: Clinician manual. Oxford University Press.

Since this is a rapidly evolving field, almost all research in positive psychology is based on applying a few practices at a time, not on the whole set of interventions.

Relevant Publications

These studies show how the principles of positive psychology help people not only with the most common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression, but also with many other problems.

Positive Psychology

 

Seligman, M. E. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. Simon and Schuster.

Donaldson, S. I., Dollwet, M., & Rao, M. A. (2015). Happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning revisited: Examining the peer-reviewed literature linked to positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(3), 185-195.

Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-20.

Depression

 

Chaves, C., Lopez-Gomez, I., Hervas, G., & Vazquez, C. (2017). A comparative study on the efficacy of a positive psychology intervention and a cognitive behavioral therapy for clinical depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(3), 417-433.

Ko, Y. S., & Hyun, M. Y. (2015). Effects of a positive psychotherapy program on depression, self-esteem, and hope in patients with major depressive disorders. Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 24(4), 246-256.

Anxiety

 

Goodwin, E. M. (2010). Does group Positive Psychotherapy help improve relationship satisfaction in a stressed and/or anxious population?. Palo Alto University.

Suicide

 

Huffman, J. C., DuBois, C. M., Healy, B. C., Boehm, J. K., Kashdan, T. B., Celano, C. M., ... & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). Feasibility and utility of positive psychology exercises for suicidal inpatients. General Hospital Psychiatry, 36(1), 88-94.

Psychosis

 

Schrank, B., Brownell, T., Jakaite, Z., Larkin, C., Pesola, F., Riches, S., ... & Slade, M. (2016). Evaluation of a positive psychotherapy group intervention for people with psychosis: pilot randomised controlled trial. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 25(3), 235-246.

Schizophrenia

 

Meyer, P. S., Johnson, D. P., Parks, A., Iwanski, C., & Penn, D. L. (2012). Positive living: A pilot study of group positive psychotherapy for people with schizophrenia. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 239-248.

Brain Injury

 

Andrewes, H. E., Walker, V., & O’Neill, B. (2014). Exploring the use of positive psychology interventions in brain injury survivors with challenging behaviour. Brain Injury, 28(7), 965-971.

Cancer

 

Ochoa, C., Casellas-Grau, A., Vives, J., Font, A., & Borràs, J. M. (2017). Positive psychotherapy for distressed cancer survivors: Posttraumatic growth facilitation reduces posttraumatic stress. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 17(1), 28-37.

Chronic Pain

 

Müller, R., Gertz, K. J., Molton, I. R., Terrill, A. L., Bombardier, C. H., Ehde, D. M., & Jensen, M. P. (2016). Effects of a tailored positive psychology intervention on well-being and pain in individuals with chronic pain and a physical disability. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 32(1), 32-44.

Eating Disorders

 

Harrison, A., Al-Khairulla, H., & Kikoler, M. (2016). The feasibility, acceptability and possible benefit of a positive psychology intervention group in an adolescent inpatient eating disorder service. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 449-459.

Smoking Cessation

 

Kahler, C. W., Spillane, N. S., Day, A. M., Cioe, P. A., Parks, A., Leventhal, A. M., & Brown, R. A. (2015). Positive psychotherapy for smoking cessation: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 17(11), 1385-1392.

Well-being

 

Odou, N., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2013). The efficacy of positive psychology interventions to increase well-being and the role of mental imagery ability. Social Indicators Research, 110(1), 111-129.

Social Relationships

 

O’Connell, B. H., O’Shea, D., & Gallagher, S. (2016). Enhancing social relationships through positive psychology activities: A randomised controlled trial. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(2), 149-162.

Academic Achievement

 

Marques, S. C., Pais-Ribeiro, J. L., & Lopez, S. J. (2011). The role of positive psychology constructs in predicting mental health and academic achievement in children and adolescents: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(6), 1049-1062.

Work-Family Balance

 

Morganson, V. J., Litano, M. L., & O'Neill, S. K. (2014). Promoting work–family balance through positive psychology: A practical review of the literature. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 17(4), 221.