Positive Psychology Therapy

Positive Psychology Therapy Definition

Treatments now aim to offer a holistic method of understanding one's illness rather than solely basing it on just one part, i.e., genetics, environment or the individual's personality. To best understand positive psychotherapy, let's first briefly look at what positive psychology means.

We now know that positive psychology has roots in the individual's strengths, so is it fair to assume that positive psychotherapy is a way to cultivate these strengths further? Let's take a look.

Instead of focusing on what's "wrong" with an individual and attempting to "correct" it, positive psychology focuses on what's good and positive.

Figure 1 - Positive psychology encourages people to focus on their strengths, leading to overall happiness.

Assumptions of Positive Psychotherapy

Seligman suggested that positive psychotherapy rests on three key assumptions: the acknowledgement of free will, the authenticity of goodness and excellence and the focus on 'the good life'.

Positive psychology, i.e. positive psychotherapy, suggests that individuals are in tune with their own emotions and have the power to choose how to react to certain situations and what they do in the future; this concept is known as free will.

Sometimes we consciously make these decisions, whereas sometimes, the choice is almost second nature to us. Let's look at a real-life example of both of these.

Assuming goodness and excellence suggests that the positive traits of an individual deserve the same amount of attention as their negative ones.

Individuals experience negative and positive emotions hand in hand, even though sometimes one of the two might be more pronounced. Therefore, when experiencing these negative emotions, it is important to emphasise an individual's strengths and focus on their positive traits. This allows them to contribute to their own self-improvement and positively see their behaviour and emotions.

Not every individual is the same, which means everyone's definition of what is 'good' will be different; what is 'good' for you, may not be 'good' for someone else and vice versa. How it is perceived can be influenced by many factors, such as what stage of life you're at, where you live, your childhood experiences, etc.

Seligman (2003) identified three different types of lives that individuals encounter. Let's look at these below:

1. The pleasant life - this is when you partake in basic activities that bring you happiness.

2. The good life is when you achieve happiness by pursuing activities that positively engage you.

3. The meaningful life is when you achieve happiness by using your strengths for a more important purpose, i.e., greater than yourself.

To better understand the distinction between these three, let's look at examples of each.

Positive psychology Therapy Techniques

Techniques of therapy in the past have focused on treating the illness at hand rather than preventing it in the first place. While those have been beneficial in their own sense, they have focused more on the negative emotions an individual experiences and don't necessarily take into account the positive emotions of the same individual.

One technique of positive psychology therapies is mindfulness. Let's take a look at what this means in more detail.

Mindfulness

You might have found yourself in many situations where you feel like you're aware of your thoughts and are fully present. However, have you been in such a state non-judgementally? If not, then you have probably not achieved mindfulness. Let's take a look at what being mindful really means.

In addition to being aware, another important concept of mindfulness is that of acceptance. When you practice mindfulness, you are not only aware of your thoughts, senses and actions, but you accept them wholeheartedly. Mindfulness teaches us that there are no right or wrong ways to think and feel about a given situation.

Let's now look at two positive psychology therapies in some more detail: cognitive therapy and quality of life therapy.

Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy

You may be aware of cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, and know that it is a therapeutic method that focuses on an individual's problem, the symptoms, and how they can be adapted.

So, how is positive CBT different?

CBT, as mentioned before, looks at what is not going well and then offers a solution to combat the problem. However, positive CBT looks at the opposite - what is going well, attempting to offer us a way of looking at the positive side in the hopes that it will create a positive shift in what we believe, thereby changing our overall outlook on life.

Positive Psychology Quality of Life Therapy

We know that both positive and negative emotions can affect us in our lives, albeit in different ways.

In the past, therapies and interventions have focused on the negative side of things, but with positive psychology on the rise, new therapies are being developed, and previous interventions are being adapted to include the positive aspect of an individual's life as well.

QoLT uses a technique known as 'quality of life intervention (QoLI)', which is an inventory that contains 16 ideas and concepts that patients may find important, such as physical health, relationships, creativity, etc. By identifying what the individual values the most, the therapist can work with them to explore what they think they need to improve on and how it can be done.

Difference Between CBT and Positive Psychotherapy

Positive psychotherapy, or positive CBT, is a strengths-based approach, whereas CBT is not. Essentially, this means that positive psychotherapy focuses on an individual's strengths, what is right with their personality/thoughts/emotions and on creating a situation that is the best that it can be for the individual.

Figure 2 - CBT focuses on what is wrong, whereas positive CBT focuses on what is right.

Since positive CBT focuses on an individual's strengths and what is right, it involves changing their focus from reducing their negative feelings (as in traditional CBT) to building on their strengths and identifying what works, thereby creating a happier and more positive outlook on life.

Evaluation of Positive Psychology Therapy

As we have already established, positive psychology emphasises the importance of focusing on an individual's positive qualities, rather than just the negative ones. Let's discuss some strengths and weaknesses of positive psychology therapy.

Strengths of Positive Psychology Psychotherapy

Rashid (2015)¹ found that helping an individual identify their strengths and capabilities in a positive manner increases their sense of empowerment and contributes to their ability to handle challenges and negative experiences effectively.

Huysse-Gaytandjieva and Bontcheva (2013)² found that individuals who had moved to new countries and used positive psychotherapy techniques coped better with the challenges they faced. Two-thirds of the participants reported that their depressive symptoms had resolved entirely.

Weaknesses of Positive Psychology Psychotherapy

Since positive psychotherapy, and positive psychology in general, focus only on positive emotions, these can be taken to extremes. Doing so might make individuals believe that they will not be seriously harmed by some physical and mental health problems as long as they remain optimistic, which is not the case.

Further, emphasis is placed on personal responsibility, which may make individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions think they are responsible for their negative feelings when in reality, these problems are not the individual's fault.