Importance Of Positive Psychology

The emergence of positive psychology is related to the work of Martin E. P. Seligman. According to him, psychology should promote strength rather than focus on weaknesses. Speaking about positive clinical psychology, researchers do not infer that positive characteristics should be prioritized over the negative ones. In contrary, they propose that positive and negative characteristics should be considered equally, and that positivity actually balances the field. That being said, positive interventions are introduced to change behavior and affect related to psychopathology (Wood). Literature distinguishes five key benefits of a positive clinical psychology. First of all, it aims to balance the field by providing clearer comprehension of illnesses …show more content…
This framework includes the effects of moderators, types of positive psychology interventions, mediators and the effects of positive psychology interventions. Moderators consist of patient characteristics (e.g., individual differences such as openness and willingness to be involved in new intervention techniques, gender, neuroticism, age, self-reliance, comorbid mental conditions, etc.), illness characteristics (i.e., whether it is life threatening, debilitating, episodic, or constant), and environmental characteristics (i.e., social support from family members, caregivers, institutions, organizations, medical staff, etc.) (Ghosh). Some findings suggest that such factors as attention, active coping, cognitive processing, perceived social support, perceived control are associated with increase in health behaviors, diet, exercise and adherence to medication (Huffman et al., …show more content…
According to some findings, well-being of these individuals is also impaired. Researchers found that remitted patients with mood or anxiety symptomatology scored very low on Ryff's Scales of Psychological well-being (Ruini). It can be concluded that well-being can be seriously affected during the process of recovery from mental diseases. Ryff proposed the model of well-being that consists of six dimensions: autonomy (a sense of self-determination), environmental mastery (the capacity to manage effectively one's life), purpose in life (the belief that life is purposeful and meaningful), self-acceptance (a positive attitude toward self), personal growth (a sense of continued growth and development), and positive interpersonal relationships. This model proposes that meaningful life's goals and realized potentials lead the individual to a fulfilling functioning. According to Ryff, when well-being is absent, the individual is prone to vulnerability to difficulties, and that the process of recovery from illness depends not only on eliminating the negative, but also in inducing the positive (Ryff and Singer, 1996). Some other researchers propose that optimal level of well-being requires positive emotions over the negative ones. Well-being is generally associated with protective characteristics against psychopathology, it's relapse