Positive Psychological Interventions

1. Primary prevention: "Stop the bqd before it happens.“

2. Secondary prevention (psychotherapy): "Fix the problem.“

3.Primary enhancement: "Make life good." 4.Secondary enhancement: "Make life the best possible."

Primary preventionsprimary preventions reflect actions that people take to lessen or remove the likelihood of subsequentpsychological difficulties (Heller, Wyman, & Allen, 2000) or physical problems (Kaplan, 2000)

With primary preventions, people are not yet manifestingany problems, and it is only later that such problems will appear if appropriate protective, or prophylactic, steps are not taken

When primary prevention is aimed at an entire community population, it is called universal prevention(e.g., childhood immunizations);

when focused on a particular at-risk population, it is called selective prevention (e.g., home visitations forlow-birth-weight children; Munoz & Mendelson, 2004)

As Snyder et al. (2000, p. 256) put it, "We would suggest that prevention is, at its core, an act of hope-a positive, empowered view of one's ability to act so as to attain better tomorrows.

a prevention need not entail a full understanding of a given problem or disease

Primary prevention sometimes may occur at the governmental level. By setting and enforcing laws that allow people to succeed because of their merits and efforts, for example, a government can lessen subsequent negative consequences for its citizens (Snyder & Feldman, 2000).

when citizens perceive that laws allow equitable opportunities to pursue goal-directedactivities, they then should /would (1) become less frustrated and aggressive (anaspect of the frustration-aggression hypothesis [Zillman, 1979]); (2) Continue to exert effort in their work settings and personal lives (the negative utcome here has been called learned helplessness [Peterson, Maier, &Seligman, 1993]); and (3) be less likely to attempt suicides (RodriguezHanley& Snyder, 2000)

Durlak and Wells examined the effectiveness of prevention programs on children's and adolescents' behavioral and social problems;

they found that the preventions yielded effective outcomes similar in magnitude (and in some cases superior) to medical procedures such as cancer chemotherapy and coronary bypass surgery.

Moreover, Durlak andWells observed that, relative to control-group participants, those in the prevention programs were anywhere from 59% to 82% better off in terms of reduced problem behaviors and increased competencies.

Effective primary preventionsHeller etal. Have given five suggestions for implementing successful primary preventions1.the targeted populations should be given knowledge about the risky behavior to be prevented2. the program should be attractive3. Teach problem-solving skills as well as how to resist regressing into previous counterproductive patterns4. the program should change any norms or social structures that reinforce counterproductive behaviors5. evaluation

The work of Shure and Spivak (Shure, 1974; Shure & Spivak, 1988; Spivak & Shure, 1974) is exemplary in teaching problem-solving skills to children who were likely to use inappropriate, impulsive responses whenencountering interpersonal problems.

the children were taught to come up with ways other than aggressive outbursts to reach their goals

Using Seligman's learned optimism model, Gillham, Reivich, Jaycox, and Seligman (1995) implementeda 12-week primary prevention program to fifth- and sixth-grade children

The prevention program helped children to identify negative, self-referential beliefs and to change their attributions to more optimistic and realistic ones

Relative to a control group of children who did notreceive this prevention package, those in the experimental group were significantly lower in depression; these findings were directly linked to their learning to make more optimistic attributions

Secondary Prevention

(Psychotherapy): "Fix the Problem"Snyder et al. (2000, p. 256) have described secondary prevention as occurring when "the individual produces thoughts or actions to eliminate, reduce, or contain the problem once it has appeared.“

Secondary prevention is synonymous with psychotherapy interventions.

COMMON COMPONENTSOF SECONDARY PREVENTIONS

Jerome Frank (1968, 1973, 1975) suggested that hope was the underlying process common to all successful psychotherapy approaches.

Snyder and his colleagues have used hope theory to show how pathways and agency goal-directed thinkingfacilitate successful outcomes in psychotherapy

Most psychotherapy approaches have used what Berg and de Shazer (1992) call "problem talk" rather than "solution talk.“

a client sometimes must unlearn negative thoughts and behaviors before learning positive ones

self-managementBandura's self-efficacy modelAccording to this model, a client can learn efficacy beliefs through(1) actual performance accomplishments in the

problematic area, (2) modeling another person who is coping

effectively, (3) verbal persuasion by the helper, and (4) controlling negative cognitive processes by

learning to implement positive moods

Meichenbaum's (1977) self-instructional training-part of CBM

1.gathering information aboutthe problem, including maladaptive cognitions

2. the client is taught more adaptive internal dialogues

3. the client practices these new coping dialogues in order to strengthen the likelihood of actually using them

Seligman's attributional retraining for adults

"ABCs" related to negative events in their lives

A= AdversityB=BeliefC= Consequence in terms of feelings

Seligman then teaches the adult to add a D to the ABC sequence; this D represents the client's learning to dispute the previous counterproductive, depression-producing belief with compelling, accurate evidence

"hope therapy”--in a series of 10 group sessions, learning the goal-directed activities that are inherent in hopetheory have diminished depression and raised physical activity levels for depressed older persons

Primary Enhancement: "Make Life Good"

Primary enhancement involves the effort to establish optimal functioning and satisfaction

Hedonic primary enhancements tap indulgence in pleasure and the satisfaction of appetites and needs

Eudemonic primary enhancements emphasize effectivefunctioning and happiness as a desirable result of the goal pursuit process

research shows that happiness stems from(1) a safe and supportive living unit with people

who work together,(2) an environment that is fertile and productive

of food,(3) "stretching" of our bodies through exercise,

and(4) the pursuit of meaningful goals in one'swork (Diener, 2000; Kahneman, Diener, & Schwartz, 1999; Lykken, 1999

Engaging in shared activities that are enjoyable enhances psychological well-being (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), especially if such joint participation entails arousing and novel activities

Another relationship that produces happiness is involvement in religion and spiritual matters

religiosity and prayer are related to higher hope (Laird,Snyder, Rapoff, & Green, 2004; Snyder, 2004c)

some of the satisfaction from religion probably stems from the social contacts it provides(Carr, 2004)

Gainful employment also is an important source of happinessTo the degree to which people are satisfied withtheir work, they also are happier (an overall correlation of .40 between being employed and level of happiness; Diener & Lucas, 1999)The reason for this finding is that, for many people, work provides a social network, and it also allows for the testing of talents and skillsthe job duties should match the worker's skills and talents

Leisure activities also can bring pleasure (Argyle, 2001). Relaxing, resting, and eating a good meal all have the short-term effect of making people feel better

Recreational activities such as sports, dancing, andlistening to music allow people to make enjoyable contacts with others

Sometimes happiness comes from stimulation and a sense of positive arousal, whereas at other times happiness reflects a quiet, recharging process.

Csikszentmihalyihave studied the circumstances that lead to a sense of total engagement.Such activities typically are intrinsically fascinating, and they stretch talents to satisfying levels in which persons lose track of themselves and the passage of time. This type of primary enhancement has been called aflow experience, and artists, surgeons, and other professionals report such flow in their work

here-and-now contemplation of one's external or internal environment—being– or –meditation

mindfulness meditation (Langer, 2002) involves a nonjudgmental attention that allows a sense of peacefulness, serenity, and pleasure

Savoring involves thoughts or actions that are aimed at appreciating and perhaps amplifying a positive experience of some sortAccording to Fred Bryant (2005), who is the psychologistwho coined this term and who has produced the major theoryand research on it, savoring can take three temporal forms:1. Anticipation, or the enjoyment of a forthcoming positive event2. Being in the moment, or thinking and doing things to intensify and perhaps prolong a positive event as it occurs3. Reminiscing, or looking back at a positive event to rekindle the favorable feelings or thoughts

Furthermore, savoring can take the form ofSharing with othersTaking "mental photographs" to build one's memoryCongratulating oneselfComparing with what one has felt in other circumstancesSharpening senses through concentrationBecoming absorbed in the momentExpressing oneself through behavior (laughing, shouting, pumping one's fist in the air)Realizing how fleeting and precious the experience isCounting one's blessings

positive emotions help to produce a "broaden-and-build" mentality--Barbara Fredrickson (2002)

In her research, Fredrickson (1999, 2001, 2002) has induced positive emotions by having research participants remember a joyful event, listen to a favorite piece of music, watch a good movie, and receive positive self referential feedback, to name but few examples

These positive emotional inducements, in turn, make people happier, more perceptive, better at problemsolving, more facile in social interactions, more creative, and so on

Furthermore, the positive emotions remind the person of other related, successful episodes in his or her life, thereby enhancing the perceived probability of doing well in the present circumstances

Steve Ilardi Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC)

The basic tenet of TLC is that engaging in certain approaches to cine's lifestyle, especially those activitiesthat were natural parts of the lives of our ancestors who lived ages ago, brings about a lessening of depression and the enhancement of happiness

The components of TLC are exercise, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, exposure to light, decreased rumination and worrying, social support, andgood sleep

Seligman recruited 577 adults who visited the website of his book, Authentic Happiness1. Placebo2. Gratitude3. 3 good things in a day4. examine their character strengths in a new

way for a week

The writing about three good things that had happened, along with the use of the signature strengths in a new way, made people happier, and thesepositive changes endured for as long as 6 months

Secondary Enhancement: "Make Life the Best Possible"

secondary enhancement the goal is to augment already-positive levels to reach the ultimate in performance and satisfaction

Meaning in life

the very highest levels of pleasure are derived frominvolvements that are larger than anyone person alone can attain

transcending experience involves seeing another persondoing something that is so special that it is awe-inspiring or elevating