In positive psychology, researchers try to understand how human beings can lead healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives. Positive psychology differs from traditional psychology which has mostly focused on problems, such as mental illness and abnormalities.
Researchers in positive psychology believe that happiness can be broken down into three different dimensions that can be improved. These dimensions are the "pleasant life", "meaningful life", and "good life". Each of these dimensions can contribute to a person's sense of well-being.
A person does not need to excel in all three categories to experience positive well-being. For example, someone might not appear overtly happy or bubbly, but they may feel a deep sense of contentment with their life because they have developed meaning.
The study of how humans thrive, find happiness, and flourish fits neatly with psychotherapy. Positive psychology changes the perspective of treatment. Rather than trying to decrease or eliminate sadness, it instead focuses on increasing happiness and well-being.
Positive psychology also provides direction for working with clients who are not suffering from mental illness, but would still like to improve their lives.
Traditional psychotherapy focuses on achieving moderate mental health. With positive psychology, you will work to achieve a flourishing mental state. Instead of going from -6 to 0 on a scale of depression to happiness, you will be going from 0 to +6.
It should be noted that positive psychology does not serve as a replacement for traditional psychotherapy, but instead as a valuable supplement to treatment.
Positive psychology can be included in psychotherapy using a variety of techniques. We've described several of these techniques, and created the tools you'll need to carry them out.
People tend to focus on their negative experiences far more than their positive experiences. Think about it. If you receive a negative evaluation at work, or you miss an important question on a test, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It doesn't matter if 95% of the feedback you receive is positive—the negative 5% is what you're going to think about. This is true in just about every aspect of life. A single fight with a friend will feel so much bigger than the hundreds of positive interactions that came before it.
A gratitude journal will force you to put positive and negative experiences into perspective. Instead of ending each day with thoughts of what went wrong, you'll spend a few minutes thinking about what went right. Additionally, a gratitude journal will get you in the habit of noticing positive experiences as they happen, and giving them more attention.
Positive relationships are one of the best predictors of happiness and well-being. Many of us have people in our lives who we cherish and appreciate, but we don't take the time to spell out the reasons why. Some of us might have people from our past who have positively impacted our lives, yet they have no idea.
Gratitude visits are the perfect opportunity to strengthen our relationships, and to make someone's day. In this exercise, you will identify a person who you are grateful for, and you'll tell them how they have impacted your life.
Being kind doesn't only help others—it will also boost your own happiness. The key to using acts of kindness as a therapeutic intervention is to purposefully go beyond your regular level of kindness. If you already hold doors open for others, holding another door probably won't make you happier.
Some ideas are buying a cup of coffee for a stranger, helping a friend paint their house, offering directions to someone who looks lost, giving a friend a ride to the airport, or helping someone carry heavy groceries to their car. It might be difficult to recognize opportunities for acts of kindness at first, but you'll improve with practice.
Try getting to the point where you are doing three acts of kindness every day. We've created a worksheet with ideas for acts of kindness to help you find a bit of inspiration.
Having a sense of meaning associated with the past, present, and future can help to improve well-being. Meaning can be discovered by creating a narrative—or a story—about your life. We suggest completing this activity over the course of several weeks, but the time frame can be adjusted as necessary.
Choose a day sometime in the future, and plan how you could make it as close to perfect as possible. This activity will pay off twice: during planning, and execution.
There are countless ways to begin practicing positive psychology that we haven't covered. Linked below are a few more resources for those of you who would like to keep learning.