The Integration of Positive Psychology in the Clinical Milieu: Conceptual, Empirical and Practical Implications in the Mental Health Care

Abstract

As clinical psychology becomes a more integrative discipline, the introduction of positive psychology in the clinical realm has been a new promising trend. Several positive interventions to treat mental health difficulties have been recently developed, aiming to promote therapeutic change by facilitating increased well-being. The aim of this paper is to review the conceptual trajectories of positive psychology in the clinical domain throughout the last twenty years and to provide a comprehensive perspective toward a positive psychology-oriented psychotherapy. Current positive psychology theoretical, empirical, and practical insights are provided to illustrate how the integration of positive psychology in the clinical environment is theoretically and practically useful as well as scientifically valid. Clinical research evidence of the contemporary theories of well-being and self-determination is presented along with the most recent empirical findings on the efficacy of positive psychology interventions in the mental health system. Examples of evidence-based positive psychology interventions further exemplify the ways of integrating positive psychology treatments into clinical practice. Such a synthesis of the evidence regarding the outcomes of positive clinical interventions can expand the research and practice of clinical psychology and may contribute to broadening the role of clinical psychologists in promoting well-being along with treating distress.

Keywords

• clinical psychology
• positive psychology
• Positive psychology interventions (PPIs)
• psychotherapy integration
• well-being