Positive Psychology Techniques Handout

What is positive psychology?

The positive psychology movement focuses on people doing their best and being the best version of themselves. The theory assumes that a good life for human beings entails more than simply avoiding issues in our lives; it focuses on enriching the present individual through strengths, positive relationships, and wider community presence (Park et al., 2014). Negative emotions and depressive symptoms are not often talked about during interventions toward living an optimal functioning and enhanced life.

As well as positive behavior being a psychological intervention, it can promote wellbeing and positive outcomes in everyday life for individuals. It was founded in order to complement the problem-focused psychology. In order to support individuals who may be going through negative experiences or living with mental disorders or illnesses, positive thinking can guide them to make positive decisions and engage in their personal strengths (Park et al., 2014).

The great thing about positive psychology is that it can be applied across different life situations. Positive interventions can be used to strengthen relationships within an individual's life and increase the number of positive experiences they encounter through optimism. Likewise, individuals may use these activities to expand their hobby list, as well as career motives. These may work towards leading an enhanced life.

5 positive psychology techniques

There are many applied positive psychology techniques that can be utilized to enhance psychological well-being while in clinical psychology in order to provide clients with a positive experience and the best possible outcome. Below are a few examples of positive psychology techniques that can be used to enhance well-being in your social psychology practice.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an important psychological tool that can enhance an individual's state of mind. It is also a supportive tool that can be used for an extended period, or simply to ground the individual in a moment they may be struggling in. Small mindfulness activities may be simple counting blessings versus burdens, breathing exercises and going on mindful walks. For further reading on mindfulness, you read about our Mindfulness Worksheet.

Gratitude journaling

Gratitude journaling is a great way for clients to connect with what they are most passionate and grateful for. This is also an easy activity to do in a session, or to assign homework for the client. Many individuals implement gratitude journalling as part of their everyday routine. Gratitude journaling can also support you as a practitioner to learn more about your client and turn therapy sessions to focus on the client’s strengths and desires.

Strength identification

Positive psychology exercises often focus on identifying strengths that an individual has. This can be done through different outside resources such as exploring the Character Strengths Assessment sheet and online strength questionnaires. An example of strength identification might be that the individual is especially creatively talented. From here, the client may delve into creative tasks they enjoy as a hobby, or they may even decide to build a career on this strength. The practitioner might also consider delving into creative therapy options such as art therapy.

Not only can these interventions be used as the main form of therapy, it can support a comprehensive understanding of an individual that allows for more in depth and future therapy options that play towards their strengths.

Acts of kindness

Another way that individuals can engage in mental health promotion is through acts of kindness. Not only does this intervention work towards less mental health problems and raising positive feelings, it can also work towards increasing happiness in others. Acts of kindness also don't need to be large to be impactful either. Some simple ideas of acts of kindness are:

• Complimenting a stranger
• Volunteering time where possible
• Helping friends/family

Individuals who engage in a few small acts of kindness throughout the week may find that they are able to make more meaningful relationships with others, as well as see significant differences in their daily life, satisfaction and their subjective well being.

Visualizing goals

Taking time to visualize goals with clients can help them clarify their overall mental and physical health goals and curate their own path forward. Having a physical copy of something in front of us can sometimes make things easier to sort through. Setting goals can feel like an enormous task, and when there are no physical changes (like mental goals often don't have), it can feel like nothing is changing. A great way to incorporate visualizing goals with clients into therapy sessions is to utilize the available SMART Goals Worksheet. This activity holds valuable information for setting goals that can support both you as the therapist and client on the journey to identify goals that can be obtained easier through visualizations.

How does this handout work?

Carepatron has created a Positive Psychology Techniques Handout including various activities you and your clients can utilize during sessions. Follow these steps to use the template:

Step 1: Download the template

Click "Use Template" to start utilizing the handout via the Carepatron app. For a PDF copy, click "Download" to access the Positive Psychology Techniques Handout.

Step 2: Read through the content

Read the handout's content and explain how the activities work to work client. Make sure to answer any questions they may have about positive psychology and the activities you discussed.

Step 3: Write down additional notes

In this section, you can write down any additional notes you may have collected during your session together. For example, if you have gathered information about your client being interested in creative activities, you may want to write this down in the provided section.

Step 4: Store this document securely on the Carepatron app

If you have added any additional notes to your client’s document, you may wish to save it to a secure location. Carepatron offers a secure place for you to store important documents. This also allows you to keep information in one place, making things flow freely in your workspace.

Benefits of positive psychology

Here are some of the benefits of positive psychology interventions:

Optimism

Overall, individuals who engage with positive psychology strategies may be more inclined to be optimistic. Specific strategies allow individuals to engage in activities that boost their mental state and take control of their own happiness. This allows individuals to have a more positive outlook on things that may be impacting them or difficult situations they may be going through. Going forward, optimism also has the ability to support individuals going through stressful events such as health worries (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010).

Sense of coherence

Positive psychological interventions such as the ones listed above can support an individual in feeling a sense of 'togetherness'. Individuals who are able to practice these activities may also be able to make stressful events easier to overcome by being able to comprehend them on a larger scale with a clear mind (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010).

Potential link to positive health benefits

There have also been wider links to positive psychology progress and health benefits that can support an individual to live a long and healthy life. Park et al. (2014) found that research in a clinical psychology review suggests positive psychology interventions can actually impact our physical state, including positive emotions speeding cardiovascular recovery after an undesirable event.

References

Aspinwall, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2010). The Value of Positive Psychology for Health Psychology: Progress and Pitfalls in Examining the Relation of Positive Phenomena to Health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39(1), 4–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9153-0

Park, N., Peterson, C., Szvarca, D., Vander Molen, R. J., Kim, E. S., & Collon, K. (2014). Positive Psychology and Physical Health. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(3), 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827614550277