Positive psychotherapy, influenced by the humanistic, psychodynamic, and transcultural approaches to treatment, is founded on the premise that human nature is intrinsically good.
Positive, which stems from the Latin "positum," meaning factual or given, was used by developer Nossrat Peseschkian to emphasize both that mental health issues are not the only things "factual" about a person seeking help and that each individual possesses the qualities necessary to constructively deal with conflict.
Positive psychotherapy uses multicultural stories and metaphors to encourage people in therapy to view their mental health concerns in unique and positive ways. The person in therapy is incorporated into the story to allow them the opportunity to play an active role in the healing process. This interdisciplinary approach incorporates various forms of psychotherapy to help individuals become, in a manner of speaking, their own therapist, best suited to address their particular circumstances, experiences, and environment.
According to positive psychotherapy theory, three main tenets must be addressed in order to achieve a positive outcome.
Though positive psychology is similar in name, these two approaches are distinct. Positive psychology, developed by Martin Seligman, is a more westernized approached that recognizes the existence and influence of negative experiences and trauma without reframing them positively.
One distinct feature of positive psychotherapy is the introduction of imagination and intuition into the healing process, seen in the approach's utilization of cultural stories as a means to mediate between the person in therapy and the therapist. This technique may provide a basis of identification for the person in treatment while simultaneously serving as a means of protection. By incorporating the self into the story, individuals in therapy may be better able to speak about the type of person they are, the issues they face, and their personal desires. A therapist can then more accurately address sensitive topics and suggest possible adjustments without seeming to attack the individual’s concepts and desires.
Therapists can also help individuals objectively analyze one-sided ideas, reinterpret them in a positive way, and then build on them. This process requires a therapist to first build a comprehensive overview of possible interpretations of symptoms initially perceived as negative. For example, a woman who believes she is clingy and dependent may be encouraged to view her situation in a more positive light, for example, to consider herself as a woman who loves to be with her husband or as a caring friend who prefers being in the company of others.
As those in treatment adopt more of a positive interpretation, the issues they experience are generally no longer repeatedly expressed as negative experiences, and they are often able to separate the self from the concerns experienced and examine new possible ways to address any challenges that arise.
Positive psychotherapy assumes all individuals, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, class, financial standing, or mental health, possess two basic, unconscious capabilities: the capability of perception and the capability of love.
Positive psychotherapy assumes all individuals, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, class, financial standing, or mental health, possess two basic, unconscious capabilities: the capability of perception and the capability of love.The capability of perception is described as what drives a person to try to perceive the connections between different aspects of life, the reasons behind everyday phenomena, and the meaning of existence—why the sun shines, why a tree grows, a person's roots or background, and a person's future or destination. This sense of individuality, coupled with the ability to formulate questions and seek out the answers, develops as knowledge is increased through education. The capability of love is inborn and relates to a person’s emotional sphere and interpersonal relationships. According to Peseschkian, these two basic capabilities give rise to an individual’s actual capabilities.
Actual capabilities are the attitudes and behaviors consistently called upon and used regularly each day. These include primary and secondary capabilities and arise from a person's basic capabilities as they interact with the body, the environment, and the passage of time. Factors such as culture, religion, and parental care play a significant role in the development of actual capabilities.
Actual capabilities are used in all cultures, though their relative meanings and significance are typically more distinctly defined by society. Therefore, an actual capability that is highly prized by one cultural group may be significantly less important to another group.
Challenges or conflict may arise due to disagreements within the self or with other individuals. These issues might originate due to dissonance between:
Positive psychotherapy is believed to empower people with the skills they need to achieve a sense of inner balance, relying on all of the resources they possess through body, spirit, mind, and emotion. Many individuals may obtain benefit from the unique therapeutic approaches of positive psychotherapy, particularly individuals experiencing conflict in cross-cultural relationships, those who are emigrating to places with a drastically different culture, families experiencing conflict with cross-cultural relatives, and/or people experiencing issues with people of other cultures.
One study analyzed the three main reasons for migration—work, contact, and future—and the common concerns faced by many who move to a new country, finding that after applying positive psychotherapy techniques, symptoms disappeared completely in two-thirds of the cases and diminished dramatically in the remaining cases.
While it is utilized in many countries and cultures around the world, positive psychotherapy may not be as effective in societies that promote individualism and independence. Because this approach may seem to ignore the negative aspects of life, some individuals may feel as if their trauma is being trivialized. Others may find it difficult to reframe certain concerns in a positive manner, making this approach less effective.
Further, as the person in treatment takes on the role of the therapist, individuals in therapy bear responsibility for their recovery. This assumption may result in added pressure on some individuals seeking treatment, and in some cases, this approach may not be recommended.
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