Recovery and positive psychology: parallel themes and potential synergies

Psychiatr Serv. 2006 Jan;57(1):120-2. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.57.1.120.

Abstract

The positive psychology movement studies the sources of human strength and the foundations of the "good life." Like the recovery movement, it focuses on personal fulfillment and well-being more than on mental illness. These movements have followed separate but parallel tracks. Positive psychology has traveled an academic and empirical path and the recovery movement has followed a grassroots advocacy model. The authors describe the successful use of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths in a Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatric rehabilitation program. They argue for the integration of positive psychology and the recovery movement: positive psychology provides a potentially useful framework for further defining and fostering the goals of recovery, and the recovery movement can expand the hitherto limited application of positive psychology.

MeSH terms

  • Attitude to Health
  • Convalescence*
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Mental Disorders / therapy*
  • Personal Satisfaction*
  • Psychology / methods*
  • Quality of Life / psychology*
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Social Values*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires