A Positive Approach to Clinical Psychology

Abstract

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors. It has the immediate goal of understanding individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases and by many accounts it ultimately aims to benefit society. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist and can be classified as a social, behavioral, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie certain cognitive functions and behaviors. Positive clinical psychology, has an integrated and equally weighted focus on both positive and negative functioning in all areas of research and practice. Positive characteristics can uniquely predict disorder beyond the predictive power of the presence of negative characteristics, and buffer the impact of negative life events, potentially preventing the development of disorder. Increased study of these characteristics can rapidly expand the knowledge base of clinical psychology and utilize the promising new interventions to treat disorder through promoting the positive. Responding to criticisms of the Positive Psychology movement Positive psychology has been implemented in business management practice, but has faced challenges. Wong and Davey noted managers can introduce positive psychology to a workplace, but they might struggle with positive ways to apply it to employees. Furthermore, for employees to welcome and commit to positive psychology, its application within an organization must be transparent.