Integrating behavioral activation with humanistic psychology and positive psychology: Applications within the health protection/health promotion model

Abstract

Conceptual models for recreational therapy (RT) provide a needed theory-base for practitioners. RT has embraced theoretical concepts from humanistic psychology and positive psychology. Behavior activation offers an additional theoretical perspective for RT by joining with humanistic psychology and positive psychology to form a theory-base for RT. In this article, humanistic psychology and positive psychology are reviewed, behavioral activation is introduced, and it is explained how these three theoretical frameworks have been integrated as theoretical anchors for the author’s conceptual model, the Health Protection/ Health Promotion Model.