Pozytywna Psychologia Kliniczna (1/2025) – od redakcji

Although positive psychology is several decades old, positive clinical psychology is relatively new. An intensively developed scientific stream, called positive clinical psychology by Wood and Tarrier (2010), can be valuable and bring various benefits to both science and practitioners. Wood and Tarrier (2010) postulated that positive clinical psychology should re-conceptualise the relationship between positive and negative well-being, study and foster positive functioning, and ensure that positive interventions are subjected to the same level of rigour as mainstream clinical interventions. These benefits can be as follows:

• A more balanced research field. Wood and Tarrier (2010) argued that the field of clinical psychology has focused disproportionately on the negative aspects of life when trying to predict and treat distress. Positive clinical psychology aims to focus on both the negative and positive aspects of life. In this volume, Jan Cieciuch comprehensively introduces the reader to the principles of positive clinical psychology and presents a model of personality well established in this field.
• Studying positive functioning can substantially increase the prediction and understanding of clinical disorders.
• Positive characteristics can also act as a buffer between negative events and distress or clinical disorders. For example, Adrian Korniluk and Barbara Gawda, authors of one of the contributions in this volume, have shown that curiosity is a resource supporting the sense of meaning in life and reducing existential vacuum. The mediator of the relationship between curiosity and existential vacuum is positive affect.
• Developing positive clinical interventions. For instance, in reference to this aspect, Miłosz W. Romaniuk and Magdalena Gawrych present research confirming the positive effects of interventions involving the natural environment, while Stella Kaczmarek and Andreas C. Lehmann provide findings on music-therapeutic interventions among patients with chronic diseases. The outcomes of research conducted by Alicja Dąbal, Paweł Koniak, and Ewa Szepietowska indicate an improvement in mood and sense of quality of life as a result of participation in training focused on cognitive and physical functions.
• Rapid research progress in previously underexplored areas that may be of great importance for understanding clinical problems and disorders. For instance, psychological flexibility has been identified as an important resource in coping with difficulties (Kashdan and Rottenberg, 2010), and wisdom (Zhang et al., 2022) has also gained attention in this context. The role of forgiveness is highlighted in positive clinical psychology (the article by Justyna Mróz and Ryszarda E. Bernacka in this volume), and executive efficiency in individuals with visual impairments (the article by Magdalena Mickiewicz and Ewa Szepietowska) may be a key contributor to well-being. Individuals can maximise the benefits of any characteristic through recognising situational demands and adapting to them through a willingness and ability to shift mindsets and behavioural repertoires. Another example is the study of hope in psychologically exhausting situations, which may contribute to a better understanding of the role of hope in quality of life.
• Searching for resources in particularly sensitive groups (e.g. the article by Dominika Wojtera and Monika Obrębska about the relationship between synaesthesia and special abilities in individuals from the general population with varying degrees of autistic traits) or in young people who are particularly sensitive to climate change and affected by negative climate emotions (e.g. the article about climate emotions in relation to increasing emotional resources across age authored by Anna Błaszczak, Barbara Gawda, Natalia Jach-Salamon, Karolina Ludwikowska-Świeboda, and Anna Tychmanowicz).

Barbara Gawda, Ewa Szepietowska

References

Kashdan TB, Rottenberg J: Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clin Psychol Rev 2010; 30: 865–878.

Wood AM, Tarrier N: Positive Clinical Psychology: a new vision and strategy for integrated research and practice. Clin Psychol Rev 2010; 30: 819–829.

Zhang K, Shi J, Wang F et al.: Wisdom: meaning, structure, types, arguments, and future concerns. Curr Psychol 2022: 1–22.