Integrating Mindfulness into Positive Psychology: a Randomised Controlled Trial of an Online Positive Mindfulness Program

The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of an 8-week online intervention-based Positive Mindfulness Program (PMP) that integrated mindfulness with a series of positive psychology variables, with a view to improving wellbeing scores measured in these variables. The positive mindfulness cycle, based on positive intentions and savouring, provides the theoretical foundation for the PMP. The study was based on a randomised wait-list controlled trial; and 168 participants (128 females, mean age = 40.82) completed the intervention which included daily videos, meditations, and activities. The variables tested included wellbeing measures, such as gratitude, self-compassion, self-efficacy, meaning, and autonomy. Pre- and post- intervention data, including one month after the end of the intervention, were collected from both experimental and control groups. The post-test measurements of the experimental participants showed a significant improvement in all the dependent variables compared with the pre-test ones and were also significantly higher than those of the control group. One month after the intervention, the experimental group participants retained their improvement in 10 out of the 11 measurements. These positive results indicate that PMP may be effective in enhancing wellbeing and other positive variables in adult, non-clinical populations.

Towards Empowerment: Narrative Study of Counselling Psychology Trainees and How They Make Sense of Their Personal and Professional Development in the Context of Their Past Experiences

The discipline of counselling psychology continues to grow and change in response to social, economic and political pressures. It has been argued that its quest for a coherent and distinct identity, which emphasises the possibility of the coexistence of multiple approaches, creates an inherently uncertain and dilemmatic training environment that may hinder the development of trainees’ professional identities. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, the aim was to explore how final year trainees and newly qualified counselling psychologists constructed and made sense of their emerging professional identities and what experiences, past and present, they drew upon in the context of their training to shape those identities. Applying narrative inquiry to analyse eight open-ended interviews, eight preliminary themes were originally identified in participants’ narratives, which with further refinements lead to stories of struggle and marginalisation, growth and discovery, and power and resilience. Participants’ stories of struggle and marginalisation emerged in reference to early family dynamics and stressful life experiences, which seemed to also foster a strong identification with the counselling psychology profession, while stories of growth and discovery focused on the importance of having supportive figures, who helped to instill a sense of security and create an atmosphere of openness. It was in this learning environment that participants felt it was possible to develop a more resilient, empowered professional self, which allowed them to shed an earlier sense of struggle and vulnerability. However, where more of an emphasis was placed on power and resilience, there seemed to be less room for participants to express other feelings that came into conflict with their preferred sense of professional self. While there seems to be a need for a ‘safer’ climate, in which trainees could voice and acknowledge anxieties, vulnerabilities and limitations, addressing concerns around power and vulnerability that may be contributing to the silencing of particular voices and identities may be equally important if trainees are to develop coherent and distinct counselling psychologist identities.

Constructions of Clinical Psychology in Adult Mental Health: A Discursive Thematic Analysis

In face of the current economic-political changes facing the UK and its State institutions and of the new evidence about the impact of social inequality on human distress, this study attempts to understand the increasing practice of delivering psychological therapy by the British clinical psychology profession. A review of the critical histories of the profession in the UK identified the need for a more detailed study of the “history of the present” to reveal the discursive operations that construct professional practice. A discursive thematic analysis (DTA) based on the theoretical concepts of the late post-modern scholar Michel Foucault was used to explore public available documents produced by British clinical psychologists between 2010 and 2014. Two dominant professional discursive themes were identified: alternative and leadership. These themes were found to be supported by the discursive sub-themes of applied science, well-being, Cognitivism and therapy which align the aspiration of the profession with those of the State. The tension between the applied scientist and the therapist role - specifically the need to establish simultaneously the profession’s scientific credibility and its therapeutic abilities in order to respond to market pressures – showed recurrences of the conflicts of the early history of professionalization of clinical psychology. The positioning of clinical psychology against the use of functional psychiatric diagnosis and the challenges and opportunities identified by the opening of the NHS market to ‘any willing provider’ revealed how professional discourses operate to maintain the status quo. This study recommends that the socio-historical construction of the profession should be investigated further, in particular through the subjugated discourse identified here

My Ideal School: A Personal Construct Psychology Approach to Understanding the School Constructs of Children Described as Anxious

This research explores the school constructs of children described as anxious. Little research exists that looks at understanding children’s school-related anxiety through the lens of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). This qualitative research design includes semi-structured interviews that followed a PCP theoretical framework. The interviews were carried out with five children aged between 7 and 11, who attended state schools in Malta, and who were experiencing school-related anxiety. Participants were asked to comment and produce drawings about the kind of school they would like to attend (their ideal school), and the kind of school they would not like to attend. The children’s constructs were organised according to whether they related to adults in school, their peers, the school and classroom environment, and the participants themselves in each of these two imaginary schools. Participants were also asked to think of how the school they currently attend can become more like their ideal school. Findings indicate the importance of relationships between teachers and pupils, relationships amongst pupils themselves, a positive learning environment within the classroom and the belongingness to a common value system and school ethos to which anxious children can relate. This research aims to shed light on the responsibility of professionals working with children with school-related anxiety to look beyond within-child factors and understand possible stressors in the child’s environment as potentially contributing to heightening their anxiety.

The art of second wave positive psychology: Harnessing Zen aesthetics to explore the dialectics of flourishing

In recent years, a “second wave” of positive psychology has been emerging, characterised, above all, by an awareness and appreciation of the dialectical nature of flourishing. This paper offers a philosophical foundation for this second wave, based on Eastern philosophy, and, in particular, Zen aesthetics. Part one introduces Zen, including its key philosophical ideas and practices, as well as two antecedent traditions that helped to form it, namely, Buddhism and Taoism. Part two then elucidates three aesthetic principles that are integral to Zen: mono no aware (pathos of life), wabi-sabi (desolate beauty), and yūgen (profound grace). The paper discusses how these principles could be of value to positive psychology in fostering dialectical understanding and appreciation, thus highlighting future directions for the field.

Professionalising positive psychology: Developing guidelines for training and regulation

Although positive psychology (PP) was initially conceived as more a shift in perspective (towards the “positive”) than a new field per se, in pragmatic terms, it is arguably beginning to function as a distinct discipline, with people self-identifying as “positive psychologists.” Thus, we contend it is time for the field to start developing a system of professional (e.g., ethical) guidelines to inform the practice of PP. To this end, we outline one such possible system, drawing on guidelines in counselling and psychotherapy. Moreover, we argue for the creation of two tiers of professional identity within PP. Firstly, people with a master’s qualification in PP might label themselves “positive psychology practitioners.” Secondly, we raise the possibility of creating a professional doctorate in PP which would enable graduates to assume the title of “positive psychologist.” We hope that this paper will contribute towards a dialogue within the field around these issues, helping PP to develop further over the years ahead.

1st international conference on LGBT psychology and related fields

During the last decades there has been an increase in the theoretical and empirical body of knowledge in LGBT Psychologyandrelatedfields. However, thisnew bodyof knowledgeis still somewhatdispersedandnot widespread, which makes the process of affirming LGBT topics very difficult in the current international scientific scenario.

The forensic psychology role: victim's information and attendance office (GIAV/DIAP Lisbon)

Poster presented at the First International Congress of CIIEM: From Basic Sciences to Clinical Research. Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, 27 e 28 de Novembro 2015

Contemporary Psychology in Mexico

This paper analyzes the development of Mexican Psychology until 1990 on the basis of book and papers published by Mexican authors

The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Training, Development, and Performance Improvement

This handbook is a unique contribution to the field, as it joins together training and appraisal as tools for promoting individual development within organizations. The handbook is divided into four sections: training, e-learning, personal and professional development in organizations, and performance management.