The Interest Group in Positive Psychology promotes the theoretical and applied elements of positive psychology that seek to understand and implement the conditions that allow individuals, groups and organisations to flourish. 

The Interest Group seeks to bring together and find a voice for both practitioners and researchers who share an interest in positive psychology constructs and processes. For example, how the constructs of mental wellbeing, and optimal life engagement (thriving, flourishing) help our clients and the general public. We are also interested in helping APS members learn to apply the processes of optimism, gratitude, and self-actualisation in their clinical and coaching work.

The Interest Group would like to engage with individuals who:

• Seek to embed or apply positive psychology constructs across organisational settings (schools, organisations, government departments).
• Integrate positive psychology constructs and processes into practice, including across clinical, counselling and coaching settings.
• Are interested in building a bridge between positive psychology research and practice.
• Have an interest in positive psychology, mental wellbeing and optimal life engagement.

Positive Psychology is an umbrella term that refers to the conditions and processes that strengthen mental wellbeing and thriving life engagement (e.g., to thrive, flourish). The approach brings a focus to mental wellbeing for everyone across the lifespan, in contrast to traditional psychological or medical approaches that tend to adopt a deficit approach focussing on symptom reduction in individuals at high risk (or currently expressing) psychological or medical problems.

Optimal mental wellbeing in the field of positive psychology brings a focus to the following five aspects (PERMA Model, see Seligman, 2011) and how high levels of these elements, depending on how a person derives their mental wellbeing, can positively impact overall mental health.

• Positive affect
• Engagement (optimal engagement)
• Relationships
• Meaning
• Accomplishment

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