More than 20 years ago, Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology, wrote an article that is rightfully relevant to this months’ debate on youth distress. His ideas are still useful today because they present the issue of psychological distress outside the psychopathological dimension. I give a brief summary of it, by analyzing what he called positive prevention.
How can we proactively address issues such as depression, substance abuse, or schizophrenia in young individuals who may be genetically predisposed or exposed to environments that foster these problems? How do we deter acts of violence among school children who have access to weapons, lack proper parental guidance, or exhibit aggressive tendencies? What we’ve gleaned over five decades is that the traditional disease model does not bring us closer to preventing these significant challenges. In fact, the most significant progress in prevention has largely emerged from an approach centered on systematically cultivating competence rather than rectifying deficiencies.
We’ve ascertained that there exist innate human qualities that serve as protective shields against mental disorders: bravery, forward-thinking, optimism, social adeptness, faith, strong work ethic, hopefulness, integrity, determination, the ability to achieve a state of flow and gain insight, to name a few. Much of the mission in prevention for the 21st century revolves around establishing a science of human resilience, with the goal of comprehending and nurturing these virtues in young individuals.
This, then, is the overarching perspective of Positive Psychology concerning prevention. It posits that there exists a set of safeguards against psychological disorders: positive human attributes.
We should encourage practitioners to acknowledge that a significant portion of their effective work in therapy involves amplifying strengths rather than rectifying their clients’ weaknesses. We must underscore that psychologists, when working with families, schools, religious communities, and corporations, should create environments that nurture these strengths. The prevailing psychological theories now underpin a novel science focused on strength and resilience. Instead of viewing individuals as passive entities merely “reacting” to external stimuli, these theories now perceive individuals as decision-makers with choices, preferences, and the potential for mastery, effectiveness, or, in adverse circumstances, a sense of helplessness and despair. Science and practices grounded in the Positive Psychology paradigm may not only directly prevent many major emotional disorders but also yield two additional benefits: enhancing the physical well-being of our clients, given our growing understanding of the impact of mental well-being on the body, and realigning psychology with its two overlooked missions—strengthening and increasing the productivity of ordinary individuals and actualizing the potential of those with exceptional abilities.
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