Disease Model vs. Positive Psychology Worksheet and Polling Exercise
Disease Model vs. Positive Psychology Worksheet
1) William’s situation is very common. It is thus not surprising that the case is considered in terms of traditional, or disease model, psychology. The approach involves defining the problem and finding ways to treat it through looking at the past and focusing on traumatic events that occurred during the individual’s life. The major assumption underlying this approach is that identifying traumatic events in the past provides insights into the current, and planning the future behavior. The traditional psychologist would probably like to learn about stressful events that occurred in William’s life, for instance divorcement and change of professional activity.
The psychologist would likely assume that those events triggered a number of negative consequences, including lack of energy, overweight and poor sleep. After the psychologist helped William to identify stressful events impacting his life, he would recommend the patient some treatment, for example cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy involves identifying negative and inaccurate thinking and searchin
g for effective ways to respond to challenging situations (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2015). During the therapy, William is likely to discover that in the past he adopted many negative behavioral patterns that affected his life. Reconsidering mistakes could be a painful experience for the man.
2) Proponent of positive psychology would adopt the approach very different from that elected by the traditional psychology. The main idea underlying positive psychology is that an individual’s psychosocial wellbeing is shaped by focusing on ideas that lead to happy living, rather than on things that result in problems. Sheldon & King (2001) argue that the focus on positive moments expands psychologists’ understanding of successful human functioning. The expert thus would not ask William about his divorcement or any other stressful event. Instead, the psychologist would encourage the man to speak about things that make him happy, for example designing and building custom furniture or spending time with daughters.
Understanding things that make William happy helps the psychologist to design effective therapy. The main objective of positive psychological therapy is to use the client’s strengths to overcome psychological stress and create a satisfying and meaningful life. Knowing for example that William enjoys building furniture, the psychologist encourages the patient to resume this activity to feel satisfied. While taking part in such therapy, William is able to feel that it is much more pleasant experience than taking part in traditional therapy. The patient does not feel emotional discomfort, as he is not required to rethink the unpleasant moments of the past. Polling Exercise Five respondents were asked three questions: “What makes you happy?”, “Would you say you are living “the good life?”, and “If you could make any changes you wished that would make you happier, what would those be?” The brief responses were classified as hedonic or eudaimonic and posted in the table below.
“I am happy when surrounded with pleasant things...If I could …
