Suicide and Positive Cognitions: Positive Psychology Applied to the Understanding and Treatment of Suicidal Behavior.

Abstract

Clinical psychology tends to focus on groups of individuals who are experiencing clinically significant distress, often due in part to, caused by, or exacerbated by maladaptive ways of coping with their environments. Psychologists study this side of human behavior with the noble intention of understanding psychopathology-learning to prevent and treat the experience of painful, maladaptive psychological conditions. This work is well respected, and the traditional model of clinical psychology serves a useful purpose; however, the model is incomplete without the study of the positive aspects of human behavior. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) suggested that by adopting such a perspective, we are missing a substantial portion of human psychology, in that relatively few people will develop psychopathology in the course of their lives. This fact raises an important question: How do the majority of individuals successfully cope with life's stressors, while 261

Purpose in life and reasons for living as mediators of the relationship between stress, coping, and suicidal behavior

“…Compared to purpose in life, which had only an indirect effect against suicide, reasons for living played a more substantive role against suicide through both direct and indirect paths. Hence, results from the current study support previous researchers' calls to study the important role of suicide-specific protective factors in preventing suicidal behavior (e.g., Gutierrez et al, 2002;Wingate et al, 2006). Furthermore, because both reasons for living and purpose in life play a potent role in predicting depression, these results are also salient to treatment programs that target reduction of depressive symptoms.…”

“…From the positive psychology perspective, it is particularly important to investigate factors that help to protect persons from suicidal action in spite of stressful circumstances that can lead to despair (Wingate et al, 2006). A variety of studies suggest that meaning or purpose in life contributes to…”

“…Focusing on both purpose in life and reasons for living may be an especially powerful method of instilling both positive cognitions and positive affect. Wingate et al (2006) synthesized varied theoretical work and provided specific guidelines for setting a positive frame with suicidal individuals.…”

“…For example, positive affect leads to more positive problem-solving attitudes, which in turn lead to reduced suicidal symptoms ( Joiner et al, 2001). Inducing positive affect, may, then, serve as a lever that facilitates therapeutic progress (see Wingate et al, 2006). Focusing on both purpose in life and reasons for living may be an especially powerful method of instilling both positive cognitions and positive affect.…”

Upward spirals of positive emotion and coping: Replication, extension, and initial exploration of neurochemical substrates

“…Clinicians who induce positive emotions (e.g., by asking patients to think about their "best times") or who time skill-based interventions to correspond to patients' naturally-occurring positive moods may increase the chances that patients will more rapidly and fully learn therapy-based skills (Wingate et al, 2006). Previous research has empirically substantiated the beneficial impact of positive emotional experiences on treatment outcome, even among suicidal patients (Joiner et al, 2001).…”