Dementia Positive

Positive psychology: a new source of hope
I have recently been finding out about a relatively new development in the field of psychology called 'positive psychology'.

Positive psychology is defined as "the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive". (Quote from home page of the website of the Positive Psychology Center.)

The focus on trying to understand what enables human beings to live well and achieve happiness contrasts with the emphasis within more traditional psychological study on problems such as violence, depression etc.

I recently attended an event in Edinburgh run by the Centre for Confidence and Well-being on new thinking in positive psychology. This organisation is a new Glasgow-based initiative backed by the Scottish Executive in order to apply such learning and skills to Scotland's future.

The highlight of this event was a lecture given by Professor Martin Seligman, one of the main forces behind the development of positive psychology. (For anyone who studied psychology and finds this name ringing distant bells, Martin Seligman is most famous for his seminal work on learned helplessness, but he has come a long way since those early days.)

His talk was one of the most exciting and broad-ranging I have heard in a long time. As well as having profound general relevance to all of our lives, a lot of the ideas struck me as having direct application in our work with people with dementia. (You can access the Powerpoint presentation Professor Seligman used on the website of the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing - see link below.)

For example, a central tenet of positive psychology is that in order to function well and feel happy is that we should know about and work with our strengths. How different things could be for people with dementia if we took this idea seriously and concentrated properly on supporting people to do what they enjoy and are good at.

The importance of experiencing positive emotion is another key idea -- what helps us to feel joy, empathy or hope? This is again a hugely important question in enabling people who have dementia, and those who support them, to continue to live meaningful and satisfying lives.

What I don't yet know enough about is what positive psychology has to say about the experiences of people living with disabilities such as dementia. The search continues...

If you want to find out more about this subject, have a look at the following websites:

Centre for Confidence and Well-being

Positive Psychology Center

Authentic Happiness

We will both be doing further reading in this fascinating and important area and we will keep you updated with what we find!

Kate