Title: Increasing subjective wellbeing with strengths-based cognitive behavioural psychotherapy in first episode psychosis

Authors: Pawel D. Mankiewicz

Addresses: National Health Service, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, Early Intervention in Psychosis, London Borough of Havering, 137–145 Church Road, Harold Wood, RM3 0SH, UK; Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1–19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK

Abstract: Despite a marked interest of psychosocial sciences in psychosis, there remains a scarcity of academic literature describing experiences of subjective wellbeing (SWB) among individuals with such condition. A recently published model of strengths-based cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (sbCBTp) explicitly recognises individual SWB as a central target in individual recovery. As such, sbCBTp integrates applied positive psychology interventions within the realms of an evidence-based psychotherapy to help individuals with psychosis recover beyond the point of symptom reduction. To date, no single subject research has been published describing a systematic implementation of sbCBTp undertaken within a clinical environment. This rigorous case study addresses such a gap in empirical literature. Standardised measurements, behaviour frequency sampling, and subjective data were utilised to evaluate the outcomes, indicating a considerable improvement in the client's SWB. The paper highlights the applicability of strengths-based psychotherapeutic strategies in helping individuals with complex mental ill-health achieve reasonable levels of life satisfaction.

Keywords: subjective wellbeing; SWB; satisfaction with life; positive clinical psychology; strengths-based interventions; cognitive behavioural therapy; psychosocial recovery; psychosis; single subject design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHD.2019.103367

International Journal of Happiness and Development, 2019 Vol.5 No.3, pp.183 - 200

Received: 02 Jun 2018
Accepted: 02 Dec 2018
Published online: 05 Nov 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article