Positive psychotherapy

Short description: Psychotherapeutic method developed by Nossrat Peseschkian

Positive psychotherapy (PPT after Peseschkian, since 1977)TM is a psychotherapeutic method developed by psychiatrist Nossrat Peseschkian and co-workers in Germany beginning in 1968. It can be described as a humanistic psychodynamic psychotherapy, which is based on a positive conception of human nature. The focus of positive psychotherapy is to enhance the positive emotion and engagement of patients rather than targeting the depressive symptoms [1] PPT is an integrative method which includes humanistic, systemic, psychodynamic and CBT-elements. Today there are centers and trainings in some twenty countries worldwide. It should not be confused with positive psychology.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Beginnings
* 2 The term "positive"
* 3 Main characteristics
* 4 Main principles
* 5 Development and international network
* 6 Publications and research
* 7 PPT Award Winners
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Beginnings

The founder of positive psychotherapy, Nossrat Peseschkian (1933–2010), was an Iranian-born German certified psychiatrist, neurologist and psychotherapist. He was inspired in the late 1960s and early 1970s by different sources, persons and developments:

* The spirit of that time, which brought into existence humanistic psychology and its further developments.
* Personal encounters with prominent psychotherapists and psychiatrists, such as Viktor Frankl, Jacob L. Moreno, Heinrich Meng[3] and others.
* By the humanistic teachings and virtues of the Baháʼí Faith.
* By looking for an integrative method, especially because of problems between psychoanalysts and behaviour therapists at that time
* Based on transcultural observations in over 20 cultures, and searching for an integrative method which is cultur-sensitive

## The term "positive"

The method was called "differentiational analysis" until 1977. In 1977, Nossrat Peseschkian published his work "Positive Psychotherapie",[4] which was published in English as "Positive Psychotherapy"[5] in 1987. The term "positive" is derived from the original Latin expression "positum or positivus" which means the actual, the real, the concrete. The aim of positive psychotherapy and positive psychotherapists is to help the patient and client to see also their abilities, strengths, resources and potentials.

## Main characteristics

* Integrative psychotherapy method
* Humanistic Psychodynamic Method
* Cohesive, integrated therapeutic system
* Conflict-centered short-term method
* Cultur-sensitive method
* Use of stories, anecdotes and wisdoms
* Innovative interventions and techniques
* Application in psychotherapy, other medical disciplines, counselling, education, prevention, management and trainings

## Main principles

The three main principles or pillars of positive psychotherapy are:

* The Principle of Hope
* The Principle of Balance
* The Principle of Consultation

1\. The Principle of Hope implies that the therapist wants to assist patients to understand and see the meaning and purpose of their disorder or conflict. Accordingly, the disorder will be reinterpreted in a "positive" way (positive interpretations):

Some examples:

* Sleep disturbance is the ability to be watchful and get by with little sleep
* Depression is the ability to react with deepest emotionality to conflicts
* Schizophrenia is the ability to live in two worlds at the same time or to live in a fantasy world
* Anorexia nervosa is the ability to get along with few meals and identify with the hunger of the world

Through this positive view, a change of standpoint becomes possible, not only for the patient, but also for his environment. Hence, illnesses have a symbolic function which has to be recognized by both therapist and patient. The patient learns that the symptoms and complaints of the illness are signals to bring his or her four qualities of life into new balance.

2\. Principle of Balance: Despite social and cultural differences and the uniqueness of every human being, it can be observed that during the management of their problems that all humans refer to typical forms of coping. Thomas Kornbichler [6] explains: "Nossrat Peseschkian formulated with the Balance Model of Positive Psychotherapy (an innovative contemporary approach to dynamic psychotherapy) a vivid model of coping with conflicts in different cultures." According to the balance model, the four areas of life are: 1. body/health – psychosomatic; 2. achievement/work – stress factors; 3. contact/relationships – depression; 4. future/purpose/meaning of life – fears and phobia.

Though these four ranges are inherent in all humans, in the western hemisphere the emphasis is more often on the areas of body/senses and profession/achievement in contrast to the eastern hemisphere where the areas are contact, fantasy and future (cross-cultural aspect of positive psychotherapy). Lack of contact and imagination are some of the causes of many psychosomatic diseases. Everyone develops his or her own preferences on how to cope with conflicts that occur. Through a one-sided mode to the conflict solution, the other modes become eclipsed. The conflict contents (e.g. punctuality, orderliness, politeness, trust, time, patience) are described in terms of primary and secondary capacities, based on the basic capacities of loving and knowing. This can be seen as a content-wise differentiation of Freud's classical model of the instances.

3\. Principle of Consultation: Five-stages of therapy and self-help. The five stages of positive psychotherapy represent a concept in which therapy and self-help are closely interrelated. The patient and the family are informed together about the illness and the individual solution to it.

* 1st Step: Observation; distancing (perception: the capacity to express desire and problems)
* 2nd Step: Taking inventory (cognitive capacities: events in the last 5 to 10 years)
* 3rd Step: Situational encouragement (self-help and resource-activation of the patient: the ability to use past successes in conflict solution)
* 4th Step: Verbalization (communicative capacities: the ability to express outstanding conflicts and problems in the four qualities of life)
* 5th Step: Expansion of goals (in order to evoke forward–looking orientation in life after the problems are solved, the patient is asked: "What would you like to do, when no more problems are left to be solved? What are your goals for the next five years?")

## Development and international network

The main emphasis of positive psychotherapy during the past 40 years has been treatment, training and publication.

* In 1979, the Wiesbaden Postgraduate Training Institute for Psychotherapy and Family Therapy was established as a postgraduate training for physicians in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 1999, the Wiesbaden Academy for Psychotherapy (WIAP),[7] a state-licensed, postgraduate psychotherapy academy with a large outpatient clinic, was established for the training of psychologists and educational scientists.
* Most Positive Psychotherapists work in private offices or in clinics. In Germany, Positive Psychotherapy is counted as a psychodynamic method and the health insurance covers the costs.
* Since the early 1980s, seminars and trainings have taken place in some 60 countries. Today, Positive Psychotherapy is practiced in more than 25 countries with approximately 30 independent centres and institutions. The training programs for mental health professionals consist of basic and master trainings over several years.
* The international head office is based in Wiesbaden, Germany. Positive psychotherapy is represented internationally by the World Association of Positive and Transcultural Psychotherapy (WAPP).[8] Its international governing board of directors is elected every two years. There are national and regional associations in some ten countries.
* PPT and its therapists have been engaged in the international development of psychotherapy, and are active members of international and continental associations [9]

## Publications and research

* In 1997, a quality assurance and effectiveness study was undertaken in Germany.[10] The results show this short-term method to be effective. The study was awarded the Richard-Merten-Prize.
* Today there are more than 30 major books on positive psychotherapy, of which some have been published in more than 23 languages. Some of the main ones are:
* Peseschkian, Nossrat (2006). If You Want Something You Never Had, Then Do Something You Never Did. Sterling Pvt., Ltd.. ISBN 1-84557-509-1.
* Peseschkian, Nossrat N (1987). Positive Psychotherapy Theory and Practice of a New Method. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-15794-8. (translated) (first German edition 1977)
* Peseschkian, Nossrat (1986). Oriental Stories as Tools in Psychotherapy: the Merchant and the Parrot / With 100 Case Examples for Education and Self-Help. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-15765-8. (First German edition 1979)
* Peseschkian, Nossrat (1985). In Search of Meaning. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-15766-5. (first German edition 1983)
* Peseschkian, Nossrat (1986). Positive Family Therapy. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-15768-9. , republished India: Sterling Publishers Pvt., Ltd., ISBN 978-81-207-1839-5 (first German edition 1980)
* Peseschkian, Nossrat (1986). Psychotherapy of Everyday Life: Training in Partnership and Self Help With 250 Case Histories. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-15767-2. (first German edition 1974)
* Maxim Goncharov, Operationalization of countertransference in Positive Psychotherapy. International Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol 16, No 3, Article 4
* Maksim Goncharov, Conflict operationalization in Positive Psychotherapy, Khabarovsk, Russia, 2014. ISBN 978-5-9905455-1-9
* Messias, Erick; Peseschkian, Hamid; Cagande, Consuelo, eds (2020). Positive Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychology. Clinical Applications. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. ISBN 978-3-030-33263-1.

## PPT Award Winners

(in alphabetical order)

* Prof. Dr. med. Raymond Battegay, Switzerland (2000, 2007)
* Prof. Dr. Gaetano Benedetti, Switzerland (2000)
* Prof. Dr. Iwanka Boncheva, Bulgaria (2007)
* Mr. Sci. Enver Cesko, Kosovo (2010)
* Dr. Ali Eryilmaz, Turkey (2010)
* Prof. Hürol Fisiloglu, Turkey (2003)
* Dr. Agnes und Dr. Bijan Ghaznavi (†), China/Switzerland (2007)
* Dr. Maxim Goncharov, Russia (2007)
* Dipl. Psych. Christian Henrichs, M. phil., Germany (2010)
* Dr. Gunther Hübner, Germany (2007)
* Dr. Gabriela Hum, Romania (2007)
* Dr. Vladimir Karikash, Ukraine (2007)
* Dr. med. Hermann Kerger, Germany (2000)
* Dr. Ivan Kirillov, Russia (2003, 2007)
* Willi Köhler, Germany (2000) (†)
* Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukraine (2010)
* Dr. med. Walburg Maric-Oehler, Germany (2010)
* Helga Mengistu-Faust, Germany/Ethiopia (2017)
* Mag. Dr. Johannes Okoro, Austria (2017)
* Dr. med. Hamid Peseschkian, Germany (2010)
* Melody Qu, China (2010)
* Dr. phil. Sheyda Rafat, Germany (2019)
* Dr. med. Heidi Rausch, Germany (2010)
* Arno Remmers, Germany (2000, 2003)
* Prof. Horst Rheindorf, Germany (2000)
* Dr. Elena Sakalo, Ukraine (2010)
* Prof. Dr. Shridhar Sharma, India (2007)
* Dr. Vladimir Slabinsky, Russia (2003)
* Prof. Todorov, Bulgaria (2003)
* Dr. med. Richard Werringloer, Germany (2017)

## See also

* Positive psychology

## References

1. ↑ Seligman, M., 2006. Positive psychotherapy. The American psychologist, 61(8), pp.774-788.
2. ↑ Theo A. Cope, Positive Psychotherapy: 'Let the Truth be Told'. International Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol 18, No 2, July 2014, http://www. ijp.org.uk
3. ↑ see :de:Heinrich Meng[better source needed]
4. ↑ Positive Psychotherapie. Theorie und Praxis einer neuen Methode. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1977
5. ↑ Positive Psychotherapy. Theory and Practice of a New Method. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York, 1987
6. ↑ Kornbichler, Thomas (2006). Die Tiefenpsychologisch Fundierte Psychotherapie. Stuttgart: Kreuz-Verlag. ISBN 9783783125832.
7. ↑ "Wiesbadener Akademie für Psychotherapie (WIAP)" (in de). http://www.wiap.de.
8. ↑ "Positive Psychotherapy". http://www.positum.org.
9. ↑ [1] European Association of psychotherapy.
10. ↑ Karin Tritt, Thomas H. Loew, Martin Meyer, Birgit Werner and Nossrat Peseschkian: POSITIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY: EFFECTIVENESS OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH. Eur. J. Psychiat. Vol. 13, N° 4, (231-241) 1999

## External links

* World Association for Positive and Transcultural Psychotherapy
* PPT Education Information
* International Academy information
* OxNotes Education Information

* v
* t
* e

Psychotherapy (list)

Schools|

| Psychodynamic|

* Psychoanalysis
* Adlerian therapy
* Analytical therapy
* Mentalization-based treatment
* Transference focused psychotherapy

|

Cognitive and
behavioral|

* Clinical behavior analysis
* Acceptance and commitment therapy
* Functional analytic psychotherapy
* Cognitive behavioral therapy
* Cognitive therapy
* Dialectical behavior therapy
* Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
* Rational emotive behavior therapy

Humanistic|

* Emotionally focused therapy
* Existential therapy
* Focusing
* Gestalt therapy
* Logotherapy
* Person-centered therapy

Other|

* Art therapy
* Dance therapy
* Feminist therapy
* Music therapy
* Narrative therapy
* Play therapy
* Reality therapy
* Systemic therapy
* Transactional analysis
* List

Integrative|

* Eclectic psychotherapy
* Integrative psychotherapy
* Multimodal therapy
* Transtheoretical model

Approaches|

* Brief psychotherapy
* Counseling
* Online counseling
* Residential treatment
* Self-help
* Support groups

Research|

* Clinical formulation
* Clinical pluralism
* Common factors theory
* Discontinuation
* History
* Practitioner–scholar model

Techniques|

| Behaviour therapy|

* Aversion therapy
* Chaining
* Contingency management
* Shaping
* Stimulus control
* Token economy
* Counterconditioning
* Desensitization/Exposure therapy
* Systematic desensitization

|

Other individual therapy|

* Autogenic training
* Biofeedback
* Cognitive restructuring
* Emotion regulation
* Free association
* Homework
* Hypnotherapy
* Modeling

Group psychotherapy|

* Co-therapy
* Couples therapy
* Family therapy
* Psychodrama
* Sensitivity training

People|

* Philippe Pinel (1745–1826)
* Josef Breuer (1842–1925)
* Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
* Pierre Janet (1859–1947)
* Alfred Adler (1870–1937)
* Sándor Ferenczi (1873–1933)
* Carl Jung (1875–1961)
* Ludwig Binswanger (1881–1966)
* Melanie Klein (1882–1960)
* Otto Rank (1884–1939)
* Karen Horney (1885–1952)
* Harry Stack Sullivan (1892–1949)
* Fritz Perls (1893–1970)
* Anna Freud (1895–1982)
* Donald Winnicott (1896–1971)
* Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957)
* Milton H. Erickson (1901–1980)
* Jacques Lacan (1901–1981)
* Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
* Carl Rogers (1902–1987)
* Viktor Frankl (1905–1997)
* George Kelly (1905–1967)
* Rollo May (1909–1994)
* Virginia Axline (1911–1988)
* Carl Whitaker (1912–1995)
* Albert Ellis (1913–2007)
* James Bugental (1915–2008)
* Joseph Wolpe (1915–1997)
* Virginia Satir (1916–1988)
* Aaron T. Beck (b. 1921)
* Salvador Minuchin (1921–2017)
* Hans Herrman Strupp (1921–2006)
* Paul Watzlawick (1921–2007)
* Haim Ginott (1922–1973)
* Ogden Lindsley (1922–2004)
* Arthur Janov (1924–2017)
* Eugene Gendlin (1926–2017)
* R. D. Laing (1927–1989)
* Jean Baker Miller (1927–2006)
* Otto F. Kernberg (b. 1928)
* Nathan Azrin (1930–2013)
* Irvin D. Yalom (b. 1931)
* Arnold Lazarus (1932–2013)
* Lorna Smith Benjamin (b. 1934)
* Marsha M. Linehan (b. 1943)
* Vittorio Guidano (1944–1999)
* Les Greenberg (b. 1945)
* William R. Miller (b. 1947)
* Steven C. Hayes (b. 1948)
* Michael White (1948–2008)
* Jeffrey Young (b. 1950)
* Peter Fonagy (b. 1952)

Associations|

* Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy
* Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
* Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
* Association for Behavior Analysis International
* European Association for Psychotherapy
* Society for Psychotherapy Research
* World Council for Psychotherapy

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