HOPE IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOTHERAPIES: ON WORKING WITH CLIENT STRENGTHS

The field of psychology, which is traditionally rooted in the study and treatment of psychological disorders and pathology, recently has begun to embrace an examination of individual, as well as societal, strengths and virtues. This subspecialty within psychology, known as positive psychology, can be defined as the attempt to understand the characteristics and processes that contribute to optimal functioning, flourishing, and resiliency. The purpose of the present article is to draw a link between traditional psychology and positive psychology using the example of the positive psychological construct of hope. Specifically, we explore the ways in which hope theory can be incorporated into traditional forms of cognitive therapy for symptom reduction and elimination. First, the theory of hope (Snyder, 1994) is introduced and the concept of hopeful thought is defined. Next, we explore the distinction between Snyder's definition of hope and Beck's definition of hopelessness (Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974). Finally, we present possible strategies for utilizing hope concepts in cognitive therapies. Studying individuals with high levels of hope has resulted in a wealth of information about the ways these individuals overcome obstacles and find multiple ways to the goals that they have set for themselves. Integrating these lessons into empirically based treatments for symptom reduction is likely to result in a synergy that utilizes the most sound aspects of both traditional psychology and positive psychology. Keywords: hope; positive psychology; treatment; optimal functioning In the Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) article on positive psychology, psychologists are described as knowing quite a bit about how people survive and recover from adversity, but knowing very little about what makes people flourish. In this latter regard, positive psychology has arisen with a focus on human strengths and potentials rather than the more traditional problem-focused or "fixing" framework (Sheldon & King, 2001; Snyder & Lopez, 2003). Thus, because psychotherapy typically focuses on pathology, it has been difficult to draw a link between it and this relatively new emphasis on strengths and assets. It seems, however, that these links may be intuitive and basic. If psychotherapy cannot help an individual to explore that which makes life worth living, what motivation does the individual have to participate in the arduous work of treatment? Within the context of the medical model, the purposes of therapy are to solve problems and to alleviate unpleasant states. Research suggests, however, that most people maintain high levels of satisfaction despite the fact that they continually encounter obstacles and difficulties throughout their lives (Meyers, 2000). Rather than simply eliminating or changing problem states, therefore, those therapists who seek fulfillment in clients' lives must focus on the treatment goals of identifying and enhancing strengths. Thus, combining positive-psychology concepts with previously empirically based symptom-reduction strategies may allow therapists to offer treatments that not only alleviate immediate symptoms, but also build strengths and increase long-term life satisfaction (Snyder & Lopez, 2003). Our goal in this article is to highlight the ways in which traditional symptom-focused cognitive treatments can be augmented with techniques derived from a positive-psychology model known as hope theory (Snyder, 2000; Snyder et al., 1991; Snyder, McDermott, Cook, & Rapoff, 2002). The reader will likely note that skilled cognitive therapists already use many of these techniques; they probably do so, however, without paying heed to the positive psychology theoretical framework. Before considering these techniques, it is necessary to describe hope theory, which is the framework within which we present these techniques. We will begin by defining hope and contrasting it with a related construct that already has received considerable attention-hopelessness. …