At the World Congress on Positive Psychology, I picked up a flyer detailing grants that are being awarded by the “Institute of Coaching” at McLean Hospital.

Here is an article from the Boston Globe detailing McLean’s initiative:

In a first for a major psychiatric institution, Harvard’s McLean Hospital plans to invite greater happiness into its halls, embracing the teachings of a new movement in psychology that emphasizes the positive rather then the pathological.

McLean is putting together a proposal to create an institute that will aim to teach healthcare providers and patients some of the more practical tenets of positive psychology, a mix of science and self-help that has been growing explosively in academia and building buzz in the media.

…

Told about McLean’s plans, Julie Norem , chair of the Wellesley College psychology department, said: “I think that the state of the evidence to date does not warrant that large-scale implementation of the tenets of positive psychology.”

Despite my involvement in research and teaching positive psychology, I share her skepticism about implementing many of positive psychology’s tenets.  However, there are some tenets  (eg. meditation, exercise) which are very well supported.  As well, I may be out of my element in saying this, but modern psychiatry does not appear to be particularly fool proof either.  Rather, it gives patients options which may or may not work for them.  In the same way, I think positive psychology gives people ideas for things they can try.  And until science develops to the point that we can model people more precisely at the individual level, I think giving people ideas about how to try to improve their mental well-being is as good as we can hope to do.  It makes sense to me to incorporate all the tools at our disposal in presenting such options and so I applaud McLean’s willingness to be innovative.