Culture and Minorities: Positive Psychology and Positive Psychiatry Perspectives

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the field of positive psychology has grown substantially and has shown great promise as a new approach to mental health care (Pawelski J Posit Psychol 11:357-65, 2016). Positive psychiatry is closely allied with positive psychology and shares many overlapping constructs and aims (Jeste et al. J Clin Psychiatry 76:675, 2015). New approaches are greatly needed, as we are facing many crises in mental health that a traditional pathology-focused approach has not been able to sufficiently address (Seligman, Handb Posit Psychol 2:3-12, 2002; Seligman, Character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification. Oxford University Press, New York, 2004). This has particular relevance for people of color in the United States, for whom there are significant disparities in mental health care that traditional models of care have been ineffective in addressing (Ruiz and Primm, Disparities in psychiatric care: clinical and cross-cultural perspectives. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2010; Primm et al. Prev. Chronic Dis 7(1), 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2010/jan/09_0125.htm. Accessed 18 December 2018). In their 2008 article, Sriwattanakomen et al. called for the development of culturally relevant preventive mental health interventions that are both practical and sustainable in order to overcome disparities in mental health-care services (Sriwattanakomen et al. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 16:460-468, 2008). Though its applicability to multicultural populations has been understudied (Lopez et al. Handb Posit Psychol. 700-714, 2002), positive psychology’s emphasis on strengths over deficits and its core virtues resonate broadly across most cultures (Peterson and Seligman, Character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification. Oxford University Press, New York, 2004). It is important to recognize, however, that many minority cultures in the United States are fundamentally collectivistic and possess what Constantine and Sue (2006) have described as key adaptive strengths that play a central role in supporting mental health (Constantine and Sue, Couns Psychol 34:228-244, 2006). Positive psychology interventions that emphasize and support these adaptive strengths (Constantine and Sue, Couns Psychol 34:228-244, 2006) and collectivist values in addition to building the core constructs outlined by Seligman et al. (2005) hold great promise as strategies to address the mental health needs of multicultural populations and to enable the provision of high-quality, culturally competent care (Constantine and Sue, Couns Psychol 34:228-244, 2006; Seligman et al. Am Psychol 60:410, 2005; Becker and Marecek. Soc Personal Psychol Compass 2:1767-1780, 2008).