Jerome Carson

Mental health struggles affect millions, yet personal stories of resilience and recovery often go unheard. In a world that still stigmatises mental health challenges, first-person narratives offer powerful insights into the realities of trauma, healing, and hope. These stories not only illuminate the lived experiences of individuals navigating mental distress but also challenge dominant societal perceptions, fostering empathy, connection, and a deeper understanding of the human condition. Stories of Mental Health, Resilience and Recovery is a compelling exploration of personal strength in the face of adversity. This volume brings together seven deeply moving first-person accounts, highlighting the resilience of individuals who have faced trauma, discrimination, and profound psychological struggles. Taking an autoethnographic approach, these narratives are gathered with empathy, ethical sensitivity, and a commitment to amplifying voices too often marginalised. By weaving together these powerful testimonies, this work not only provides insight into personal journeys of recovery but also challenges societal norms, encourages self-reflection, and advocates for greater inclusion and justice for those experiencing mental health difficulties. Offering invaluable perspectives for individuals with similar experiences, as well as educators, policymakers, and mental health professionals, Stories of Mental Health, Resilience and Recovery is an essential read for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of resilience, recovery, and the transformative power of storytelling.

Positive Psychology is a swiftly expanding field, attracting academics who commit their careers to its advancement. Although happiness was initially a focal point in Positive Psychology research, some academic circles now prefer the more precise concept of flourishing. Without doubt, the primary goal of Positive Psychology is to enhance flourishing, even though the term happiness holds broader significance through history and across cultures. This work is the first to look at happiness as a crucial aspect of Positive Psychology. Authors Sandie McHugh and Jerome Carson begin by introducing definitions of happiness and Positive Psychology, followed by a discussion on the measurement of happiness. The study then navigates through the historical evolution of these concepts, exploring the transition from Humanistic Psychology to Positive Psychology and the shift from happiness to flourishing. Chapters explore the global perspective on happiness, focusing on enhancing happiness through individual and external interventions. It concludes by contemplating the future of happiness and Positive Psychology, summarizing self-help interventions and reflecting on the lessons learned throughout the exploration. Happiness and Positive Psychology is essential reading for academic professionals in Positive Psychology seeking theoretical insights and for students in Positive Psychology programs looking for foundational knowledge and practical insights. Psychologists specializing in well-being and flourishing, researchers in humanistic psychology, and practitioners in applied positive psychology, such as therapists and counsellors, benefit from real-world case studies presented throughout the work.

In addiction recovery, fostering a positive life that enhances satisfaction, well-being, and personal capability is crucial for long-term success. By staying motivated and actively engaging in their recovery, individuals can significantly elevate their quality of life. This groundbreaking work unveils the transformative potential of positive psychology in addiction recovery, highlighting how cultivating positivity and resilience can lead to profound and lasting improvements. Exploring the theoretical foundations of positive psychology and its application to mental health, Ogilvie and Carson focus particularly on how overcoming adversity can lead to positive outcomes. They delve into second wave positive psychology's perspective on resilience and third wave's pluralistic approach, integrating insights from the recovery model of mental health, well-being studies, the process of change, and asset-based recovery frameworks. With detailed examples of recent studies and practical guidance for practitioners, Positive Psychology for Addiction offers a comprehensive and holistic view of addiction recovery and challenges traditional deficit-focused approaches by advocating for strengths-based recovery methods. Demonstrating the synergy between positive psychology and effective addiction recovery, Positive Psychology for Addiction provides a valuable resource that promotes a positive lifestyle choice and contributes to reducing the stigma surrounding addiction. This important work is essential for anyone involved in addiction recovery, from clinical practitioners to academics and individuals in recovery.

This book presents the importance of the role of creativity, particularly everyday creativity, in the lives of people on a mental health recovery journey. Through a review of historical and contemporary literature and research findings on the topic, the book starts by giving readers an idea of the state of play of conceptualisations of both creativity and recovery. The authors arrive at and present their own definitions of these concepts, using autoethnography to bring their own experiences into the text. They then illustrate to the reader what creativity in recovery looks like in practice, through interviews with and written accounts from creative individuals who have experienced a mental health recovery journey, grounding the theory with tangible stories of application. The interviews are analysed, with themes picked out and a model of creativity and recovery produced by the authors. Implications and possible future directions are then discussed. This unique presentation of creative recovery will be of interest to a wide range of mental health professionals, specifically those studying or practising mental health recovery and creative therapies.

This book presents the importance of the role of creativity, particularly everyday creativity, in the lives of people on a mental health recovery journey. Through a review of historical and contemporary literature and research findings on the topic, the book starts by giving readers an idea of the state of play of conceptualisations of both creativity and recovery. The authors arrive at and present their own definitions of these concepts, using autoethnography to bring their own experiences into the text. They then illustrate to the reader what creativity in recovery looks like in practice, through interviews with and written accounts from creative individuals who have experienced a mental health recovery journey, grounding the theory with tangible stories of application. The interviews are analysed, with themes picked out and a model of creativity and recovery produced by the authors. Implications and possible future directions are then discussed. This unique presentation of creative recovery will be of interest to a wide range of mental health professionals, specifically those studying or practising mental health recovery and creative therapies.

Humour is officially recognized in positive psychology as one of the 24 ‘character strengths’. However, laughter has an uneasy relationship with positive psychology, despite being key to communicating joy and happiness. The Positive Psychology of Laughter and Humour corrects this disconnect by combining academic insight with real-world experience. Drawing on the authors’ diverse backgrounds and expertise, this is the first academic volume dedicated to the rarely discussed topic of laughter and humour in positive psychology. Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky, Merv Neal and Jerome Carson demonstrate how laughter and humour differ, and how both can be applied within positive psychology to boost mood and maintain positive outcomes. The Positive Psychology of Laughter and Humour includes case studies and real-world insight as well as providing a methodological and theoretical background to the topic, giving rigorous theoretical and methodological insight for researchers, and including pedagogical sections in each chapter useful for teachers and researchers.

There has been an abundance of research carried out relating to the use of positive psychology, but a focus on staff working in care settings has been lacking. Positive Psychology for Healthcare Professionals presents applied positive psychology specifically for health and care staff, showcasing eleven different interventions that have proven to be effective in improving wellbeing. Positive Psychology Interventions are validated techniques, developed to include wellbeing enhancing activities, building effective user-friendly, cost-effective self-help strategies. This toolkit for improving wellbeing provides a more holistic roadmap to increase self-awareness of staff abilities, potential talents, and positive characteristics, through a strengths-based approach.

Stories of Addiction Recovery explores first-hand structured accounts of addiction recovery through the G-CHIME model. G-CHIME is an adaptation to the CHIME model of mental health recovery, specifically targeted at addiction recovery. Identifying important components of recovery (Growth, Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning in life, and Empowerment), G-CHIME considers aspects of positive psychology such as empowerment and hope as well as recognizing elements of addiction recovery such as connection and meaning in life. Publishing recovery stories in this way Stories of Addiction Recovery contributes positive literature to an area that is conventionally viewed with a negative bias, building away from the long-standing stigmatization associated with addiction and substance misuse. The first-hand accounts of shared experiences, lessons learnt, and the growth achieved can highlight to others what is possible in their own recovery.