Working within a cultural milieu demands that we be credible and sensitive. As we are empowering those we serve to live and function to the best of their abilities, we must exercise both traits, credibility and sensitivity, often. Informed Hope firmly believes in the tenets of positive psychology, especially the idea that human beings must be viewed not just from an angle which focuses on injury and weakness, but from a panoramic vision which encompasses strengths and assets as well (Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson, 2005). Informed by Seligman et al., we hold true to the idea that a holistic promotion of mental health should incorporate both perspectives within its range, as they ultimately interact, play on one another, and influence emotions, thoughts, and actions. Thus, Informed Hope’s interventions aimed at improving conditions for disadvantaged youth do not intend to be curative. We do not want to fix anyone. Rather, we aim to glean that which already exists, and which is meaningful and powerful, from their lived experiences and to use this goldmine of information as a resource to accredit their sense of worth in their environmental and social contexts. We work with the idea that all communities have assets that can be mobilized for the betterment of its constituents, be they individuals living in large cities such as New York City and Port-au-Prince, or in small villages in rural India or the Guatemalan highlands. We believe that personal transformation arises from within and simply needs proper encouragement in order for it to activate.
Informed Hope’s interventions therefore strive to engage every individual in active participation. We assist clients by utilizing their own and their communities' virtues to steer the therapeutic endeavor. In one relevant study, research on young Native Hawaiians found that the way in which the youths were viewed by others and the extent to which they were immediately involved in the decision-making process of community decision making influenced their degree of participation in life significantly (Trinidad, 2008). By considering youth to be problem-solvers instead of problem-makers, the study found that their self-esteem was enhanced, which enabledthem to take charge of the development of their communities. Informed Hope believes that such themes can and do ring true in communities around the world.
Seligman et al. identify six core virtues that facilitate human flourishing and which include a number of character strengths common across cultures: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. A major part of the work we do will therefore entail clearly illuminating youths’ strengths within these virtue categories. We seek to help our clients see for themselves how their innate gifts can be used to better their own lives and the lives of others within their own contexts, sometimes in unique ways. Since the individuals we work with will most likely feel comfortable with these strengths, as they have relied on them as central to their survival for substantial lengths of development, interventions that use these strengths in constructive way will likely prove highly effective. Furthermore, it is also important to examine the links between these strengths and the youths’ senses of subjective well-being, as the latter concept has been implicated in how young people cope with life stressors and problems (Park, 2004). It is also worth repeating that each relevant dimension of the cultural milieu we are working within must be carefully considered in order to achieve an accurate understanding of what captivates the psyches which reside within. There exist no strict guidelines to which components of culture we will or will not examine in our therapeutic aims. What facets of culture, those entities which are most central to a culture's essence, mean for each individual cannot and will not be ignored.
In keeping with the idea of positive psychology, Informed Hope believes that the instillation of hope and optimism in client populations is essential to therapeutic effectiveness. According to Stephenson (1991), hope is defined as “a process of anticipation that involves the interaction of thinking, acting, feeling and relating, and is directed toward a future fulfillment that is personally meaningful” (as cited in Larsen & Stege, 2010, p. 271-272). Importantly, Cheavens, Michaels, and Snyder (2005) state that there is a direct relationship between increased hope and better life outcomes (as cited in Larsen & Stege, 2010, p. 272). Similarly, optimism is defined by Lionel Tiger (1979) as “a mood or attitude associated with an expectation about the social or material future—one which the evaluator regards as socially desirable…” (as cited in Peterson, 2000, p. 44). Peterson also states that optimism has been demonstrated to be related to a wide range of positive human experiences, including “positive mood and good morale; to perseverance and effective problem solving; to academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success; to popularity; to good health; and even to long life and freedom from trauma” (p. 44). Informed Hope focuses on the shared abilities of hope and optimism to assist people in moving toward positive lives and subjective fulfillment. Our interventions are aimed at giving youth a venue to use their formidable voices and the ability to realize their natural potentials for leadership. We posit that giving youth a primary stake in their community will engage, encourage, and empower them. By fostering and harnessing the power of hope and optimism that exists in every individual, we believe that both attributes will transform the experiences of the individuals we are working with into things unrecognizable and beautiful.
References:
Larsen, D. & Stege, R. (2010). Hope-focused practices during early psychotherapy sessions: Part I: Implicit approaches. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 20(3), 271-292.
Park, N. (2004). The role of subjective well-being in positive youth development.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 25-39.
Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55(1), 44-55.
Seligman, M., Steen, T., Park, N. & Peterson C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421
Trinidad, A. (2009). Toward kuleana (responsibility): A case study of a contextually grounded intervention for Native Hawaiian youth and young adults. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 488-498.