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This study addressed the possibility of integrating learning theory into humanistic counseling. We consider that such an approach may enable client self-counseling either between sessions or after therapy has finished. Carl Rogers was a keen advocate of person-centered learning facilitation in the classroom and his principles of learning provide a natural start-point for a humanistic therapy based on learning theory. A variety of other learning processes also lend themselves to a learning based therapy such as establishing client learning goals based on self-efficacy, enabling the client to understand their own learning processes and blocks to learning, encouraging the client to access their own learning resources, and then enabling long-term learning. A case study was therefore designed to test some of these processes in a therapeutic setting. A White, British, middle-aged female was recruited for the case study. During the course of six sessions, the content of which was analyzed using thematic analysis, a selection of learning processes were applied to the humanistic therapeutic process. In summary, it was established that facilitated learning processes could provide a practically acceptable basis for humanistic counseling, and these processes are offered here as the foundation to a model of “therapeutic learning.”

The advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) role was established in Ireland in 2001 and represents an important nursing role development within Irish healthcare. Currently there are 336 ANPs registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, working across 40 specialties. This number is increasing exponentially in response to emerging and anticipated future service needs and population demand projecting to a critical mass of 750 by 2021. Health service provision is enhanced by advanced practice performance outcomes. This article explores nurse to advanced nurse practitioner transitional journeys, a concept that has not previously been researched in depth from an Irish perspective. The theories of Benner, Woods, and Bourdieu are reviewed to explore whether an advance practice career trajectory results in unique nurse-to-ANP role transitioning. Contextualising possible personal, professional and educational transitions may enable the promotion of effective career ‘scaffolding’ to enhance a smooth transition for aspiring ANPs into advanced nursing practice roles.

Purpose Mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) are an emerging area of empirical study, not only in positive psychology, but also in clinical health care. This research aims to synthesize the evidence about whether MBIs reduce blood pressure (BP) in patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Methods Relevant studies were identified via PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase and the CINAHL database between 2009 and 2019. The papers selected focused on mindfulness and the effect of these on the BP of patients with NCDs. The change in SBP and DBP were meta-analyzed, stratified by type of intervention (Breathing awareness meditation (BAM), Mindfulness Meditation (MM), and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Results Fourteen articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the final review. Among the studies using the type and duration of intervention, systolic BP was reduced after the mindfulness-based stress reduction for 8 weeks (-6.90 mmHg [95% CI: -10.82, -2.97], p < .050), followed by the breathing awareness meditation for 12 weeks (-4.10 mmHg [95% CI: -7.54, -0.66], p < .050) and the mindfulness-based intervention for 8 weeks (-2.69 mmHg [95% CI: -3.90, -1.49], p < .050) whereas diastolic BP was reduced after the mindfulness-based stress reduction for 8 weeks (-2.45 mmHg [95% CI: -3.74, -1.17], p < .050) and the mindfulness-based intervention for 8 weeks (-2.24 mmHg [95% CI: -3.22, -1.26], p < .050). Conclusion MBIs can provide effective alternative therapies to assist in blood pressure reduction for patients with NCDs., Public health; Health profession; Nursing; Blood pressure; Meta-analysis; Non-communicable diseases; Mindfulness; Systematic review.

Life expectancy is increasing globally, which makes understanding what contributes to well-being in older adults crucial for social and economic reasons. This is the first study to categorize positive life events in community dwelling older adults, to explore their fit with psychological well-being models. Volunteers self-defined as well (N = 88), completed diaries identifying three positive events daily for 14 days. Diary entries combated negative stereotypes of ageing by describing older adults with active lives contributing to society. Of nine themes identified through thematic analysis of over 3500 events; seven supported existing well-being models, being activities delivering positive affect and life satisfaction (hedonic model) and demonstrating competence, autonomy, relatedness, self-acceptance, purpose in life, and personal growth (eudemonic models). However, two well-supported new dimensions were also identified within the themes ‘interaction with the physical environment’ and ‘personal well-being’. These new dimensions were labelled ‘life-affirmation and ‘mindfulness’. This suggests the existence of additional considerations related to well-being specifically for older populations, which may indicate a need to broaden the existing models.

Student engagement is an important predictor of success, retention and perseverance in higher education. This study used structural equation modelling to evaluate a gain cycle of future time perspective (FTP), positive emotion and student engagement derived from the broaden-andbuild theory (BBT). A second objective was to examine changes within study variables over time. Participants were 217 UK undergraduates sampled at two time points. Mean levels of\ud positive emotion and engagement decreased over time, whereas FTP increased. At both time points, FTP predicted higher engagement, and engagement predicted greater positive emotion levels. Positive emotion at Time 1 predicted increased levels of FTP, engagement and positive\ud emotion at Time 2. This was consistent with the ‘build’ hypothesis of BBT suggesting that positive emotions facilitate approach behaviour and the development of psychological resources. Findings indicate that interventions designed to enhance FTP and positive emotion\ud can facilitate student engagement and retention in higher education.

Though there are measures of forgiveness published in the behavioural science literature, very few scales are available to measure forgiveness in workplace relationships. The Workplace Forgiveness Scale aimed to measure forgiveness of a specific offense. Data from 348 professional nurses in Thailand were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the psychometric properties of the scale were examined. Results from EFA suggested retaining four underlying factors of the forgiveness construct: Overcoming Negative Thought and Feeling toward the Offender, Seeking to Understand the Offender’s Reasons, Fostering Positive Approaches towards the Offender, and Belief in the Benefits of Forgiveness. Reliability coefficients for the total scale and subscales were adequate. Evidence of construct validity is presented. Scores on the forgiveness scale were positively associated with other related forgiveness constructs. Nomological validity analysis supported the theoretical networks of the forgiveness construct. Forgiveness played the complete mediating role in the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and willingness to reconcile, and played a partial mediating role in the relationship between rumination and seeking to revenge the offender. Bootstrap analysis on the parameter estimates of the sample results revealed satisfactory level of internal replicability and stability of the results across the samples. Implications for future research are discussed.

Iwasaki and Mannell (2000) defined leisure as a coping strategy in their hierarchical model demonstrating the psychosocial functions of leisure and its relationship to stress. Evidence suggests that leisure coping is affiliated with resilience, and that both predict stress-coping and wellbeing. However, a theoretical explanation of how resilience is associated with the stress-reducing properties of leisure coping is lacking. Using the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001), a model was developed proposing that resilient individuals proactively use leisure coping to cultivate positive emotions and in turn enhance wellbeing. Leisure coping and positive affect were suggested to mediate the relationship between resilience and wellbeing outcomes (stress and flourishing). The model was tested among 202 UK undergraduates, a population reported to experience high stress. Structural equation modelling revealed that resilience had a significant positive effect on flourishing. Leisure coping beliefs demonstrated a positive relationship with resilience, positive affect, and flourishing. Positive affect mediated the relationship between resilience and flourishing, and between resilience and stress. Leisure coping strategies did not meaningfully contribute to the model. Leisure beliefs may have emerged as more important than leisure strategies because leisure beliefs are relatively stable with more enduring effects on health and wellbeing, while leisure strategies are transient and situation-based. Future research should examine the relationships longitudinally to explore developmental change. Implications of the findings for undergraduates are discussed.\ud Keywords: flourishing; leisure coping; positive emotion; resilience; student stress

This review examines the application of positive psychology concepts in physical health care contexts. Positive psychology aims to promote well-being in the general population. Studies identifying character strengths associated with well-being in healthy populations are numerous. Such strengths have been classified and Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) created to develop these strengths further in individuals. Positive psychology research is increasingly being undertaken in health care contexts. The review identified that most of this research involves measuring character strengths and their association with health outcomes in patients with a range of different conditions, similar to the position in positive psychology research on non-clinical populations. More recently, PPIs are beginning to be applied to clinical populations with physical health problems and this research although relatively scare is reviewed here for cancer, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. In common with PPIs being evaluated in the general population, high quality studies are scarce. Applying PPIs to patients with serious health conditions presents significant challenges to health psychologists. They must ensure that patients are dealt with appropriately and ethically, given that exaggerated claims for PPIs are made on the internet quite frequently. This is discussed along with the need for more high quality research. \ud Keywords; positive psychology interventions; cardiovascular disease; cancer; diabetes; character strengths; health assets; review

Stress is prevalent in modern society and coping strategies largely determine well-being. A qualitative investigation of leisure as a positive coping response to stress was undertaken using a resilience-based perspective. This approach enabled a focus on competencies and strengths in the stress-leisure-coping process, contributing to the sparse literature in this area. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of eight participants. From a thematic analysis three overall themes emerged: leisure as a buffer of stress, the relationship between negative and positive emotions and leisure, and benefits of leisure for coping with stress. The findings demonstrate how leisure facilitates a sense of resilience and its preventative functions. The results are discussed in relation to relevant theoretical propositions concerning the role of positive emotion in coping. In particular, the broaden-and-build theory provided a meaningful framework for suggesting how leisure and positive emotions acted in tandem to develop psychosocial resources over time.

The literature demonstrates that stress in the working life of academics has increased over recent years (Kinman, 2014). However, qualitative research on how academics cope with changes in working life and associated stress is limited. This paper examines how a sample of 31 academics in a post-92 predominantly teaching-focused UK university cope with teaching, research/scholarship and administration, what they perceive to be positive about work, what is less valued and what is stressful. Online interviews were used to maximise participation. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Six themes emerged from the data. These were administrative loads, coping with stress at work, task preferences in the academic role, features of the academic role, positive and negative feelings around research/scholarship, and thoughts around leaving the academic environment. The factors that contributed to stress included the increasing the number of students, heavy workloads, increasing administration, poor management, funding cuts, and government initiatives threatening the future of education. Academics reported as negatives that they had less time to interact with students because of increasing administration, difficulties obtaining sufficient funding for research in particular, and feeling that academic posts were less secure. All of this led to greater job dissatisfaction. However, support from colleagues and taking steps to manage their time more effectively were identified as factors that can moderate some of the negative consequences of work stress. Academics overall reported being happy at work because of the satisfactions gained from teaching, their relationships with students, the levels of work autonomy, and support from colleagues.

In the UK, changes to the higher education system have increased the range of stressors experienced by students above those traditionally associated with the transition to university. Despite this, there is little qualitative research examining how students experience and cope with the\ud adjustment to university. The experience of the transition was investigated in depth amongst 10 first year UK undergraduates. Purposive sampling resulted in a group with demographics similar to national statistics on UK undergraduates. Semi-structured interviews were used beginning with a content specific vignette to develop rapport. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was\ud utilised to analyse the transcripts and quality checks were implemented to increase the validity of the analysis. Five main themes were identified: all the change, with subthemes of independent living, homesickness, differences between post-compulsory education and university; expectations\ud of university; academic focus with subthemes of self-discipline, motivation, learning from experience; support network with subthemes of establishing a support network, support for coping with problems; and difficulties with subthemes of difficulties experienced with housemates,\ud finances and employment, and academic difficulties. Students used a range of coping strategies.\ud By identifying the role of positive psychological strengths such as optimism, hope, self-efficacy and self-control in coping with stress and facilitating positive adaptation, the study locates positive psychological strengths within a transactional understanding of stress and provides depth\ud and relevance to their role in facilitating adjustment. Such qualitative research is rare in the positive psychology and stress literature. Suggestions for easing the transition are made.

A great deal of attention is paid to the requirement for university students to become autonomous learners. A review of the literature revealed a lack of relatively short psychometrically sound measures of autonomous learning despite its purported importance. This study aimed to develop a brief, psychometrically sound, measure of autonomous learning to facilitate empirical research in this area. Items for the scale were selected from reviewing the literature, and face validity was confirmed by experienced academics. In the first study, first‐year psychology students (n = 214) completed the measure. Principal components analysis produced a 12‐item measure with two subscales that appeared to be psychometrically sound. The factor structure was reproduced with a more diverse group of undergraduates (n =172) in a second study. The internal reliability and the concurrent validity of the scale were both found to be satisfactory, suggesting that this measure may prove useful to educational researchers.

The lack of any consensual definition of forgiveness is a serious weakness in the research literature (McCullough, Pargament & Thoresen, 2000). As forgiveness is at the core of Christianity, this study returns to the Christian source of the concept to explore the meaning of forgiveness for practicing Christian clergy. Comparisons are made with a general population sample and social science definitions of forgiveness to ensure that a shared meaning of forgiveness is articulated. Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy (N = 209) and a general population sample (N = 159) completed a postal questionnaire about forgiveness. There is agreement on the existence of individual differences in forgiveness. Clergy and the general population perceive reconciliation as necessary for forgiveness while there is no consensus within psychology. The clergy suggests that forgiveness is limitless and that repentance is unnecessary while the general population suggests that there are limits and that repentance is necessary. Psychological definitions do not conceptualize repentance as necessary for forgiveness and the question of limits has not been addressed although within therapy the implicit assumption is that forgiveness is limitless.