Positive CBT: From Reducing Distress to Building Success

Recent decades have witnessed the development of competency-based, collaborative approaches to working with clients. This article reveals how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) becomes Positive CBT, with a shift in the focus of therapy from what is wrong with clients to what is right with them, and from what is not working to what is. The concept of Positive CBT, aimed at improving the well-being of clients and their therapists, draws on research and applications from Positive Psychology and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. A FBA of exceptions to the problem and the ‘upward arrow’ instead of the ‘downward arrow’ technique are two of the many practical applications of Positive CBT, described in this article. Further research is necessary due to its recent development.