The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Intervention on Happiness and Positive Thinking in Chronically Mentally Ill People

The aim of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of positive psychology intervention on happiness and positive thinking among chronically mentally ill people in Mehrana Boarding Center in Zahedan. The research method was applied in terms of objective and data collection method as semi-experimental type with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population includes all female chronically mentally ill patients of Mehrana boarding center in Zahedan city in 2020-2021, of which 30 subjects (15 subjects in the experimental group and 15 subjects in the group waiting for treatment) were selected according to the available sampling method. Instruments used in the study included the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHI) and the Positive Thinking Scale (PT). The positive psychology intervention was delivered in 8 sessions (1.5 hours) over 3 weeks for the experimental group. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate covariate analysis) were used to analyze the data. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-21 software. The results of the study showed that the intervention of positive psychology increased the feeling of happiness and positive thinking in chronically mentally ill patients in the experimental group compared to the control group with a significance level of 0.001. Therefore, paying attention to the importance of positive psychology intervention on happiness and positive thinking in chronically mentally ill is considered as one of the necessities of research and it is possible to use positive psychology intervention as a part of empowerment programs for chronically mentally ill and hold a course in this field is recommended.