| Psychology has historically devoted itself to the identification and remediation of many forms of psychopathology, and in the process of doing so has minimized or completely neglected areas of human strength and resilience. This qualitative dissertation traces the historical, sociocultural, political, and theoretical underpinnings of this medical-model paradigm, and seeks to provide an alternative approach to the manner in which consumers of mental health services are conceptualized and treated. This is accomplished through a careful review of published literature outlining the manner in which this deficit-based approach has impacted consumers and the public as a whole through the process of stigmatization. In addition, literature founded in Positive Psychology theory is reviewed in order to highlight the movement by some to call attention to the qualities and conditions that allow people to survive despite tremendous obstacles. This dissertation concludes with an appeal to the healthcare community for consideration of an addendum to the typical 5-axis model, in which a sixth axis would mandate that evaluators and clinicians broaden their conception of assessment and intervention to include those assets and areas of strength that have been traditionally overshadowed by symptom presentation and pathology. |
