Pages 461-463 in S. Chatwood, P. Orr and Tiina Ikaheimo, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Yellowknife, Canada, July 11-16, 2009. Securing the IPY Legacy: from Research to Action. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2010; 69 (Suppl 7).
Director of Research, Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Canada
Psychological Consultant, Lakehead Public Schools
Professor, School of Social Work, Lakehead University
Master's Student, Department of Psychology, Lakehead University
Source
Pages 461-463 in S. Chatwood, P. Orr and Tiina Ikaheimo, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Yellowknife, Canada, July 11-16, 2009. Securing the IPY Legacy: from Research to Action. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2010; 69 (Suppl 7).
Positive psychology and the strengths perspective have gained considerable momentum over the past decade. Research has operationalized the strengths construct in a variety of manners, with most utilizing a resiliency perspective. This paper conceptualizes strengths in a more holistic and dynamic manner with specific emphasis on youth domains of functioning. This strength perspective in conjunction with the Strength Assessment Inventory (SAi) uses the assessment of youth's strengths across 10 psychosocial domains as a means of planning treatment where individual strengths help meet personal goals. The necessity of establishing a new branch of psychiatry called postpsychiatry, with its arsenal of extended language, personally oriented assessments and psychodynamic therapies, is discussed.