Conversation Hour Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Advancing Positive Psychology and Health Through Cross-Discipline Collaboration (#185)

Liana Lianov 1
  1. HealthType LLC, Fair Oaks, CA, United States

Healthcare transformation requires innovative approaches through cross-discipline collaboration. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) advanced this cause by convening a summit of experts with Dell Medical School in 2018 to propose strategies for the integration of positive psychology interventions into health care. ACLM is the flagship association for the mission of lifestyle as medicine--evidence-based clinical practice focused on a healthy lifestyle, e.g. whole food-plant-based diet, physical activity, sleep and emotional well-being to prevent, treat, and reverse non-communicable disease. Positive psychology, the study of human flourishing, is important for whole-person well-being of patients and providers.The bidirectional impact of a healthy lifestyle and emotional well-being calls for partnerships between the positive psychology and health care communities to improve health outcomes and lower unsustainable health care costs. Moreover, the opioid crisis, rising physician/provider burn-out and other evolving challenges demand innovative integration of positive psychology techniques into treatment plans and healthcare workers’ personal health. The purpose of the conversation hour is to discuss how to bridge the evidence behind happiness and related work for optimal care.  Panelists will share strategies from the summit, discuss implications of collaborative efforts and explore how attendees may support cross-discipline collaboration, including standardizing terminology and measurement.