Product Description

With an endorsement by Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and Forewards by two recognized authorities in positive psychology and cognitive therapy—Ed Diener and David A. Clark—this new approach to positive psychology tells clinicians how to bring positive psychology techniques to clinical practice.

Quality of Life Therapy also shows clinicians how to expand their practice to "pure" positive psychology cases and professional groups who do not suffer from clinical or DSM disorders but who nevertheless want to be happier and more successful in life. The book includes 44 positive psychology growth exercises on CD-Rom, and 148 happiness prescriptions based on the latest research for use in all areas of life that clients may care about, including life Goals-and-Values, Spiritual Life, Self-Esteem, Health, Relationships, Work, Play, Helping, Learning, Creativity, Money, Surroundings—Home, Neighborhood, Community—and relapse prevention.

The book includes a primer (or quick review of) in Beck's latest approach to cognitive therapy along with instructions for integrating it with positive psychology. Quality of Life Therapy has been evaluated as successful in two separate clinical trials conducted at different laboratories with clinically depressed and lung transplantation patients. For example, see: Rodrigue, J. R., Baz, M.A., Widows, M.R., & Ehlers, S.L. (2005). "A Randomized Evaluation of Quality of Life Therapy with Patients Awaiting Lung Transplantation". American Journal of Transplantation, Volume 5, #10, 2425-2432.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #278549 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
"Quality of Life Therapy provides valuable lessons that can be put to immediate use....In reading [QOLT] and viewing the accompanying CD-ROM, readers feel mentored by someone who is rooting for them."
—Robert Furey (APA Review)

From the Back Cover
"I heartily recommend Dr. Michael Frisch's book to positive psychology and clinical practitioners of all persuasions. The book presents state-of-the-art findings in positive psychology, brought to life with practical exercises that make the research findings accessible to readers. Frisch's volume can jump-start the work of any practitioner in terms of integrating positive approaches into his or her practice. Accompanying the book is a CD Toolkit which provides copies and details of all of the exercises, handouts, and worksheets needed to fully implement the material discussed in the book. This is a valuable resource on its own. "--From the foreword by Ed Diener, University of Illinois' Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Senior Research Scientist, Gallup International Positive Psychology Center

"Frisch's Quality of Life Therapy is psychology at its best—theoretical and practical. The book is fascinating and filled with insights about how to cultivate the good life. Professor Frisch has my gratitude."
—Christopher Peterson, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

"As psychotherapists, we rarely address issues of happiness, contentment, and quality of life. At last, psychologists like Ed Diener, Martin Seligman, and now Michael Frisch have begun to redress this imbalance. . . . In this book, Michael Frisch proposes an integration of the positive psychology and cognitive therapy perspectives . . . [which] has the potential to enrich both cognitive therapy and positive psychology. Treating negative mood will not automatically lead to happiness and life satisfaction in our patients. Instead the single most important message from this volume is that a new and expanded therapeutic perspective is needed that directly addresses issues of positive affect, life satisfaction, and contentment."
—From the Foreword by David A. Clark, PhD Professor of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, and Founding Fellow, Academy of Cognitive Therapy

Quality of Life Therapy (QOLT) consists of a comprehensive and science-based approach to positive psychology, clinical practice, and cognitive therapy that serves both clinical and non-clinical clients by helping them learn the theory, tenets, and skills needed to ethically identify, pursue, and fulfill their needs, goals, and wishes in valued areas of life, such as:

Full of case examples and happiness prescriptions, and bundled with a CD containing many clinically tested QOLT skills, handouts, and homework assignments, Quality of Life Therapy gives you a complete resource for implementing this important new area of practice.

About the Author
Michael B. Frisch, PhD, is a clinical and positive psychologist and professor at Baylor University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. He is the author of the Quality of Life Inventory®, one of the best-validated and most widely used measures in the field. He has been honored as Research Fellow and Founding Fellow by the prestigious International Society for Quality of Life Studies as well as Aaron T. Beck's Academy of Cognitive Therapy.
With Forewords by Ed Diener, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois; Senior Research Scientist, Gallup International Positive Psychology Center; and past president, International Society of Quality of Life Studies; and David A. Clark, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, and Founding Fellow, Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

Customer Reviews

Quality of Life Therapy
This is a must read book for psychologists who want to integrate psychotherapy, positive psychology, and quality of life research and practice. Although related to traditional psychotherapy approaches, Frisch's QOL therapy makes psychology and QOL relevant to ALL people. This groundbreaking book provides psychologists and related human service providers with a conceptual framework and concrete tools to help all people who desire to enhance the quality of their lives. Grounded in basic psychological and QOL science, the approach extends far beyond existing approaches to life enhancement by providing a broader, but more nuanced multi-domain perspective (e.g., spiritual, work, play, neighborhood, self domains). In this manner, Frisch provides helpers with a more differentiated assessment and intervention approach to improving lives.

Overhyped
This is not a self-help book. It is not even a psychology book. It is a clinical guide for institutions. Most of the philosophy of this book consists of trite one-liners. It isn't very practical except in a very controlled environment, where the client has alot of time to waste, such as prisons or hospitals, and where the client has absolutely no direction in life whatsoever. For current happiness research that is simple, practical, and enlightening, try reading the paper THE BENEFITS OF FREQUENT POSITIVE AFFECT: DOES HAPPINESS LEAD TO SUCCESS by Sonja Lyubomirsky. For a simple, practical, and a quick fix, I would recommend RATIONAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY by Maxie Maultsby.

Very versatile and practical psychotherapy guide

Dr. Frisch writes in an accessible manner that will benefit everyone looking for a practical guide to positive psychology principles. In addition to being a great book for readers pursuing self-improvement, I believe that this manual will be useful to psychotherapists serving a wide spectrum of patient populations. I challenge the previous reviewer to provide concrete evidence that Quality of Life Therapy is limited in its applicability. I can personally attest that Dr. Frisch's approach has worked successfully in diverse patient populations ranging from married seminary students to combat veterans to incarcerated juveniles to ethnic minorities in health care clinics. In fact it is the comprehensiveness and flexibility of Quality of Life Therapy that makes this book an asset to just about anyone interested in clinical psychotherapy or increased happiness. Practitioners will love the clearly explained rationale for Quality of Life Therapy assessment strategies and treatment plans. While interested consumers can begin the program on their own right away by printing off the self-explanatory handouts from the Toolbox CD. This is a fantastic investment. I highly recommend it.