EFECTOS TERAPÉUTICOS POSITIVOS A TRAVÉS DEL AUMENTO DEL OPTIMISMO

Optimism seems to be a significant construct as it would predict variables of remarkable clinical importance. Positive psychology argues that the improvement of optimism has a significant influence in the decrease of psychopathological symptoms. Of being this thus, the effects of the psychotherapy could be optimized by means of a plan to increase optimism. With the aim of proving this hypothesis, an experimental study with patients who received classic mental psychotherapy was designed. In order to evaluate changes in the psychopathological symptoms, the SCL-90-R scale was used. The results showed a significant decrease in variables such as somatizations, phobic anxiety and hostility in favor of the experimental group in comparison with the control group. Therefore, this plan to increase optimism seems to produce an optimization of the cognitive psychotherapy when decreasing the symptoms intensity of the patients.