The counselor is an important contributor to client outcome. Research findings about therapist effects are mixed. In this study positive psychology variables, hope and optimism, were evaluated with client outcome. The sample for this study consisted of 43 graduate-level counselor trainees in the first or second practicum semester and their adult clients in a university’s community counseling clinic. Results revealed no statistically significant relationships between student counselors’ hope and optimism and client outcomes. Post hoc analysis of student hope and their post-graduation expectations, revealed statistically significant relationships. Implications for counselor educators are presented along with areas for future research.

Individuals’ personal improvement efforts are pervasive and the benefits associated with successful self-improvement are both tangible (e.g., healthier lifestyles, more intimate relationships) and intangible (e.g., personal accomplishment, enhanced well-being). As evidenced by research on work-family spillover, self-improvement also has important implications for organizations, as there is considerable crossover between work and non-work domains. The current study tested the effectiveness of Truly Accomplished, an intervention designed to help individuals develop personalized systems for measuring and improving behavior, and examined the extent to which the outcomes associated with such behavior change exhibit positive spillover effects into the workplace. Participants (N = 44) experienced large gains in effectiveness (d = 2.93). Effectiveness gain was predicted by conscientiousness (r = .40), core self-evaluations (r = .42), and psychological safety (r = .64). Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation interacted with perceived goal difficulty to predict effectiveness gain. Overall effectiveness gain was negatively related to stress and positively related to future change efficacy, job-related efficacy, and satisfaction with the intervention. Job satisfaction and job efficacy increased following feedback, providing some evidence of spillover. Results have implications for individual behavior and attitude change, and its impact seems to extend into subjective well-being above and beyond actual behavior change. Evidence of spillover has implications for organizations, suggesting that TA may be used as a mechanism through which job-related outcomes can be improved.

The skill of savoring is one practice from the positive psychology literature that appears to facilitate well-being and happiness (e.g., Cazanescu, Tecuta, Candea, & Szentagotal-Tartar, 2018). Given such findings and the emerging evidence in favor of delivering positive psychology interventions via the Internet (Layous, Nelson, & Lyubomirsky, 2013), the potential feasibility of providing researched-based savoring instruction using self-directed online resources warrants empirical examination. This pilot study examined the feasibility of a self-directed online module of instruction and exercises intended to aid in cultivating individuals’ savoring abilities. The two primary aims of the present study were: 1) to examine the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of delivering an online 21-day savoring intervention through the website www.mybestself101.org (Savoring Module), and 2) to collect descriptive/qualitative feedback on the module content for further improvement of these resources. A supplemental aim was to establish convergent validity of the newly developed Savoring Questionnaire with an existing measure of savoring beliefs. Results indicated that participants completing the 21-day self-directed content and exercises in the Savoring Module reported positive and significant changes in savoring skills and subjective well-being. However, only 22% of consenting participants completed the 21-day sequence of content and exercises on their own. The majority of participants who completed the study found both the informational content and the strategies of the module to be "very helpful" or "extremely helpful." Overall, findings indicate that a self-directed savoring intervention delivered via the Internet can produce an increase in savoring skills and subjective well-being.

Mothers of children with autism face unique challenges that can negatively impact their well-being. Frequently, these challenges require elevated amounts of time, energy, and money to address. In an effort to investigate a low-demand approach to improving well-being, this study employed a signature strengths intervention with mothers of children with autism. Thus far, research on signature strengths with this specific population is very limited. Five mothers of children with autism participated in the study. All were married and highly educated. Four identified themselves as white, one as Hispanic. They ranged in age from 25-44. Each mother had between one and three children with autism. The participants attended an online meeting with the researcher after identifying their strengths. During the meeting, they discussed ways they already used their strengths, as well as more ways they might use them in the future. The participants then entered a four-week practice period. Each week they focused on one strength, aiming to use each strength in three new ways over the allotted seven days. The participants completed surveys to measure parental distress and life satisfaction at three points: baseline, immediately after a four-week intervention phase, and one month after the end of the intervention phase. Additionally, they answered a daily question that queried life satisfaction on a Likert-scale throughout the baseline and intervention phases. Overall, the group reported a decrease in parental distress and an increase in their level of life satisfaction and daily satisfaction. These results add to other research that has found beneficial outcomes for mothers of children with autism who are taught to use their strengths more often. The use of signature strengths interventions could help to address a critical need among this group of mothers: mental health support that does not require excessive effort or time.

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