The document discusses wellness interventions and their importance for mental health. It describes wellness interventions as focusing on increasing positive emotions rather than decreasing negative ones. Wellness interventions are needed to prevent mental health issues, reduce symptoms, and promote well-being. Current standards require interventions to demonstrate actual impact through dimensional assessments of ill-being and well-being, and behavioral measures. To be effective in applied settings, interventions need motivation-enhancing techniques and to gradually increase difficulty while tracking progress over time through diverse assessments.

1. Wellness Interventions:
Implications for mental health and well-being
Tchiki Davis

2. Emotion
Mental
Health
Technology
About Me:
Ph.D. Student in Psychology
Minor: Technology Innovation

3. Outline
1. What are wellness interventions and why do
we need them?
2. What are the current standards for
intervention and assessment?
3. How do we create wellness interventions
that will work in applied settings?
4. Discussion
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4. What is a wellness intervention?
• Focus on increasing positive emotion
(versus decreasing negative emotion).
– increasing attention for positive material
– capitalizing on positive events by savoring,
sharing, writing
– positively reappraising events
– increasing gratitude etc…
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e.g., (Dandeneau, Baldwin, Baccus, Sakellaropoulo, & Pruessner, 2007; Moskowitz
et al., 2012; Wadlinger & Isaacowitz, 2008)
4

5. Why do we need wellness interventions?
Time since stressful event
Well-Being
Thriving
Recovery
Mental illness
Wellness
Interventions
Ill-Being
Stressful life events

6. • ↓ negative emotions
• ↓ symptoms of depression
• ↓ stress
• ↓ symptoms of physical illness
• ↑ happiness and positive emotions
• ↑ emotion skills
• ↑ satisfaction with life
• ↑ self-esteem
• ↑ creativity and success
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e.g., (Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010; Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Fredrickson et al.,
2008; Lyubomirsky et al., 2006; Moskowitz et al., 2012; Seligman et al., 2006)
6
Why do we need wellness interventions?

7. In sum:
• To prevent the development of serious mental health
issues
• To reduce existing symptoms of mental illness
• To promote well-being and thriving
• To supplement other mental health services
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e.g., (Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010; Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Fredrickson et al.,
2008; Lyubomirsky et al., 2006; Moskowitz et al., 2012; Seligman et al., 2006)
7
Why do we need wellness interventions?

8. Outline
1. What are wellness interventions and why do
we need them?
2. What are the current standards for
intervention and assessment?
3. How do we create wellness interventions
that will work in applied settings?
4. Discussion
2/12/2016 8

9. Impact Assessment Requirements
Social Impact Investing & National Institute of Mental Health
• Must assess actual impact (versus intent to
impact).
• Assessment and intervention focus on
dimensional outcomes.
– E.g., depression symptoms vs. diagnosis of depression
• Impact assessments must target mechanisms
(behavioral measures) to understand treatment
impact
2/12/2016 Insel, NIMH Director 9

10. Impact Assessment Requirements
Social Impact Investing & National Institute of Mental Health
• Must assess actual impact (versus intent to
impact).
• Assessment and intervention focus on
dimensional outcomes.
– E.g., depression symptoms vs. diagnosis of depression
• Impact assessments must target mechanisms
(behavioral measures) to understand treatment
impact
2/12/2016 Insel, NIMH Director 10

11. Why we need dimensional assessment
Time since stressful event
Well-Being
Thriving
Recovery
Mental illness
Ill-Being

12. Impact Assessment Requirements
Social Impact Investing & National Institute of Mental Health
• Must assess actual impact (versus intent to
impact).
• Assessment and treatment focus on dimensional
outcomes.
– E.g., depression symptoms vs. diagnosis of depression
• Impact assessments must target mechanisms
(behavioral measures) to understand treatment
impact
2/12/2016 Insel, NIMH Director 12

13. Social rejection
 Cyberball task
Why we need behavioral assessment

14. For each statement, please indicate from 1 (not at all) to 7 (extreme) how you
responded during the activity.
Negative Emotion
_______________________________________________________________
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Neutral Extreme
• Important to assess how people would react to scenarios that
mimic real life
• Is the intervention impacting actual experiences?
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Why we need behavioral assessment

15. In Sum:
• Interventions must now show evidence of impact
(not just intent to impact).
• Need dimensional assessments of both ill-being and
well-being.
• Need to assess mechanisms to understand treatment
impact.
2/12/2016 Insel, NIMH (RDoC) 15
Why we need behavioral assessment

16. Outline
1. What are wellness interventions and why do
we need them?
2. What are the current standards for
intervention and assessment?
3. How do we create wellness interventions
that will work in applied settings?
4. Discussion
2/12/2016 16

17. 2/12/2016 (Layous & Lyubomirsky, 2012) 17
• Users wont do the activities if:
– If it is too difficult
– If it is too long
– If it is too boring
– If it requires them to leave the webpage
– If it does not include motivation enhancing features
(e.g., rationale, how to apply the skills, social proof)
• Applied wellness interventions must use
motivation enhancing techniques.
How do we create wellness
interventions for applied settings?

18. 2/12/2016 Tchiki.s.davis@gmail.com; Davis, T.S., 2014 NIMH grant (submitted) 18
How do we create wellness
interventions for applied settings?
Merge: Cutting edge wellness interventions
+ NIH standards for assessment
+ Motivation enhancing features

19. • Start with foundational skills/ Slowly increase in
difficulty
• Include numerous wellness activities (↑ diversity of
activities leads to greater improvements)
• Can practice online AND teaches how to apply skills
in real life
• Provide rewards for progress (positive
reinforcement)
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How do we create wellness
interventions for applied settings?

20. • Assess ill-being, well-being, and behavioral responses
• Include regular assessments to track progress across
time
• Include diverse assessments to assess whether skills
generalize to other contexts
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How do we create wellness
interventions for applied settings?

21. References
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behavior change. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 355-366.
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responsiveness to social threat by manipulating attention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 651-666.
• Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being
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• Fredrickson, B. L. (2000). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment; Prevention & Treatment, 3, 1a.
• Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-
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