Positive Health

Dr Jolanta Burke is a chartered psychologist (BPS), an award-winning researcher specialising in positive psychology and a senior lecturer (US: associate professor) at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences. She leads a Good Life research lab, and her team explores ways in which positive activities can be applied to maximise health and wellbeing impact. She was acknowledged by the Irish Times as one of 30 people who make Ireland a better place. For more information, go to: www.jolantaburke.com.Dr Pádraic J. Dunne is an immunologist (research scientist), a practising psychotherapist, an accredited senior coach, and a certified lifestyle medicine professional, based at the RCSI Centre for Positive Health Sciences (CPHS). As a senior lecturer (US: associate professor) and lead researcher of the Digital Health Research Group, he is interested in the development of health coach-led health and wellbeing programmes for the general public, healthcare workers, and citizens with a chronic disease diagnosis.Dr Elaine Byrne has held academic positions at University of Pretoria in South Africa, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland and University of Oslo in Norway. Her research interests revolve around supporting healthy people in healthy societies and organisations, with a focus on areas such as addressing self-stigma around HIV, global health systems and health services research, and qualitative research methodology.Professor Ciaran A. O’Boyle is Director of the Centre and a professor of psychology at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences with over 35 years’ experience as an educator, researcher, and trainer. He established the RCSI Department of Psychology in 1985, the RCSI Institute of Leadership in 2005, and the RCSI Centre for Positive Psychology and Health in 2019.

'Positive health is a new paradigm, a shift in healthcare from just the diagnosis of disease and treatment of illness to include sustainable selfcare strategies through the science of flourishing. The authors provide a much needed holistic focus on what’s strong as opposed to what’s wrong, on how health and wellbeing can be developed and supported. Leveraging the emerging evidence from lifestyle medicine and positive psychology this book provides the why as well as the how in terms of positive change. If you are involved in healthcare, education, training or simply are curious to learn how to add more life to your years, then this book is for YOU!'Mark Rowe, PhD, author of The Vitality Mark'Positive Health: The Basics provides excellent insights to the way we all should approach health and wellbeing. Promoting the positive can negate the negative and so positive health is for everyone, regardless of how high or low we are on the wellbeing continuum.' Darren Morton, PhD, director of the Lifestyle Medicine and Health Research Centre, Avondale University, creator of The Lift Project'The authors are modest when they describe this work as “The Basics”. It is much more than that. Health professionals and others who want to understand more about thriving in life will find a foundation for understanding and action in Positive Health. The disciplines of lifestyle medicine, salutogenesis and positive psychology are deftly woven into the philosophical framework of not simply “health”, but what it means to live life well.'Simon Matthews, FACLM, MHlthSc, DipIBLM, NBC-HWC'All of us can benefit from the Positive Health: The Basics in order to leverage our full potential – not only to prevent and treat mental and physical conditions, but also become our best selves, regardless of the adversities we may face. individually and supporting an environment for a health-sustaining and positive future globally. I commend the authors for pulling together the key basics of positive health and making it accessible in this text.'Liana Lianov, MD, MPH, president of Global Positive Health Institute, author of Strengths in the Mirror, co-author of Lifestyle Medicine From the Inside Out'First, this is a great book, easy to read and important. Well done. The authors take the reader through the concepts and theories of positive psychology and the pillars of ACLM learn about positive health. The reader is provided tangible tools to wellbeing. Medicine will change.'Kathi Norman, PhD, creator of Positive Medicine

• About the Centre. Chapter 1: Introduction to Positive Health. Chapter 2: Positive Mental Health. Chapter 3: Positive Health in Mental Health Struggles. Chapter 4: Positive Physical Health. Chapter 5: Positive Health within the pillars of Lifestyle Medicine. Chapter 6: Positive Environment and Health. Chapter 7: The future of Positive Health.