Quality of Life Therapy: Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy [Paperback]

Michael B. Frisch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471213519 | ISBN-13: 978-0471213512 | Publication Date: December 2, 2005

“This book defines an approach to well-being and positive psychology, that is state-of-the-art, evidence-based, empirically validated, and an outstanding guide for anyone interested in learning about the practice of positive psychology or well-being.”

-- Ed Diener, the world authority on happiness from the University of Illinois and President of the International Positive Psychology Association.

Endorsed by Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and taught in Marty Seligman’s Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Program at the University of Pennsylvania, this book teaches a simple, step-by-step method for putting the fields of well-being and positive psychology into practice.   It is a "one-stop shopping" manual with everything you need in one book and with one approach. 

This approach to greater happiness, meaning, and success is “evidence-based” and empirically validated.  It has been successfully tested in three randomized controlled trials, including two NIH-grant funded trials conducted by James R. Rodrigue and his colleagues at Beth Israel and Harvard Medical Centers in Boston.

Quality of Life Therapy also known as Quality of Life Therapy and Coaching  or QOLTC is designed for use by therapists, coaches, organizational change-agents/consultants, and all  professionals who work to improve peoples' well-being.  Many laypersons and clients have found the book useful as well. 

This book explains the "Sweet 16" Recipe for Joy and Success, along with validated interventions for each:

1. Basic Needs or Wealths: Health, Money, Goals-and-Values/Spiritual Life, Self-Esteem

2. Relationships: Love, Friends, Relatives, and Children

3. Occupations-Avocations: Work and Retirement Pursuits, Play, Helping-Service, Learning, Creativity

4. Surroundings: Home, Neighborhood, Community

Note:Book no longer includes a CD-ROM, but the files are available online for download for both book and ebook purchasers at www.wiley.com/go/frisch

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

“This book defines an approach to well-being and positive psychology, that is state-of-the-art, evidence-based, empirically validated, and an outstanding guide for anyone interested in learning about the practice of positive psychology or well-being.”
— Ed Diener, the world authority on happiness from the University of Illinois and President of the International Positive Psychology Association.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (December 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471213519
• ISBN-13: 978-0471213512
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality of Life Therapy, September 16, 2008

By 

E. S. Huebner (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quality of Life Therapy: Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy (Paperback)

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.

32 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overhyped, December 5, 2006

By 

A. Robinson (Phx, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quality of Life Therapy: Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy (Paperback)

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very versatile and practical psychotherapy guide, March 15, 2009

By 

MASSI WYATT (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quality of Life Therapy: Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy (Paperback)

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.