Positive affect, psychotherapy, and depression

INTRODUCTION: Psychological interventions have established competence in the enrichment of mental health, controlling, and diminishing manifestations in mild or moderate mental illnesses. It is evident that psychological therapies, in particular, cognitive behavioural therapy, have quantitatively and qualitatively alleviated the symptoms of mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Depression, a mood disorder, contributes to deficit cognition, behavioral, and emotional malfunctioning in children. Specific aspects of positive affect were used in conjunction with psychotherapy, implied for depression treatment of 9–12-year-old children. The paper outlines the aspects of positive affect in psychotherapy and their role in behavioral modification, stimulation of positive emotions, cognitive flexibility, and effective interpersonal associations. METHODOLOGY: The research is based on pre–post research design, t-test was calculated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: It was found that integration of positive affects such as “Fake, Fake and Duchenne Smile” and “improvising the pleasurable activities” in psychotherapy were effective in alleviating depression.