Silver Linings in Psychological Disorders: An Agenda for Research and Social Change

Abstract

Conventional research on people with psychological disorders is negatively focused, concentrating on what is aberrant and harmful about psychopathology. Characterizing patterns of emotional and behavioral disturbances has helped illuminate the origins of psychopathology and led to useful treatments. Yet we argue that the conventional approach to psychopathology is factually incomplete and may also inadvertently perpetuate the deeply entrenched stigma surrounding mental disorders. In this article, we make the case for considering the positive experiences of people with psychopathology—silver linings—and integrating them into psychopathology research. In our research agenda for studying silver linings in psychopathology (SLIP), we acknowledge that psychopathology may afford individuals both sources of difficulty and opportunities for positive transformation. We illustrate SLIP in cognitive, social, and resilience domains. We close by considering implications for future research promoting a more balanced conceptualization of psychological disorders and mental well-being.