Hierarchy of Hope

About the Hierarchy of Hope

Framework

To help people who are sad, anxious, traumatized, and stressed, therapists have used many diverse treatments. The problem with most of these approaches is that they primarily focus on the negative aspects of mental dysfunctions and attempt to “cure” or “fix” individuals with mental health issues, rather than promoting mental health wellness.

On the other hand, positive psychology practitioners focus on helping people discover and explore their strengths, potentials, possibilities, and talents to engender hope and joy and promote positive functioning. This therapeutic framework, Scallon & Liptak's Hierarchy of Hope, is centered on the principles of two models promoting mental health wellness: Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the field of Positive Psychology. It teaches clients five hope habits that protect people from mental illness.

Goal of HOH: Mental Wellness

While closely related, mental health issues, mental health, and mental health wellness are distinct concepts:

Mental health refers to the overall state of your psychological and emotional well-being. A person’s mental health is an assessment of the presence and/or absence of mental health issues and mental health wellness.
Mental health issues are any conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, behavior, and/or mood. Mental illness impacts a person’s day-to-day living and can affect the ability to relate to others.
In contrast, mental health wellness in Positive Psychology is a more active, hopeful, and optimistic state of well-being that can be actively cultivated. People can generate mental wellness by developing protective hope-based habits to buffer against mental illness. Mental wellness is not just the absence of mental illness. Mental wellness is the presence of emotional, mental, vocational, social, and psychological well-being. Mental wellness involves demonstrating resilience in the face of daily challenges, experiencing joy, having extreme levels of hope, and having the resources to navigate difficult situations. Mental health wellness is the opposite of mental health issues!

The next logical question is, “How can people be mentally healthier?” Our research suggests that achieving mental well-being involves generating high levels of hope, which in turn fosters joy and resilience. John researched the impact of hope on mental wellness and found that five specific factors trigger hope, joy, happiness, and enhanced mental wellness.

Therefore, mental wellness is a state of well-being where an individual experiences a sense of meaning and purpose, engagement in the flow of life, a sense of self-esteem and accomplishment, fulfilling relationships, and empowered control. These are five protective “hope habits” that can be learned to protect people from mental illness.

How Can The HOH be Used?

The Hierarchy of Hope (HOH) is a therapeutic framework that teaches 5 Hope Habits that promote mental wellness and protect people from mental dysfunction. Helping professionals can use this framework for preventing, treating, and recovering from mental health issues.

Prevention Programs: Prevention programs encompass initiatives that promote overall well-being for everyone, targeted programs for specific at-risk groups, and interventions designed to prevent relapse or exacerbation of symptoms. The Hierarchy of Hope framework and materials can be used to teach the five protective hope skills for mental wellness (that protect against mental illness) by conducting psycho-educational groups. John's research in Romania suggests that teachers and school counselor can integrate the materials into the school curriculum.

Individual and Group Therapy: Mental health therapists and other helping professionals working in inpatient and outpatient settings can use the Hierarchy of Hope framework and materials as the basis of treatment for mental illness.

Recovery Services: Helping professionals who work in community mental health centers, rehabilitation centers, and other agencies can use the Hierarchy of Hope framework and materials to assist people in recovery from mental health issues and substance abuse problems.

How Hope Functions in Therapy

A person exhibits mental health wellness by persevering.

Transdiagnostic Value

Hope functions as a powerful, integral force in therapy, acting as a "guiding light" to motivate clients, foster positive change, and improve mental well-being by influencing their ability to set goals and envision a better future. While historically viewed as an adjunct, many therapists now advocate for cultivating hope as a focal point or targeted intervention itself, recognizing its transdiagnostic impact on conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and trauma. Therapists can foster hope by setting manageable, realistic goals, identifying pathways to achieve them, and focusing on the client's values and past successes, rather than on problems and failures. Hope acts as a "mechanism of change" across various mental health conditions, improving outcomes and enhancing recovery.

For more information, please refer to the Transdiagnostic Approach page.

Motivation & Perseverance

Hope provides the necessary fuel and motivation for clients to persevere through challenges, confront difficult issues, and engage with the therapeutic process.

Goal Setting & Action

Hope enables clients to develop realistic goals, create achievable pathways, and strategize ways to overcome obstacles, leading to a stronger sense of empowerment and agency.

Positive Outlook

Hope encourages a positive outlook, helping clients shift their focus from problems to solutions, improving their confidence in their ability to achieve desired outcomes.

Resilience

High levels of hope are linked to increased resilience, making individuals less vulnerable to depression and anxiety and better equipped to handle negative life events.

A Therapeutic Alliance

Hope provides clients with the belief that their potential can be accessed and implemented in their lives, creating a more connected and supportive therapeutic relationship.

Why Use Hierarchy of Hope Therapy?

Benefits for Therapists

Some of the benefits include:

Evidence-Based and Clinically Informed: The Hope Series is grounded in established positive psychology research and the Hierarchy of Hope theory, giving clinicians confidence that they are using a theoretically sound, empirically supported intervention. You can integrate these workbooks alongside traditional therapies, knowing that the content aligns with best practices for mental health treatment.

Structured yet Flexible: Each workbook provides a clear therapeutic plan with defined goals, actionable exercises, and progress measures. The materials are fully reproducible, allowing you to use and reuse worksheets and activities in individual or group therapy settings. Therapists can follow the curriculum step-by-step or adapt the exercises to fit each client’s needs, making the approach versatile for diverse populations.

Time-Saving Resources: Save hours of preparation – the series comes with ready-to-use assessments, worksheets, and journaling prompts that facilitate session planning. This means less time spent developing new materials from scratch and more time engaging directly with your clients. The guided nature of the workbooks also helps ensure consistency and quality across sessions.

Strengths-Based Approach: The Hope Series shifts the focus from symptom deficits to client strengths. It provides tools to identify and build on personal strengths, values, and successes. This positive framework can enhance the therapeutic alliance and improve client engagement, as individuals feel understood and empowered rather than “fixed.”

Reproducible and Cost-Effective: As a reproducible series, you can photocopy or print materials for your clients without violating copyrights. Whether you run a clinic, support group, or private practice, this cost-effective resource can be used repeatedly, maximizing your investment and ensuring that every client who needs hope-centered intervention can benefit.

Benefits for Clients

Some of the benefits include:

Future-Oriented Mindset: Clients learn to replace catastrophic or negative thought patterns with a future-focused perspective. By focusing on goals and possibilities ahead, they gain a sense of direction and purpose, which counteracts the despair associated with many mental health problems. This future orientation helps to instill optimism that life can improve.

Cultivation of Hope Skills: The workbook exercises help individuals develop concrete, hope-enhancing skills. They learn how to create meaning in life events, build and lean on healthy relationships for support, develop a sense of control over their choices, set and achieve personal goals, and actively engage in life’s activities. Mastering these skills translates to greater resilience and better coping in the face of challenges.

Enhanced Resilience and Well-Being: A strengths-based focus means clients aren’t defined by their diagnosis. Instead, they uncover personal strengths and past triumphs, which boost self-esteem and resilience. Over time, clients often report feeling happier and more confident in managing their stress. This approach fosters symptom reduction and the development of positive traits, such as gratitude, hope, and creativity, that support long-term well-being.

Greater Engagement in Therapy: The workbooks include self-reflection journaling and interactive activities, so clients become active collaborators in their healing process. This interactive format can increase engagement and motivation. Clients often find the hope-centered activities refreshing and empowering, leading to improved therapeutic rapport and better adherence to treatment plans.

Measurable Progress: The Hope Series offers assessments and goal-tracking tools, enabling clients to track their improvement over time. By celebrating small wins (e.g., accomplishing a goal or noticing a more hopeful outlook), clients build momentum in their recovery. This tangible sense of progress reinforces their hope and commitment to improvement, which can reduce the likelihood of relapse.

The Hope Series offers a future-oriented, strengths-based pathway out of many mental health issues – helping clients not only reduce their symptoms but also rebuild a fulfilling, hopeful life. Each element of the series is designed to foster meaningful change, from instilling hope as a catalyst for recovery to empowering individuals with skills that promote enduring psychological well-being.