Chiara Ruini, PhD. is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Bologna, Department of Psychology. Since 2006 she has been teaching the course "Clinical Applications of Positive Psychology" for students attending the Master Program in Clinical Psychology. The course is taught in English and is attracting an increasing number of European and International students, suggesting a growing interest for the application of positive psychology issues to the clinical domains. Chiara Ruini has authored more than 60 articles published in peer-reviewed international journals, has edited a book entitled "Increasing Psychological well-being across cultures" for the Springer series Positive Psychology across Cultures and serves the Editorial Boards for international Journals such as Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, the Psychology of Well-being, Theories Research and Practice, The Journal of Happiness and wellbeing. Her research interests are concerned with Positive Psychology, Clinical Psychology , Positive Youth Development, and Psychotherapy.

Foreword.- Chapter 1. Culture and the Promotion of Well-Being in East and West; Carol D. Ryff, Gayle D. Love and Yuri Miyamoto.- Chapter 2. The Individualized and Cross-Cultural Roots of Well-Being Therapy; Chiara Ruini and Giovanni A. Fava.- Chapter 3. The Place of Psychological Well-Being in Cognitive Therapy; Andrew K. MacLeod and Olga Luzon.- Chapter 4. Posttraumatic Growth: Challenges from a Cross-Cultural Viewpoint; Carmelo Vázquez, Pau Pérez-Sales and Christian Ochoa.- Chapter 5. Promoting Resilience and Well-Being with Wisdom and Wisdom Therapy; Michael Linden.- Chapter 6. Increasing Psychological Well-Being through Hypnosis; Tharina Guse.- Chaper 7. The Role of Motivation in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders; Elizeth Heldt, Carolina Blaya and Gisele Gus Manfro.- Chapter 8. The Role of Psychological Well-Being in Childhood Interventions; Elisa Albieri and Dalila Visani.- Chapter 9. Well-Being and Resilience in School Settings; Toni Noble and Helen McGrath.- Chapter 10. Strength Based Resilience: Integrating Risk and Resources towards Holistic Well-Being; Tayyab Rashid, Afroze Anjum, Suzanna Stevanovski, Ron Chu, Anosha Zanjani and Alexandra Love.- Chapter 11. School Programs for Prevention of Mental Health Problems and the Promotion of Psychological Well-Being in Children; Dalila Visani, Elisa Albieri and Chiara Ruini.- Chapter 12. The Promotion of Hope in Children and Youth; Susana C. Marques and Shane J. Lopez.- Chapter 13. Life Satisfaction in Youth; Carmel Proctor and P. Alex Linley.

This volume deals with strategies aimed at increasing psychological well-being in both clinical and non-clinical settings, with a special focus on the impact of cross-cultural influences on these processes. Consisting of two parts, the book first examines clinical interventions for increasing well-being and positive functioning in adult populations. It looks at cultural differences in the experience of psychological well-being, presents an analysis of the concept of psychological well-being and discusses various interventions, including Well-Being Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Other concepts discussed are post-traumatic growth, wisdom and motivation.

The second part of the book deals with psychological interventions in childhood and adolescence and has a strong emphasis on educational settings. It provides an overview of the main evidence-based psychotherapies for affective disorders in youths, and looks at the importance and impact of positive education, resilience, and hope. The book presents models for intervention and discusses several therapies in detail.