Finding Hope in Creative Hopelessness: Hope and Flow as Mechanisms Leading to Wellbeing

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) involves a transformative process—creative hopelessness—that is intended to take individuals from a state of despair to one of hopeful action and sustained, absorbed attention to life. This process parallels strengths-based approaches central to positive psychology interventions, which can foster greater hope and more frequent flow experiences and ultimately enhance overall wellbeing. However, how strengths-based interventions, hope, and flow intersect to influence wellbeing remains unclear. This study drew on archival data from 248 school staff who participated in a wellbeing intervention, which included a focus on one’s strengths, mirroring aspects of the creative hopelessness process in ACT. Participants completed surveys immediately post-intervention and at a 6-month follow-up. Regression modelling tested cross-sectional and prospective associations amongst hope, flow, the interaction of hope and flow, and wellbeing across two time points. Both hope and flow independently predicted greater wellbeing cross-sectionally and prospectively, but there was no evidence for a synergistic effect between the two constructs. The findings suggest that hopefulness and flow can result from a clinically informed strengths-based intervention, suggesting potential pathways that are at play within ACT to take individuals from languishing to thriving in life.