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Subjective well-being refers to people's level of satisfaction with life as a whole and with multiple dimensions within it. Interventions that promote subjective well-being are important because there is evidence that physical health, mental health, substance use, and health care costs may be related to subjective well-being. Fun For Wellness (FFW) is a new online universal intervention designed to promote growth in multiple dimensions of subjective well-being. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial evaluation of the efficacy of FFW to increase subjective well-being in multiple dimensions in a universal sample. The study design was a prospective, double-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial. Data were collected at baseline and 30 and 60 days-post baseline. A total of 479 adult employees at a major university in the southeast of the USA were enrolled. Recruitment, eligibility verification, and data collection were conducted online. Measures of interpersonal, community, occupational, physical, psychological, economic (i.e., I COPPE), and overall subjective well-being were constructed based on responses to the I COPPE Scale. A two-class linear regression model with complier average causal effect estimation was imposed for each dimension of subjective well-being. Participants who complied with the FFW intervention had significantly higher subjective well-being, as compared to potential compliers in the Usual Care group, in the following dimensions: interpersonal at 60 days, community at 30 and 60 days, psychological at 60 days, and economic at 30 and 60 days. Results from this study provide some initial evidence for both the efficacy of, and possible revisions to, the FFW intervention.

The field of critical psychology is exerting an influence in the way various sub-disciplines within psychology operate. In this article we use a critical psychology framework to review the field of health psychology. Through the use of values, assumptions and practices we review progress in health psychology and offer recommendations for aligning contemporary practices with current thinking in critical psychology. We discuss typical expectations, critical formulations and critical practice for interventions with individuals, groups and communities along these dimensions.

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Several fields within psychology, including counseling psychology, are struggling to promote a social justice agenda. Most efforts concentrate on a critique of existing values, assumptions, and practices. Whereas the level of critique is quite sophisticated, the level of social justice practice is rather embryonic. Critical psychologists have been constructing alternative practices that strive to go beyond the status quo and its critique. This article proposes an agenda for action that is conductive to wellness and liberation at the same time. The authors recommend several steps for advancing such an agenda. They argue that critical psychologists need to promote synergy between and among (a) diverse values, (b) wellness and liberation, and (c) existing critiques within psychology and other fields. To illustrate practical application, the authors discuss these recommendations in the context of people with physical disabilities.