APS

2026 APS Annual Convention

Assessment and Treatment of Persons Who Avoid Positive Emotions: Evidence from Treatment, Experimental, and Meta-Analytic Findings

Friday, May 29, 2026 · Barcelona, Spain

Oral · Mental Health in Focus: Symptoms, Support & Intervention

This symposium will include four talks that bridge treatment and experimental approaches to understand the role of positive emotions in depression and anxiety. Specifically, these talks will include results from clinical trials, experimental manipulations, and meta-analyses to discuss how to treat and assess avoidance of positive emotions.

Chairs & Discussants

  • Amanda CollinsChair
    Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
  • E. Samuel WinerDiscussant
    The New School for Social Research

Presentations

  1. Evaluating the Promise of Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) for Treating Anhedonic DepressionBarney Dunn
  2. Savoring’s Effect on Negative Picture Processing and Its Enhancement through a Brief Positive-Affect InterventionMia Utayde, Annmarie MacNamara
  3. Assessing Treatment Choice & Fear of Happiness Among Black & White Men from the United StatesJulia Machina, Xiqiao Chen, Kimberly Muellers, E. Samuel Winer
  4. When Happiness Becomes Aversive: A Meta-Analysis of Fear of Happiness In Depression and AnxietyAmanda Collins, Chloe Coster