Traditionally, assessment and evaluation have focused on the negative aspects or deficits of a client's presentation. Yet strengths, health, and those things that are going "right" in a person's life are key protective factors in the prevention and treatment of manymental health problems. Thus, measuring strengths is an important component of a balanced assessment and evaluation process. This is the first compendium of more than 140 valid and reliable strengths-based assessment tools that clinicians, researchers, educators, and program evaluators can use to assess a wide array of positive attributes, including well-being, mindfulness, optimism, resilience, humor, aspirations, values, sources of support, emotional intelligence, and much more. These tools provide a clear picture of anindividual's strengths while being easy to complete, score, and interpret.

The scales and instruments included are consistently formatted, are organized according to construct measures, and include tools for working with adults, couples, families, children, and special populations. They represent a wide range of theoretical approaches and were written by a diverse array of professionals, including social workers, psychologists, nurses, physicians, and sociologists.

Partial List of Instruments:

Adult Dispositional Hope Scale

Assessing Emotions Scale

Flourishing Scale

Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

Positive States of Mind Scale

A Measure of Expectations for Partner

Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale

Parenting Sense of Competence Scale

Personal Wellbeing Index

Proactive Coping Inventory

Psychological Empowerment Scale

Stress-Related Growth Scale

Social Wellbeing Scales

Wellness Beliefs Scale