Stress as a source of personal well-being: a salutogenic perspective.

Aims The paper presents a model of psychological intervention realized within a broader program of cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of the intervention is to help subjects to develop a salutogenic style of coping with stressors in everyday life. The illness is seen as a "turning point" as McAdams (1996) defines it, and we work on this issue to help subjects find a meaning dimension into illness and into future daily life events. Methods The methods of intervention has been conceptualized taking inspiration from two different, but related, models: the Self-empowerment Model, as it is defined by Bruscaglioni and Gheno (2000) and the Narrative Approach, according to McAdams' Model (1996, 2001). Results First of all this work describes the operative model and instruments of intervention realized, and second the results of intervention are presented. Conclusions The results enable us to discuss about the validity of the theoretical approach and its related operative instruments into a salutogenic perspective (Antonovsky, 1984).