Positive Psychology is an approach to therapy that focuses on the positive aspects of human experiences, such as what makes us happy and content, how we can improve our well-being, and the best path to flourishing in life. It emphasizes the study of emotions, personal strengths, and virtues and aims to help individuals and communities thrive. While roadblocks and situational stress will be explored, the goal is to find new pathways and strategies to overcome these challenges. Positive psychology is closely related to humanistic psychology, a core aspect of my practice.
Positive psychology emerged as a distinct field in the late 20th century, with psychologists like Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi playing prominent roles in its development. It emerged as a response to psychology’s traditional focus on mental illnesses and dysfunction. Instead of solely addressing people’s problems and disorders, this new method was designed to promote the factors contributing to a fulfilling and meaningful life.
It is quite commonly used today, whether as a core approach or an approach psychologists combine with others. I welcome questions about this approach or how I use it, or how it might be a part of your treatment through my contact page.
Positive Psychology in Practice
A positive psychology approach shifts the focus of therapy from talking about problems to instilling hope and energy. Instead of just addressing negative symptoms, this approach aims to explore and enhance experiences and qualities that contribute to a fulfilling life. We will find ways to improve well-being and deepen meaningfulness and connection.
What is Positive Psychology Therapy Used For
In my practice, positive psychology therapy is used for many purposes, all focused on enhancing well-being, happiness, and optimal functioning in individuals, groups, and communities. Here are some common applications:
Enhancing Happiness and Well-being
Positive psychology therapy aims to increase positive emotions, satisfaction with life, and overall well-being. We might use gratitude exercises, mindfulness practices, and fostering relationships as ways to accomplish this. In general, this type of therapy is helpful for anyone experiencing either a long-term or situational dip in their mood.
Improving Mental Health with Positive Psychology
Positive psychology therapy techniques can be used as complementary approaches to traditional therapy to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. You can develop resilience and coping strategies by focusing on strengths. We might combine your positive psychology treatment with any number of other humanistic approaches, such as narrative therapy and gestalt therapy.
Positive Psychology Treatment and Builds Resilience
Positive psychology treatment helps individuals develop resilience in the face of adversity. If you feel positive emotions, such as optimism and hope, you can better navigate challenges and bounce back from setbacks. Thus, this approach is very effective for anyone who has experienced a setback or a roadblock and wants to get back on track.
Positive psychology can serve as a preventive measure against mental health issues by promoting good emotions and well-being. Enhancing resilience and well-being can reduce the risk of developing mental health problems.
Enhancing Performance Using Positive Psychology Techniques
Positive psychology techniques enhance performance and productivity in various fields, including education, sports, and business. Cultivating happy emotions and strengths can help you achieve greater success and fulfillment in your endeavors. Thus, I often use this approach in my intensive therapy specialties, such as sports psychology, executive coaching, and college admissions consulting.
Positive psychology focuses on identifying and cultivating individual strengths and virtues. By leveraging these strengths, individuals can experience greater fulfillment and achieve their goals more effectively.
Promoting Positive Relationships
Positive psychology emphasizes the importance of positive relationships and social connections in promoting well-being. Techniques such as active listening, empathy, and forgiveness can strengthen relationships and foster a sense of belonging. For this reason, I use positive psychology methods in both couples therapy and family therapy.
Positive psychology therapy promotes flourishing and optimal functioning in individuals and communities by focusing on strengths and meaningful experiences.
The Role of Barriers
This is not to say that we won’t look at roadblocks and challenges; at times, we will look into the past to see where they originated and how they’ve progressed. However, the goal is always to find hope in your ability to overcome any challenges your history has brought your way. Our journey together will lead to a greater understanding of your reservoirs of strength and resilience and, in many cases, rediscovering pockets of self-esteem and competence that have been lost or clouded over time.
Positive psychology works well as a treatment approach on its own and can be used as an adjunct to a more specific form of treatment. I weave these techniques and approaches into most of my work.
Positive Psychology Techniques
Positive psychology has been studied, refined, and empirically proven. We will use evidence-based strategies and interventions to help you lead a happier, more meaningful, and more connected life. This approach can make you feel more profound gratitude, hope, and power. Techniques outside of our sessions may include journaling, mindfulness practices, and strength assessments. Our sessions will explore aspects of your life regarding where things are bottled up, stuck, or blocked and how we can unlock your strength and happiness.
The Positive Psychology Toolkit
Here are some specific tools we may use as part of a Positive Psychology treatment course:
- Character Strengths Assessment: Identifying and utilizing your signature strengths is critical. Tools like the VIA Character Strengths Survey can help you see your character strengths and find ways to apply them in daily life.
- Positive Affirmations: Repeating affirmations regularly can rewire your thought patterns and boost self-esteem and self-confidence. These are statements about yourself and your abilities, and we will work on having you not just repeat them but believe them!
- Mindfulness Practice: Practicing mindfulness involves focusing on the present moment without judgment or overthinking. Regular meditation can reduce stress, improve focus and attention, and increase overall well-being.
- Acts of Kindness: Engaging in acts of kindness towards others can create a nice feedback loop of happiness and well-being. You will begin seeing the world through a different, more optimistic lens.
- Savoring: The practice of savoring involves thoroughly enjoying and appreciating experiences, making them more meaningful and memorable. Sometimes, these experiences are quick and otherwise may have gone unnoticed.
- Visualization: Visualization techniques involve mentally imagining positive outcomes, success, or achievements, which can increase motivation and self-belief. We will work on visualization that captures both the acts and the feelings behind them.
- Flow State Activities: Engaging in activities that challenge your skills can lead to a state of feeling of flow where you feel fully immersed and highly satisfied.
- Three Good Things Exercise: At the end of each day, you may be asked to reflect on three things that happened to you that day and why they made you feel good.
- Strength-Based Goal Setting: Many people stop creating new goals when feeling down or lacking confidence. We will work to align your goals with your character strengths and values to increase motivation and resilience.
- Positive Reframing: Many people suffer from automatic thoughts that turn negative, so we will work on reframing negative situations by finding nice aspects or opportunities for growth.
How Positive Psychology is Different
Positive psychology is designed to assess potential, hope, and transformation. This does not mean that we would ignore barriers and challenges, but rather that we would approach them with the idea of possibilities—that you may be able to overcome them using your strengths or by finding coping strategies that diminish their effect. It also does not mean that we will ignore challenges that have happened in the past, but we will not view them as anchors that make your goals in the here and now unreachable.
Many choose this approach because they want to find or increase hope in the progress of things. They want to work on what might hold them back while staying attuned to what got them there. Positive psychology can easily be paired with other forward-looking approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused therapy.
Summary and Conclusions
Overall, positive psychology is an exciting and promising field that has the potential to transform your life in lasting ways. Even if we do a more focused kind of treatment, such as cognitive-behavioral (CBT), we will still do it within the framework of this approach. You can decide how much our treatment together will be wrapped in this framework – for some, this approach becomes the primary aspect of our work together, but for others, it becomes an adjunct to a more specific approach to therapy.
Here is an excellent article from Psychology Today and Harvard University to learn more about positive psychology.
Positive Psychology in My Practice
I incorporate many of the basic pillars of positive psychology into my work. We won’t ignore the past, but we will not see it as something that has to hold you back. We’ll explore what got you here, but only in the context of how you can move forward and reach new goals. As much as positive psychology is a fairly general approach, your own specific treatment plan will have specific and measurable goals. I use it with individuals and couples and also in psychological testing.
I also use positive psychology in several of my specialty services and intensive therapy services. For example, given that this approach is popular in organizational psychology, I use it in Executive Coaching. I also use it in my college admissions specialty as well, both to reduce stress and open up a feeling of possibility.
I welcome any questions about Positive Psychology and its use in therapy through the contact page.
