Positive psychology is a quest into understanding what promotes a happy, meaningful, flourishing life. Dr. Martin Seligman, generally considered the Father of Positive Psychology, was President of the American Psychology Association when he promoted more research into this subject out of a desire to explore a different way of looking at mental health from a multi-disciplinary perspective. His approach was groundbreaking because until then, psychology was primarily concerned with mental illness and paid little attention to mental wellness.

It will help you look at things from a more positive, optimistic and holistic point of view. One thing Positive Psychology is well known for is its study of character strengths. There is an online survey available to find out what your strengths are and what you can do to capitalize on them: https://www.viacharacter.org/

It doesn’t show up explicitly, rather, it provides a foundation. For example, the concept of PERMA (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning and Purpose, Achievement) – life coaching attempts to help a client increase these parameters in his/her life. If it’s appropriate, I might also share some other Positive Psychology concepts or tools which could be helpful for you.

I’m not a licensed psychotherapist so I don’t do counselling. Rather, I offer coaching, which is about personal development. A coaching conversation will focus on addressing your needs and creating the future you want to achieve, rather than healing the past.

Coaching is based on the premise that you are relatively whole and complete. If it’s possible you might have issues which are better served by a counselor or psychiatrist, then I would recommend that you see one before receiving coaching. To complement your treatment, you could also try the other modalities I offer to help you heal yourself before engaging in coaching: Emotion Code, Body Code, MAP.

To learn more about Positive Psychology, please visit https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/