Positive Psychology

After studying Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy for a total of 9 years, I have stumbled upon a very young and wonderful area of study now available to professionals in the Psychology field. Dr. Martin Seligman is the leading researcher and expert in the field of Positive Psychology. He is also the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and founding director of the Positive Psychology Center. A past president of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Seligman is the author of Authentic Happiness and (with Christopher Peterson) of Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification

Positive Psychology is exciting to me because for so long the field of Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work has been problem centered. Day in and day out in our area of study and in our careers we fixate on what is wrong with our client's and inevitably what is wrong with society. I'm sure many of you are thinking that identifying problems is necessary at times... and it is. However, I believe that this strength based approach will make therapists and others in the helping profession even more effective in the communities we serve.

The following information is taken from: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/index.html

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Positive Psychology has three central concerns: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. Understanding positive individual traits consists of the study of the strengths and virtues, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance.

Some of the goals of Positive Psychology are to build a science that supports:

1. Families and schools that allow children to flourish
2. Workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity
3. Communities that encourage civic engagement
4. Therapists who identify and nurture their patients' strengths
5. The teaching of Positive Psychology
6. Dissemination of Positive Psychology interventions in organizations & communities

For more information on Positive Psychology, please visit the link above to the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center website.