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Positive Psychology and Coaching

Writer's picture: Rjurik DavidsonRjurik Davidson

In last week’s newsletter, I suggested that therapy isn’t simply for people who are in crisis or are broken. Here’s what I wrote:

Therapy is an exploration and discovery of who you are, in this place, in this time. It’s the discovery of what it means to be you, in all your uniqueness. It’s the discovery of your identity. Therapy is a return to this authentic self. It’s a rediscovery of the YOU that has been lost over the years. It’s not changing who you are. It’s a return home to who you were and lost along the way.

Since everyone has experienced troubles and difficulties, I suggested, everyone could use a therapist.

But this doesn’t mean that therapy means focussing on those troubles all the time.

Quite often it means focussing on someone’s strengths, on what they give to the world, on the resources they have available to them – which can include skills and talents, friends and other social supports, the things that bring them happiness and joy.

This approach sometimes falls under the term “Positive Psychology”, which focuses on your strengths more than weaknesses, on helping you build the life you want rather than focussing on what’s not working. It focuses on helping you build positive experiences and increase your positive feelings of joy, happiness, confidence and positive traits like strength, optimism, self-confidence.

This is a very important side of discovering who you are – of helping you to live your life authentically. Some questions you might ask yourself:

· What are your strengths? Do you use them enough?

· What do you like to do? Do you do this regularly?

· What is important to you in life? Do you focus enough on it?

· Are you a great musician but haven’t played your instrument?

· Do you recharge in social situations but increasingly stay home?

· Are you a wonderful organiser but haven’t organised anything for years?

· What brings you joy and happiness?

Self-confidence, inner-strength, optimism, hope, and satisfaction come from meaningful activity. Are you living a life that you find meaningful?

All this is one important side of living authentically – of living a life that is true to yourself.

This side of therapy comes close to what is sometimes called “coaching.” The difference is that coaches are usually not interested in your deep psychological makeup. Rather, they’re interested in focussing on what you want to do now and how you’re going to get it done.

They will often use the techniques of different types of therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Exposure Therapy. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are, along with Positive Psychology. They are all sources that I use in my practice too.

For some clients, this is all they need or want.

But it’s also essential for a balanced approach to deep and long-term therapy, which isn’t all about focusing on what has gone wrong, but instead is about you living your best life, where meaning and joy and satisfaction are built into your everyday.

If you want to investigate some of these issues with a therapist, email me at rjurik@me.com or find me on my website at primetherapy.net

Rjurik Davidson

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© 2022 by Rjurik Davidson, Ph.D. Opening Date May 2023.

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