POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY COACHING:
The Science of Happiness
Positive Psychology is the youngest of the various types of psychology practiced today and although a coach does not treat mental disorders and illnesses, I have studied and I’m Certified as a Positive Psychology coach. To help answer the question of what positive psychology is and what the positive psychology coach does, I believe it helps my clients to know the short version of its basic history.
The History of Positive Psychology Coaching
In 1998, Dr. Martin Seligman, a research psychologist, author and teacher at the University of Pennsylvania became the President of the American Psychology Association. Being an expert in psychology and knowing well the tremendous contributions research had made to advanced the treatment of mental illnesses, Dr. Seligman proposed similar scientific models and methods of research to determine what is working or will work for a person to be happy and flourishing in their lives.
Dr. Seligman set as the goal for the APA, a standard for scientific studies, data collections and analyses of various human traits and characteristics, inherent and learned, including optimism, motivation, individual strengths and individual virtues. In other words Dr. Seligman and his colleagues learned much of “what works” to create the best possible life for human beings. He reported that science has illuminated 3 components of happiness:
- Pleasure (or positive emotion)
- Engagement
- Meaning
As a positive psychology coach serving the Baltimore, Maryland and surrounding areas , I will use the scientific techniques, methods and tools developed as a result of many scientific studies to help you ENVISION YOUR GOAL, USE YOUR STRENGTHS TO MOVE THROUGH TRANSITIONS and ACHIEVE LASTING HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE.
