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Legendary
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,914
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Legendary
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,914
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positive psychology
Dear Bizi and Minymo,
My sis and I used to do the picking thing. A doc put her on an SSRI and she got worse so she stopped the med. I gradually stopped the behavior -- mostly around the time I met hubby but maybe my anti-anxiety meds helped too.
You might be interested in Positive Psychology:
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.up...u/Default.aspx
I just registered and took the the Brief Strengths Test.
I came out high on Integrity, Kindness, Fairness.
This kind of psychology focuses on what we are good at and gets us to focus on that.
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.up...ter.aspx?id=52
Another arrow in the quiver
Positive Psychology is not remotely intended as a replacement for psychology-as-usual. Clinical psychology and biological psychiatry have amply demonstrated that they can make the lives of suffering people less unhappy.
Fourteen of the major mental illnesses are relievable today and two are curable; none were treatable fifty years ago. This work must and surely will go on. The severely depressed, single mother is one of its many beneficiaries. But she is also concerned with integrity, meaning, kindness, and being a good parent and citizen.
We overcome our suffering not only by healing damage and repairing what is broken within ourselves.
More commonly we overcome troubles by doing end-runs around them, by deploying our highest strengths as buffers against the setbacks of life.
And these domains-buffering, strength, pleasure, and meaning--long neglected by psychology-as-usual, are the subject matter of Positive Psychology.
So Positive Psychology seeks not to replace, but to add another arrow into the quiver of clinical psychology, biological psychiatry, psychiatric social work, marriage and family counseling, and coaching.
In the last five years, Positive Psychology has discovered interventions that build more happiness by nurturing the Pleasant Life, the Good Life, and the Meaningful Life.
Also,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology
Quote:
The development of the Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook represents the first attempt on the part of the research community to identify and classify the positive psychological traits of human beings.
Much like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of general psychology, the CSV provides a theoretical framework to assist in developing practical applications for positive psychology. This manual identifies six classes of virtue (i.e. "core virtues"), made up of twenty-four measurable character strengths.
The introduction of CSV suggests that these six virtues are considered good by the vast majority of cultures and throughout history and that these traits lead to increased happiness when practiced.
Notwithstanding numerous cautions and caveats, this suggestion of universality hints that in addition to trying to broaden the scope of psychological research to include mental wellness, the leaders of the positive psychology movement are challenging moral relativism and suggesting that virtue has a biological basis.
The organization of these virtues and strengths is as follows:
1) Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective
2) Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality
3) Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
4) Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
5) Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility, prudence, self control
6) Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality
Practical applications of positive psychology include helping individuals and organizations correctly identify their strengths and use them to increase and sustain their respective levels of well-being.
Therapists, counselors, coaches, and various other psychological professionals can use the new methods and techniques to build and broaden the lives of individuals who are not necessarily suffering from mental illness or disorder.
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The web has lots of links for positive psychology.
Here is another one:
http://www.positivepsychology.net/
Mari
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