Positive Psychology 101: Getting Started
- What does it mean to thrive?
- Why this matters for both clients and clinicians
- Common myths about happiness
- The “second wave” of psychology: building lives worth living
- How strengths-based interventions improve outcomes
- Evidence-based and clinical implications
- Research, risks and treatment limitations
A Simple 5 Part Model for Helping Clients Thrive
- Positive Emotions: savoring, gratitude, joy journaling, three good things
- Engagement: flow theory and helping clients find “flow”
- Relationships: skills for building healthy social connections
- Meaning: Viktor Frankl meets modern science
- Achievement: self-determination theory and why goals matter
The Positive Psychology Intervention Toolbox
- Tools to Cultivate Gratitude
- Toxic positivity v. gratitude
- Daily 3-2-1, gratitude letter/visit, pictures, etc.
- Finding and Using Strengths to Enhance Wellness
- VIA Survey of Character Strengths
- Using strengths in practice (spotting, amplifying, deploying)
- Strengths-based case formulation
- Optimism & Hope
- Learned optimism & explanatory style (Selligman)
- Best possible self exercise
- Reframing techniques
- Self-Compassion Techniques
- Kristin Neff’s components (mindfulness, common humanity, kindness)
- Practices: Self-compassion break, be a good coach
- Grit and Resilience: Strategies to Help Clients Bounce Back
- Angela Duckworth on grit
- Bounce-back factors in trauma and hardship
- Growth mindset, post-traumatic growth
- Incorporating into CBT, ACT, and relational approaches


