Dear CTH Colleagues,

Our past CTH issues have focused on the ways positive psychology can be applied to coaching, consulting, teaching, and to our personal lives. 

We have paid little attention to the application of positive psychology research in psychotherapy itself.  One reason, perhaps, is that in the US it has been vitally important to distinguish between coaching and psychotherapy.  And, as a psychologist who for a time was in private practice and who has worked with thousands of helping professionals transitioning to coaching, I can promise you that it has been even more important to sharply draw the very real boundaries between the two domains. 

Then too in Marty Seligman's Authentic Happiness, he distinguishes between helping people move from minus six to minus two (psychotherapy and "psychology as usual") versus helping them move from plus two to plus eight (positive psychology and such interventions as coaching).

However, it is important to ask how does positive psychology inform psychotherapy?  This is the subject of the new book, Positive Therapy.  So who better to address this question than its authors: P. Alex Linley and Stephen Joseph.

This is your invitation to join me in asking them questions for our March Interview.  It will take place on Monday, March 12, 2007.  You can register below.

In our next issue, I'll talk about the recent 2nd International Coaching Conference in Tel Aviv.  It was the very first conference ever to focus on the link between Coaching and Positive Psychology.  It was exciting, and I'll share with you what I learned.

Until next time,

Ben

Ben Dean, PhD

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1. Join us for an interview with Alex Linley and Stephen Joseph about their new book Positive Therapy: A Meta-Theory for Positive Psychological Practice.

This book is a must-read for anyone serious about applying the concepts of positive psychology in their coaching or therapy practice.  It is a quietly radical new look at how to engage with clients and help them to have fuller and more satisfying lives.

Positive psychology emphasizes the need to understand the positive side of human experience, as well as understanding and ameliorating psychopathology and distress.  Positive Therapy explores the relevance of positive psychology to therapy.  Stephen Joseph and Alex Linley argue that therapy is not so much about what you do as how you do it, emphasizing the influence of the views we hold about human nature on our approach to therapy, and the importance of the relationship between therapist and client over the technique of the therapist.  They consider the full range of positive therapies and illustrate the application of the approach in relation to their own work in the field of posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth.  Finally, they discuss how positive therapy focuses our attention on our social and political context.

THE INTERVIEW
DATE: Monday, March 12, 2007
TIME: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Eastern (New York Time)
9:00 am - 10:00 am Pacific (San Francisco Time)
Global: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm UTC/GMT (London Time)

REGISTER HERE.

ABOUT ALEX LINLEY, Ph.D.

Alex Linley is Director of the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology, where he dedicates his time to developing and delivering the benefits of applied positive psychology in work, education, and health.  His research and practice is specifically concerned with the identification, measurement, and applications of psychological strengths, and include work with organizations as diverse as Norwich Union, Unilever, BAE Systems, the Royal Society, and Northamptonshire LEA, and speaking engagements throughout the UK, Europe and the United States.

Dr. Linley has Psychology degrees from the University of Leicester and the University of Warwick. He has over 40 publications, including the edited volume Positive Psychology in Practice (Wiley, 2004), and the co-authored book Positive Therapy: A Meta-theory for Positive Psychological Practice (Routledge, 2006). He was a founding member of the European Network for Positive Psychology, and currently serves as an Associate Editor of The Journal of Positive Psychology and Co-Editor of the International Coaching Psychology Review. His time outside work is spent with his wife and four children.

ABOUT STEPHEN JOSEPH

Stephen Joseph is Professor of Psychology, Health & Social Care at the University of Nottingham, where he is co-director of the Centre for Trauma, Resilience, and Growth, and an Honorary Consultant Psychologist in Psychotherapy in Nottinghamshire HealthCare NHS Trust. Stephen graduated in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and was awarded his PhD in 1991 from the Institute of Psychiatry, London. Stephen is a senior practitioner member of the British Psychological Society's Register of Psychologists who specialize in Psychotherapy. Stephen's research interests are in the study of traumatic stress, resilience and growth following adversity, and in positive psychological applications to therapy. Stephen is co-editor with Alex Linley of Positive Psychology in Practice, and co-author of Positive Therapy: A Meta-theory for positive psychological practice.

Hosted by the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP), the 1st Applied Positive Psychology Conference is the first event of its kind to examine how positive psychology research is being used in the fields of work, education and health.

If you are a coach, consultant, HR practitioner, educator, psychologist, or researcher - and you are interested in helping people to be at their best in work, education, or health - then this conference is designed for you. It will provide unrivalled opportunities for interaction and networking with thought leaders and practitioners in this emerging field as you learn about the latest developments in research and practice.

For further information or to download a full pdf brochure.  To register.

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