Psychologists who work with people and their concerns have developed a reputation as “problem focused.” Rather than concentrating energy and effort on what’s going well in someone’s life, psychotherapy often deals primarily with what’s wrong. A newer movement in the field called positive psychology is working to change just that.
Noted psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman launched positive psychology in the late 1990s as an alternative to mainstream therapies, which Seligman felt overemphasized the negative at the cost of deemphasizing the good. For instance, a review of the literature published between 1973 and 2003 found more than 54,000 articles containing the word depression and more than 41,000 including the word anxiety, but a mere 400 mentio ned the word joy.
Instead of depression and anxiety, positive psychology focuses on aspects such as personal well-being and fulfillment, with particular attention paid to “authentic happiness.” Positive psychologists teach that anyone can reach this pinnacle; in many cases authentic happiness is a matter of changing one’s outlook on life in order to change one’s life.
Not long ago (but before the recent recession), Dr. David Myers, another well-known positive psychologist, commented on the economic success of our country. Myers said, “We have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale. We celebrate prosperity but yearn for purpose.” Today, that sense of prosperity has been shattered for millions of Americans personally impacted by the economic downturn. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and jobs lost to layoffs have left many people with a less-than positive outlook, but this means now is the time for positive psychology to intercede—working to fill an emotional void in the lives of many.
By accentuating the positive, psychology stands to progress from helping people overcome their problems to helping people find greater purpose in life.
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