Around two-thirds of clients are in distress, according to a study on positive psychology in coaching.
This approach helps clients refuel their energy to get on with their lives, stimulates action to progress, and is a constructive tool for change, said Lucy Ryan, presenting the results of her action research study at the annual European Mentoring and Coaching Council conference in Amsterdam in November, writes Liz Hall.
Ryan said using language such as ‘happiness’, ‘gratitude visits’ and ‘random acts of kindness’ makes positive psychology hard to sell into business. “It needs a language of its own. You need to treat positive psychology with an elegance and subtlety.”
The study was carried out between April and December 2008 among nine experienced coaches, analysing 102 sessions in which positive psychology was introduced, as well as reflections, interviews and journal entries.
Meanwhile, Felicia Huppert, director of the University of Cambridge’s Well-being Institute, said a more positive attitude towards ageing and the need for older people to connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give, will be crucial for individuals and communities as we confront the new realities of ageing, writes Paul Fisher.
At the 2009 Meyler Campbell Annual Lecture, Huppert presented five approaches to mental well-being, developed by independent ‘think-and-do’ tank, the new economics foundation. Through a positive mental state, she argued, older people can have a broader focus of attention, generate more ideas, and contribute more. Ageing is “malleable”, she claimed, and increased well-being can have an enormously positive impact.
Volume 5, Issue 1