About the Course
This introduction to positive psychology topic will look at the concepts of happiness and wellbeing, subjective wellbeing in relation to research and a few myths. Then we will briefly touch on the history of happiness and how our understanding has developed over time with the research. This will lead on to the development of PERMA; the wellbeing theory developed by Martin Seligman who has brought the spotlight back on what makes people generally happier in life within positive psychology research. PERMA stands for Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. Then we will look at the 6 main topics that make up the course as well as the tools and strategies that will be considered in more depth throughout the course.
The 6 main topics
This course looks at 6 topics within positive psychology as well as tools and strategies that are evidence-based to help us toward improved wellbeing and to flourish in our lives.
Strength
Here the focus is on exploring strengths in everyday actions, the value of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, ways to identify your top strengths and how to build upon them.
Positive Experiences
Here the emphasis I on exploring the meaning of positive experiences, hopes and fears around considering them, why they are important to well being, the advantages of negative experiences of emotion and what brings you positive experiences.
Self Compassion
This is about exploring the difference between compassion and kindness, barriers to self-compassion, why it is important to well being and how we can foster our own self-compassion.
Optimism and Pessimism
Here we look at exploring optimism and pessimism as explanatory styles and how these influence well being, considering the helpful and unhelpful aspects of both and ways to balance our approach to past negative experiences.
Positive Relationships
This focuses on exploring your current positive relationships and what the foundations of these are, considering the way that we interact with others and how to develop active, constructive responding.
Mindset
Here we explore where our mindset comes from, the difference between a fixed and growth mindset, the helpful and unhelpful aspects of both, how to develop a growth mindset and the benefits of this to our well being.
Activities Within the Course
The activities within this course are intended to help with self-reflection and personal growth. You will often be asked to consider how you think and feel about the activities and topic content. Not everything in the course is going to be helpful for you, it is individual which tools and strategies will bring the most benefit. It is recommended that you try everything within the course at least once and then continue with the activities that have helped you the most.