by Positive Psychology Coach Mac Bartine

I began studying Positive Psychology, the newest official school of psychological study and practice, 9 months after the untimely death of my wife due to breast cancer.

Before my studies in positive psych began, my B.S. and M.S. in psychology helped me to know I was in trouble emotionally and mentally.  But I was unable to do anything that moved me forward, or even that stopped me from spiraling further into depression.

My wife and I had decided to wait to have children so we could work on our careers first; then she’d been diagnosed with an aggressive case of breast cancer at 33, and suddenly it was too late for children.  Two years later, my wife was gone, I was utterly wiped out, and I felt completely alone.

The difficulty of that situation is understandable without further explanation.  What may not be understandable is how much my course of study in positive psych helped me to turn that tail spin around.

I’ve since taken on the role of positive psychology coach, and I’m using my training and education to help people to live better, more fulfilled lives.

Let me tell you a little bit about positive psych.

History of Positive Psychology

Founded by then American Psychological Association president Martin Seligman, the school of positive psychology has set out to serve the 70% of the world population who do not suffer from any regular mental illness.

In the early days of psychology at the beginning of the 20th century, psychology was the study of three different areas of human mental life: (1) What’s wrong, and how do w e fix it, (2) What’s good and how do we learn from that, and (3) the study of exceptional people, and what can the rest of us learn from these individuals.  These were all legitimate, growing branches of psychological study and practice.

Then the GIs came home from WWII with multiple types of mental trauma, and the US government started giving professional psychologists money to help the GIs to deal with their post traumatic stress syndrome and other war traumas.  Money and clients flooded the market, and psychologists from all three branches became professionals who focused on “what’s wrong, and how do we fix it?”  The other two branches – “what’s good”, and “what’s exceptional” – withered and died.

For the next  60 years, with few exceptions, psychology professionals researched and practiced in the one remaining branch of psychology.  Then Martin Seligman, president of the APA, officially started the rebirth of the other two branches of psychology under the new school of Positive Psychology.

The Ivory Tower vs Self Help

One of the focuses of the newest school of psychology is to meet the rigor and scientific method developed over the last 100 years of psychological research — how do we know with certainty when something is working — with the plain speak and populist nature of self help books.

Put another way, positive psych is accessible like pop psychology and self help, but it’s based on scientific method, so it isn’t just some “guru” talking up his latest idea.  It’s peer-reviewed research-based facts in easy-to-read format.

Positive Psychology Topics, Methods and Coaching

As a positive psychology coach with an advanced degree in psychology and training under one of the top professors in the field, Tal Ben-Shahar, I work to help my coachees implement methods taught in positive psych.  These  include mind-body connection, self-esteem / self efficacy, dealing with perfectionism, visualizing, journaling, building strong relationships, character strengths, benefit finding, and others.

Contact me to learn more about my Positive Psychology Life Coaching services, my sliding fee scale based on your income, or any other questions you may have.

Here’s to better living through positive psychology!