Positive Psychology

A strengths-based approach to counseling that looks not only at what is hurting, but at what helps life feel meaningful, connected, and worth living.

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What is Positive Psychology?

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the conditions that help people and communities flourish. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, deficits, or what has gone wrong, it also pays attention to strengths, relationships, meaning, engagement, resilience, and the parts of life that contribute to wellbeing.

That doesn’t mean ignoring pain or trying to put a positive spin on difficult experiences. Therapy still needs room for anxiety, grief, trauma, conflict, disappointment, and the realities of life. Positive Psychology simply broadens the question. Alongside What is hurting? we can also ask: What is working? What matters to you? What gives you energy? Where do you already show strength? What would make life feel fuller rather than simply less difficult?

I use Positive Psychology as one part of a larger therapeutic approach. Sometimes the work is about reducing distress. Sometimes it is about processing something unresolved. And sometimes a person is functioning reasonably well but wants to feel more connected, purposeful, engaged, or intentional in the life they are building.

What can Positive Psychology help with?

Positive Psychology can be especially useful when therapy isn't only about decreasing symptoms, but also about strengthening the parts of life that support wellbeing and resilience.

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  • Exploring what gives your life meaning, energy, interest, and a stronger sense of connection to the person you want to be.

  • Identifying capacities you already have and finding more intentional ways to use them rather than viewing yourself primarily through deficits or problems.

  • Looking at the quality of your connections and identifying ways to build relationships that feel more supportive, reciprocal, and meaningful.

  • Understanding where you feel interested, absorbed, challenged, or energized and creating more opportunities for those experiences in everyday life.

  • Clarifying what feels worth investing in when life has become overly routine, reactive, or disconnected from a larger sense of purpose.

  • Setting meaningful goals, recognizing progress, and building a sense of competence without turning achievement into another source of pressure.

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Using the PERMA framework

The PERMA framework of Positive Psychology provides a simple way to look at the different conditions that support wellbeing and to identify where you may want more intention, balance, or growth.

Engagement

Noticing the activities, roles, or challenges that help you feel absorbed, interested, capable, or fully present, and looking for ways to create more of those experiences.

Relationships

Exploring where you feel connected, supported, valued, or lonely, and considering what might help your relationships feel more reciprocal and meaningful.

Meaning

Getting clearer on what gives your life a sense of purpose or significance, whether through relationships, work, faith, creativity, service, or other deeply held values.

Accomplishment

Looking at goals, progress, competence, and mastery in a way that supports wellbeing rather than turning achievement into another source of pressure.

Positive Emotion

Making room for experiences like joy, gratitude, interest, hope, and contentment — not to avoid difficult emotions, but to make sure distress isn’t the only thing getting our attention.

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PERMA isn’t a checklist for becoming happier. It gives us a practical way to notice what’s already supporting your wellbeing, what may be missing, and what you want to build more intentionally.

  • No. Positive Psychology isn’t about forcing optimism, ignoring pain, or finding a silver lining in everything. It focuses on wellbeing, strengths, relationships, meaning, engagement, and flourishing while still making room for grief, anxiety, trauma, conflict, and other difficult parts of life.

  • Positive Psychology can be used alongside other therapeutic approaches. We can work directly with distress while also paying attention to the strengths, relationships, routines, and experiences that support resilience and wellbeing.

  • PERMA stands for Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. I use it as a simple framework for noticing what’s already supporting your wellbeing, where something may feel thin or out of balance, and what you may want to build more intentionally.

  • No. It can also be useful when life is functioning reasonably well but you want to feel more engaged, connected, purposeful, or intentional in how you’re living.

  • No. I use Positive Psychology within licensed mental health counseling. It can include strengths, goals, and wellbeing, but it remains part of psychotherapy and can be integrated with ACT, EMDR, DBR, and other clinical approaches when appropriate.

Frequently asked questions

Wondering if Positive Psychology might be a fit?

You may not be looking only to feel less distressed. You may also want more connection, meaning, engagement, or a stronger sense that your life reflects what matters to you. Positive Psychology gives us a way to work toward that intentionally.

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