Autumn Years Summer 2024

HEALTH & WELFARE

Are We Good Enough? By Ruth A. Levy, PhD, LMFT

H ave you ever wondered if you enable him to climb skyscrapers. Super man could join in by saying he can bend steel with his bare hands and would take pride in being mistaken for a bird or a plane when flying. However, how about us non-super heroes; can we claim to have any superpowers of our own? Well, maybe not in the comic book kind of way, but Positive Psychology, one of the newest branches in the field of mental health, would answer, yes! The advocates of positive psychology maintain that it is our personal char acter strengths and virtues that give us consistent power to navigate life’s difficult moments and enables us to live up to our fullest, happiest potential. This newer way of emphasizing the positive qualities in people has provided a much valued, essential approach to the field of mental health. The concept that clinicians should recognize and work with the healthier parts of ourselves, as opposed to just our dysfunctional approach to life’s prob lems, experienced a brief introduction following World War II. In reaction to al most a century of studying, researching and treating psychic pain and pathology a few mental health professionals be lieved that the positive nature of people needed to be validated. One such psychologist, Abraham Maslow, is quoted as saying “Freud supplied to us the sick half of psychol ogy and we must now fill it out with the healthy half.” Unfortunately, this op portunistic approach to understanding human nature did not re-surface again possess superpowers? Spiderman could boast that his superpowers

until the early 2000’s, with the official introduction of Positive Psychology. This new movement emphasized the value of learning our own positive qualities that can help us reach our goals, make us happy and build resilience, especially during times of crisis. Martin Seligman, in the late 1990s, while president of the American Psy chological Association, was interviewed by CNN and was asked his opinion of the current state of psychology. He answered “not good enough.” Explana tion given was that by offering the many psychotherapeutic interventions and medication treatments, the field had for gotten to help most of the population that is often referred to as “normal.” The profession was doing a good enough job helping “miserable people become less miserable,” but he argued that it would be better if we also paid attention to what makes a person achieve and grow, especially during times of grief, trauma and conflict. Strengths and Virtues , Seligman named 24 character strengths, categorized by 6 classes of virtues. If we were to identify our positive character traits, we could use them to live a fuller, happier life. Some of the examples of strengths are creativity, honesty, social intelligence, fairness, self-regulation and gratitude. The 6 virtues are wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence. This past year I had the pleasure of working with a patient whose initial reason for seeking talk therapy was adjusting to her husband’s resistance to seeking medical care and problems with family members. I was able to witness Identfying our character strengths In his 2004 book entitled Character

how her strengths of love of learning, social connections and sense of humor helped her resist the pull of negativity and hopelessness. By learning and harnessing the quali ties that make you strong, you can be come not only happier, more self-filled but also increase resilience. Lucky for most of us, some supporters of positive psychology have provided online ques tionnaires, surveys and even courses, many of which are free. Well known Yale psychology professor, Laurie Santos, of fers a free course based on the principles of positive psychology. The course is entitled “Psychology and the Good Life” and can be accessed by logging onto the Coursera website. If you would like to go straight to positive psychology’s signature strengths questionnaire, go to www.authentichappiness.org. There you will answer 240 questions concern ing your interactions with others, your interests and your sense of gratitude, to name a few. A brief strengths survey is also offered with only 24 questions. Circling back to comic book characters: when Linus became concerned that his good friend Charlie Brown was too sad, he suggested that maybe happiness would be good for him. Charlie Brown innocently asked his friend, “what are the side ef fects?” Believers of positive psychology would answer with a definite no —there are no side effects to happiness!

Ruth A. Levy has a private practice in marriage and family therapy in Englewood, NJ, and teaches psychology courses for St. Peter’s

University at Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing in Teaneck, NJ.

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AUTUMN YEARS I SUMMER 2024