Session Nine: Hope and Optimism

Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Thinking about a different and desirable future and finding paths to achieve that future are one of the most remarkable human capacities. Hope and optimism are inherent in this capacity. In Session Nine, clients learn to see the best possible, realistic outcomes. They learn that challenges are temporary and how to develop a sense of hope. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is One Door Closes, Another Door Opens. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to hope and optimism and offers a worksheet to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates how to practice hope and optimism.

Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Session Seven presents clients with the concepts of maximizing, which involves aiming to make the best possible choice, and satisficing, which involves making a “good enough” choice. Clinicians will help clients figure out whether they are maximizers or satisficers. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is Toward Satisficing. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to maximizing and satisficing and offers two worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates how to move Toward Satisficing. Tips for moving Toward Satisficing are also provided.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Positive relationships come in many forms, including family. Biological or otherwise, all family members possess strengths and resources. Due to negative attributions and the negativity bias, these strengths may be less evident. In Session Twelve, clients learn the significance of recognizing the strengths of their loved ones. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is creating a Tree of Positive Relationships. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to positive relationships and offers two worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates positive relationships.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Session Four is the last of the sessions focusing on character strengths and looks at articulating and implementing a written plan of positive, pragmatic, and persistent self-development. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is A Better Version of Me. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to A Better Version of Me and offers a worksheet to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study to illustrate how to write and implement a plan of self-development. Tips for using the A Better Version of Me idea are also provided.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

In Session Three, clients learn about the Aristotelian concept of practical wisdom, that is, the adaptive use of strengths to be used to live a good, meaningful, and virtuous life. These skills teach us how to adaptively apply signature strengths in a balanced way to solve problems. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is Know-How of Strengths. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to practical wisdom and offers three different worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study to illustrate the use of practical wisdom.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Clients report that despite doing many things each day, most of which are done quickly, they still feel stressed, underaccomplished, and tired. Despite speeding up almost everything, including human maturation, we are not any happier or healthier. That is why the “Slow Movement” is attracting attention. In Session Eleven, clients learn how to deliberately slow down and develop an awareness of how to savor. In so doing, they learn to attend mindfully to the positives. The central positive psychotherapy practices covered in this session are Slow and Savor. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to slowness and savoring and offers two worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates how to engage in slowness and savoring.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Following trauma, some individuals develop posttraumatic stress disorder, a serious condition requiring serious treatment. However, following trauma, most people also develop what is called posttraumatic growth (PTG). PTG entails a change of insight into the meaning of life and the importance of relationships. Session Ten invites clients to explore their deep feelings and thoughts about a traumatic experience that continues to bother them. The central positive psychotherapy practice covered in this session is Expressive Writing. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to Expressive Writing and offers a worksheet to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates how to engage in Expressive Writing.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Session Eight expands the concept of gratitude—which was first introduced in Session One in the form of the Gratitude Journal. Session Eight facilitates the client recalling and writing to someone who is alive now and who in the past did something positive but who the client has never fully thanked. The positive psychotherapy practices covered in this session are the Gratitude Letter and Gratitude Visit. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to gratitude and offers a worksheet to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates how to practice gratitude.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

This final session integrates the three phases of positive psychotherapy (PPT): the narrative of resilience (positive introduction), the hope of cultivating a better version of the self, and the aspiration of leaving a positive legacy. Meaning refers to a coherent understanding of the world that promotes the pursuit of long-term goals that provide a sense of purpose and fulfilment. Session Fifteen focuses on the search and pursuit of meaningful endeavors for the greater good, and the central PPT practice in this session is Positive Legacy. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to the Positive Legacy idea and offers two worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study that illustrates Positive Legacy.


Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman

Session Six teaches clients that forgiveness is a process for change rather than an event. This session explains what forgiveness is and what it is not. The central positive psychotherapy (PPT) practices covered in this session are writing a Forgiveness Letter and REACH, which is an approach to forgiveness, as follows: Step One: R = Recall an event; Step Two: E = Empathize from the perpetrator’s point of view; Step Three: A = Altruistic gift of forgiveness; Step Four: C = Commit yourself to forgive publicly; and Step Five: H = Hold onto forgiveness. The chapter provides a list of readings, videos, and websites that relate to forgiveness and offers two worksheets to practice the concepts learned in the chapter. The chapter also includes a real-life case study about forgiveness.


Author(s):  
Eleonora FIORE ◽  
Giuliano SANSONE ◽  
Chiara Lorenza REMONDINO ◽  
Paolo Marco TAMBORRINI

Interest in offering Entrepreneurship Education (EE) to all kinds of university students is increasing. Therefore, universities are increasing the number of entrepreneurship courses intended for students from different fields of study and with different education levels. Through a single case study of the Contamination Lab of Turin (CLabTo), we suggest how EE may be taught to all kinds of university students. We have combined design methods with EE to create a practical-oriented entrepreneurship course which allows students to work in transdisciplinary teams through a learning-by-doing approach on real-life projects. Professors from different departments have been included to create a multidisciplinary environment. We have drawn on programme assessment data, including pre- and post-surveys. Overall, we have found a positive effect of the programme on the students’ entrepreneurial skills. However, when the data was broken down according to the students’ fields of study and education levels, mixed results emerged.


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