Positive Psychology in Practice

Dr. Pat Gwyer
Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Chartered Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Chartered Scientist

Ms Sarah Lewis
Managing Director and Principal Psychologist at Appreciating Change, London

Tim LeBon
Author of Wise Therapy (Continuum, 2001) Achieve your Potential with Positive Psychology (Hodder 2014) CBT Therapist in NHS (part-time) and Psychotherapist & Philosophical Life Coach in private practice Short Course Lecturer at City Uni and City Lit London

Major Andy Shaw Royal Marines (retired)
Founder of The Mountain Way Helping Veterans Overcome Post Traumatic Stress

Dr. Fredrike Bannink
Clinical Psychologist & Master of Dispute Resolution. International author, speaker & trainer. Therapy, training, coaching & mediation, Amsterdam. Positive psychology, positive CBT & Solution Focus

Miriam Akhtar MAPP
Positive psychologist and one of the UK‘s leading practitioner of positive psychology, Trainer, Coach, Visiting Lecturer, contributor to the World Book of Happiness and the World Book of Hope and Author of 5 books including Positive Psychology for Overcoming Depression and What is Post-Traumatic Growth?

Sok-ho Trinh | BSc, MSc, MBA, CPCC, ORSC, PhD applicant.
CEO & Co-Founder of Institute of Passion, Passionologist, lecturer, Positive Psychology coach, PhD researcher in Positive Psychology on the topic of Passion, University of East London

Vanessa King MAPP (University of Pennsylvania)
Board Member, Head of Positive Psychology and Workplaces for social movement Action for Happiness. Vanessa studied Positive Psychology under Martin Seligman. She is the author of two evidence-based books - 10 Keys to Happier Living and for children 50 Ways to Feel Happy. An international speaker with two TEDx talks, she consults in wellbeing and resilience for a wide range of organisations, communities & individuals.

Dr. Vikki Barnes
Clinical Psychologist and National Lead for Positive Psychology People and Service Team Virgin Care Limited

Keith Cowley
Positive Psychologist, Coach and Public Speaker President Elect, International Positive Psychology Association (Student division)

Dr Jolanta Burke
Senior Lecturer Associate DL Programme Leader for MAPPCP School of Psychology University of East London

Liz Robson-Kelly MAPPCP
Director Worth-it Projects (Social Enterprise) Ltd

Dr. Eva Hertz
Dr. Eva Hertz, Founder of Center for Mental Robusthed, Copenhagen. Clinical psychologist, author and lecturer at Aarhus University, Master of Positive Psychology.

Dr. Tim Lomas
Lecturer in Positive Psychology at University of East London University of East London

Lynne Wealleans
Director of Policy and Engagement, Beth Johnson Foundation

Sandra Euringer, M.A. Sociology,
Creative Arts Therapist and Coach, Yoga teacher (RYT 500) and Yoga Nidra teacher in private practice

ABOUT DANUBIUS HOTEL REGENTS PARK

• Address: 18 Lodge Road St. John's Wood , NW8 7JT London
• Tel: +44-20-772-27-722
• [email protected]
• Website: www.danubiushotels.com

GUEST SERVICES

• Airport limousine
• Theatre Desk for all London's West End theatres
• On site secured Hotel Car Park
• Fitness Zone

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT

• Minsky's Restaurant
• Traditional Afternoon Tea with Live music
• Traditional Carvery on the weekends
• The Pavilion Bar with big screen (Sky Sports)

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

• Regent's Park London & London Zoo
• Lord's Cricket Ground, St. John's Wood & Abbey Road
• Baker Street with Madam Tussauds and Sherlock Holmes Museum
• Marylebone
• Camden Market
• Marble Arch, Oxford Street & Shopping in London, West End
• Wembley Stadium

MEETINGS & EVENTS

• 11 meeting rooms with Natural Daylight, free Wifi
• Business & Conference Hotel Facilities
• Wedding receptions and Private Parties
• Corporate Hospitality, Training Course, meeting
• Business Meeting & Conference Packages

What can you learn in our practical and interactive workshops?

Positive Psychology in the Workplace
Led by Dr. Vikki Barnes
Clinical Psychologist and National Lead for Positive Psychology People and Service Team Virgin Care Limited

“Happier people are more productive people” There is a strong relationship between staff wellbeing and happiness and productivity, absenteeism, and the quality of care provided. In order to provide effective and efficient health care, the whole health service needs to ensure their staff are well looked after and as well and happy as they can be.

High staff well being, satisfaction and happiness is known to increase staff motivation, creativity and performance and reduces sickness absence, counter productive organizational behavior and disruptions. These factors are all important in today’s financially restrained economic climate.

There is also a strong link between staff wellbeing and happiness and the patient-reported experience. An individual’s recovery and wellbeing is very much influenced by the relational aspects of the care received, staff whose wellbeing and happiness is high are typically kinder and more compassionate towards patients as they are able to manage their own wellbeing and stress. This can create a virtuous cycle of wellbeing, for if staff wellbeing is good, it is likely that they will perform better in their jobs, when people perform better in their jobs their happiness and wellbeing is increased. These positive staff attributes are often transmitted to patients through the staff-patient relationship.

An additional value of helping staff improve their own wellbeing and happiness is that such training can provide indirect and implicit skills training in wellbeing and happiness that the staff can, through their interactions with their patients, share with their patients. This allows staff to discuss with those that they care for possible ideas and strategies that the patient themselves could use to improve their own wellbeing and happiness as an adjunct to the direct care that staff provide.

MyDots / Model of Life Growth Workshop
Led by Keith Cowley
Co-founder, MyDots Wellbeing Psychologist, Coach and Public Speaker President Elect, International Positive Psychology Association (Student division) Wellbeing Researcher, Action for Happiness

"Putting insight into action, connecting your dots. Our workshop demonstrates skills for resilience and wellbeing through an interactive deep learning experience. For practitioners, this experience can help you to teach these skills to others to help them cope with the stresses of modern day life, or as part of delivery of organisational training to help bring teams together and facilitate effective change. You can also use the skills yourself to help you to be a more effective and resilient practitioner.

MyDots is founded on our Smarter-Growth evidence based approach which blends coaching, clinical and positive psychology with neuro, cognitive and evolutionary psychology to help people connect the dots in their life. Insight and awareness without action does not produce change. Action without insight and awareness often produces ineffective change. This workshop demonstrates how to use mindfulness to create SMART 'er' goals through Evaluation and Reflection. Also, how to use mindfulness with the GROW 'th' model to identify the Tactics needed to develop awareness as a skill and more effectively, learn new behaviours which become Habits. Incorporating an understanding of human behaviour and cognitive process into the SMARTER-GROWTH approach ensures that we work with, not against our human and abilities and so don’t work harder but smarter. This means that we can connect our dots and achieve lasting sustained positive change."

Positive Cbt - From Reducing Distress To Building Success
Led by Fredrike Bannink
Clinical Psychologist & Master of Dispute Resolution. International author, speaker & trainer. Therapy, training, coaching & mediation, Amsterdam

Recent decades have witnessed a surge in the development of competency-based, collaborative approaches to working with clients. Positive CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) reveals how traditional CBT becomes Positive CBT by shifting the focus of therapy from what is wrong with clients to what is right with them, and from what is not working to what is, thus creating a more optimistic and hopeful process to help clients and therapists flourish. Drawing on insights and techniques from both Positive Psychology and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Fredrike Bannink reveals how Positive CBT combines the best elements of change-based and meaning-based psychotherapeutic approaches to offer a new perspective on traditional CBT. This transition represents an important shift from problem analysis to goal analysis, from a focus on deficits and the learning of new behaviours to one that builds on resources and competences clients already possess and from reducing distress to building success.

Prof. P.Gilbert: “Positive CBT changes what we focus on and how we work in helping people change.” Prof. W. Kuyken: “What Bannink is doing is radical, synthesizing CBT with the psychology of resilience in a grounded and pragmatic way.”

After the workshop the attendants will have:

• Knowledge of Positive CBT and how it is different from traditional CBT
• Skills to enhance positive emotions and hopeful and optimistic conversations
• Practical Positive CBT tools (e.g. positive FBA)

Description workshop

Keynote presentation and exercises for experience-based learning.

Content:

• What is Positive CBT?
• How is Positive CBT different from traditional CBT and how can it be combined?
• What is the role of the Positive CBT therapist?
• How to find competences, resources and what works to build successes within a CBT framework

Peaceful Dying – a conscious and life-affirming approach
Led by Sandra Euringer, M.A. Sociology
Creative Arts Therapist and Coach, Yoga teacher (RYT 500) and Yoga Nidra teacher in private practice

Peaceful Dying – a conscious and life-affirming approach

Mindful and loving care for a patient or family member is one of the most challenging situations. But before we can give to others we first have to be at peace with our own mortality and fears. It is about facing and not about avoiding a difficult situation. The best preparation to support others during their dying processes is to prepare yourself for your own death. Face your own fears first, face your attachments, your ignorance and your egoism. Once you can truly stay within, connected with your inner stillness, silence and spaciousness it will be easy to connect with the other person… you will be able to perceive his or her needs because you can keep your own self out. This might sound very easy but if you look how most people are dying you will see that their needs are neither met nor are they seen. Most care takers never have learned to keep their own self out. The moment you are fully connected and conscious with the dying person, this moment often time will stop, your ego will disappear and there is just this moment of being, of oneness. It has the possibility to become a moment of deep love and a life changing experience.

Therefore the Peaceful Dying approach focuses on different aversions and obstacles as well as on supportive connection tools. It can be seen as a torch guiding a safe way through an unfamiliar territory. From this perspective also the dream and sleep states can be seen as little deaths that will offer opportunities to train and to prepare… and to experience a different consciousness during day and night. Especially in the Tibetan Bön tradition the dream- and dreamless states during sleep are regarded as nightly training opportunities for the process of dying. From the same tradition stems a way of being with the pain; again it’s about taking the grip from the obstacles so that they have space to dissolve.

The approach is embedded in Yoga Nidra:

Yoga Nidra – Introduction: Yoga Nidra is a systematic approach for inner balance and deep relaxation. Important is the position of an inner neutral observer: wherever your consciousness will go, tension will sooner or later dissolve; like lightening a room with a torch. First you just might experience a state of deep relaxation. Usually 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra are said to relax your body like two hours of sleep. The moment the body is separated from negative thought patterns its revitalisation and restoration begins, often followed by a raised state of consciousness and the experience of being fully in the “now”; past and future will be cut off. The moment the mind becomes one-pointed e.g. during body rotation or breath work, the experience of pain will stop. Therefore Yoga Nidra is very beneficial for the treatment not only of acute pain but also for minor surgery. The treatment of chronical pain will use the one-pointedness of the mind as well but rather to experience the pain from a different perspective, e.g. Yoga Nidra - Dissolving pain and resting in peace. In this case the higher state of body awareness will help to offer space for the movement of the chronic pain while exploring the different perceptions within the body parts. Yoga Nidra also involves the use of a symbol for your higher consciousness and therefore will strengthens your connection to that that gives meaning to life; that what connects. This might be a symbol for nature as well as a saint’s name.The unformatted experience of your inner mind screen (Chidakasha) will allow your subconscious mind to take a different perspective and to find new solutions.

Still one of the most important roles, when it comes to responsible problem solving, will have your inner intention, vow or resolve. Think of it as a quality that you already have, something that you have been caring unnoticed along all your life, a strength, a gift; something that will help you in your current situation. It is important to make a very conscious decision when it comes to your intent. Choose one intent and stay with it until it has become part of your life. Usually it’s best to keep it short and positive, e.g. like “I’m strong”, “I’m peaceful”, “I’m following my intuition” etc. Take your time to find out what you need at this moment to support you, choose a positive affirmation in the presence (not the future, e.g. avoid using “I will be…”) and experience it as it already has manifested in your life… everything will be possible the more flexible your mind will become.

Usually Yoga Nidra is practised by a lying position on the floor, often called dead man’s pose. For many this position is too relaxing and soon they will fall asleep. Therefore it is also possible to practise in a seated position with your back straight, like in a meditation position that you can hold for 30-45 minutes. Most important is that you will be able to hold the position without moving during the practice. So you might like to experiment a little with what is best for you. Even being supported with several cushions while resting in an armchair can work well for some.

Once you realise that you will be able to deal with any difficult situation, there will be a huge expansion and inner peace within your body.

The easier it will be for you to enter the state of Yoga Nidra the more you will become aware which parts of Yoga Nidra will work best for you. So you might cut some parts and just concentrate on a few but it is highly recommended to always include the body awareness and/or breath awareness

According to Patanjali, often called the grandfather of Yoga and composer of the 196 Yoga Sutras, there are five mental states holding us back from experiencing joy and peace in any given situation: ignorance, egoism, attachment, fear in general and the fear of death.

From egoism and attachments towards gratitude and joy:

Usually the most beautiful moments in our lives are those when we feel connected and when there is no ego involved. But the letting go of the ego is one of the most difficult tasks. It might be ok to let go of material possessions but letting go of unresolved conflicts gets already very difficult, so letting go of the “I” –identity is one of the biggest challenges we will face in our lives… and the experience that happiness can be there, even when we are living in most difficult circumstances, will offer a new perspective to handle difficult situations.

From Ignorance and fear towards hope and connection:

Fearing a situation, a person, a decision or pain can put you under an enormous stress level, often unconsciously. As you go through life, often triggers of past experiences are pushed and suddenly the experience of a tense body arises, sweating, headaches etc. Fear can be seen as lacking connection with yourself, as not knowing who you really are. Therefore often you might look outside to identify with a job, a partner a social status etc. instead of looking inside. But the outside will change and with change will come fear and the rise of problems. So how can you best deal with fear? Not by avoiding it but by allowing to connect with it from within. So the key word is “connection”. Finding a new way to connect not only within yourself but also to connect in a new way with your fears.

Chronical pain from a different perspective: Usually the body is a perfect self-regulating and self-healing system. You don’t have to think about healing. It is just happening. But sometimes this self-regulating system gets stuck: like a record that will repeat the same part over and over again until the dirt is removed, so will the body need readjustment if the self-healing regeneration is out of balance. The problem is that the body seems to have lost its flexibility and knows only one way of behaviour, but this specific behaviour is causing long-term pain. The stronger the pain, the more the focus will be on “surviving the stressful situation” instead of finding a healthy reconnection. But there is always a choice and always an underlying balanced state available, the body just has to find the reconnection. So the focus is on zooming into the affected area, becoming aware of the different experiences of pain. This might first sound like self-torture but the more you become familiar with the method, the more will you feel the choices of experiences and the spaciousness that will be still available in your body. And most important is that you will be going to explore the pain safely anchored within your own inner stillness, silence and spaciousness… So become an explorer and find out that the patient on the table is yourself, waiting to be seen and healed.

Positive Psychology Coaching
Led by Dr. Jolanta Burke
Senior Lecturer Associate DL Programme Leader for MAPPCP School of Psychology University of East London

Positive Psychology Coaching

The complementary nature of both positive psychology and coaching psychology fields has been long recognised. However, a systematic approach to practicing positive psychology coaching has been largely ignored with both researchers and practitioners recommending to use positive psychology interventions or some of its theories, however, not embracing the comprehensive nature of a positive psychology coaching practice. During the talk, Dr Burke will present a conceptual model for a Positive Psychology Coaching practice and provide some direction as to what coaches might do, in order to truly fully positive psychology into their practice, so that they improve their clients’ chances of reaching their full potential.

Positive Education
Led by Liz Robson-Kelly MAPPCP
Founder & CEO Worth-it Projects (Social Enterprise) Ltd

Positive Education

This workshop will introduce the UK application of applied Positive Psychology in education. The session will cover how international approaches have been adapted to fit the needs of UK schools, currently struggling with an epidemic of Children and Young people’s mental health problems. The workshop will introduce practical strategies for applying positive education, with links to the literature and case studies from the UK, examples from both primary and secondary education.

Positive Ageing Practice
Led by Lynne Wealleans
Director of Policy and Engagement, Beth Johnson Foundation

Positive Psychology in Practice

The Beth Johnson Foundation

Positive Ageing Practice; approaching later life with optimism This is the journey of the Beth Johnson Foundation (BJF), a voluntary sector organisation based in North Staffordshire, in exploring with community members what works in relation to promoting positive ageing and the practical application of positive psychology in enriching peoples’ lives.

The starting point for BJF was a purely practical approach about what we need to think and take action about as we are getting older; planning for retirement and later life. It became clear that we also need to consider the psychological preparation for entering transition points in life and we incorporated mindfulness and CBT techniques; tools that people could learn for themselves and apply to their own lives.

BJF has found the aims and techniques associated with Positive Psychology to be a powerful approach for our communities and for ourselves as individuals and as a staff team in approaching older age/later life with optimism.