It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst and as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology.

‘Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. I think the following explanation from Christopher Peterson, PhD is clarifying and helpful: Many group members assume that it’s about focusing on the good while ignoring the bad. Positive psychology has drawn increasing attention in the past number of years and is often a challenging idea to explain to clients. In my art therapy groups at the inpatient psychiatric hospital that I work at, I’ve been creating new art therapy group themes based on positive psychology principles. A tiny wildflower growing through the concrete. Lately I’ve been using the inspiration from my city walks by incorporating it into some of my art therapy groups. However I still think about the glimpses of nature that I came across in the ‘concrete jungle’ of NYC. Now my family and I live in Massachusetts and I have plenty of access to a backyard, woods, the ocean, farms, and rivers. Nature adapted to life in the city, much like people adapt to the places they live. I was struck by how resilient and persistent the nature in the city was. Some of my favorite discoveries were of little wildflowers growing out of the pavement, hidden gardens behind neighbor’s fences, or ivy tendrils poking through fences along the sidewalk. Whenever I walked around our neighborhood I would pay extra attention to any plants, trees, or animals I came across. The longer I lived in the city, the more I began seeking out nature in the smallest of places. As much as I loved spending time in Central Park and other parks, I missed the ocean, getting lost in the woods, or being able to step outside and right into a backyard.

However, one of the things I missed most while living in the city was nature. The city held many possibilities and I had countless experiences there. NYC is where I went to grad school for art therapy and began my career as an art therapist. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fall, you fail, you hurt. ‘Resilience is very different than being numb. Share Ivy finding a path through the fence…photographed on one of my walks through our Queens neighborhood.

I lost my way yasmin mogahed pdf