Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
Brad Desmond
University of Melbourne, Australia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother
The central objective of CBT remains helping people identify dysfunctional cognitions and acquiring skills to change them. And while there are varied approaches to CBT, most treatment protocols tend to be prescribed uniformly across patient cohorts. More recently Positive Psychology has opened more scope for tailoring CBT techniques to individual patients as informed by prior assessments of the patientâ�?�?s strengths. For example Fl�?¼ckiger & Grosse Holtforth (2008) found when practitioners spent five minutes reviewing a patientâ�?�?s strengths immediately prior to sessions there were improvements in therapeutic alliance and outcomes. Moreover; further to involving the patientâ�?�?s strengths in CBT, this presentation will argue the next, logical progression is for greater involvement of the practitionerâ�?�?s own personal strengths in the work of therapy. In the first instance this is intended to enhance the therapeutic alliance through deeper authenticity and congruence. There are also the benefits of practitioner resilience and the experience of â�?�?flowâ�?�? as documented elsewhere in the Positive Psychology literature. This presentation will draw from research and case studies to illustrate the â�?�?danceâ�?�? between the respective strengths of the patient and the practitioner, as they work towards deeper therapeutic alliance and better therapeutic outcomes.
Brad Desmond is an award winning positive psychologist with twenty years’ experience supervising counselling and mental health programs. He is a member of the editorial board of Positive Psychology Program based in the Netherlands and a member of the Positive Psychology Interest Group at the University of Melbourne.
Email: info@lifepsychology.com.au