Psychology for Positive Change

Welcome to Psychology for Positive Change, a new blog which focuses on constructive applications of psychology to everyday living.

Why read this blog?

You may want to read this blog if you are interested in the following:

• How we can all use psychology to support our own or others’ functioning and wellbeing.
• Coaching and coaching psychology (the application of psychological theories and approaches to support enhancement of performance, development and wellbeing in the broader population).
• Positive psychology (the science of optimal human functioning).
• How coaching psychology and positive psychology can make a difference to children, either directly or through work with the adults who care for them.

Why am I starting this blog?

Psychology – the scientific study of how we think, feel, behave, learn, interact and develop – has been the subject of my heart for many years.  While I find the subject fascinating, the main reason I’m passionate about psychology is because of its potential to make a positive difference to lives and society through real-world applications.  The detail of what difference psychology can make, and how it can make that difference in day-to-day living, is what I want to capture in this blog.

What will the blog feature?

The blog will mainly feature stories that fall into three themes:

1. Stories about how psychology has been relevant to my own life and work
 
From my own perspective, psychology is something that is relevant in many domains of my life.  For example:
 

• I see the difference that psychology can make in my work as an Educational Psychologist – how it can help children to make progress in their learning and development, and how it can help the staff in schools to effectively provide for the children under their care.
• I see the impact that psychology can have in my work as a Coaching Psychologist, when I’m supporting the adults in schools to achieve enhanced standards of functioning and wellbeing so that they can be at their best for the benefit of the children.
• Psychology is relevant to my work as a trainer and mentor, in that it helps me to provide others with development opportunities that are informed by an understanding of how others learn most effectively.
• I see the impact and relevance of psychology when I’m parenting my own children, endeavouring to provide them with a relationship and experiences that, hopefully, will help them to grow into happy, resilient, and capable adults.  At least, that’s the idea!

 
So sometimes I may share how psychology has been relevant to my own day-to-day reality, in order for you to determine if it speaks to you about your own experience.  I will be interested to hear your views about the extent to which that is the case.
 
2. Stories about how psychology has been relevant to the lives and work of others
 
What I have also noticed over the years is how psychology can be relevant to other people’s lives and situations, for example:

• A leader who may be trying to engage others in moving towards a vision
• A manager who is trying to get the best out of his or her team, or wondering how to work with resistance when they encounter it.
• A teacher who wishes to improve the quality of teaching and learning, or how they manage behaviour in their classroom.
• A Learning Support Assistant who needs to ask questions in a way that facilitates and deepens a child’s learning
• A Learning Mentor who wishes to gently challenge a child’s negative self-perceptions and help them to develop a more optimistic view of their nature and potential.

Psychology can inform how people give feedback, challenge others, motivate, nurture, support... The list goes on.

So another feature of this blog will be occasional stories about how psychology has been relevant to other people’s situations and experiences.  Again, if you have comments or experiences that can add to our understanding, I will be very grateful to read them.
 
3. Stories and information about how psychology can help us all to make positive changes
 
Perhaps the most widespread application of psychology I can see is how we can apply it in order to achieve positive changes in our own lives.  For example, psychology can help us to:
 

• Connect with and pursue what truly matters to us
• Experience a more satisfying professional life
• Develop greater emotional intelligence
• Become more resilient
• Find more confidence
• Develop enhanced self-awareness
• Experience greater wellbeing
• Recognize and harness our strengths in order to achieve our goals
• Motivate ourselves and others
• Manage conflict with others
• Recognize and overcome the negative influence of self-limiting beliefs
• Take more control of our lives and situations
• Deal with setbacks and adversity

 
That’s quite a list of qualities and tools, and ones that I am sure we would all like the future members of our society to have.
 
So in writing this blog, I will also share information and stories that are relevant to the above themes.

My Approach

In all blog posts I will endeavour to make psychology simple, accessible, relevant and practical.

Summary

In summary, then, I’m starting this blog because I’m passionate about psychology and how it can make a positive difference to lives and society.  My aim is to share stories and information that may prompt you to reflect on how psychology is relevant to your day-to-day reality, and to also provide a forum in which you may wish to share your own thoughts or experiences.  Themes explored will include:
 

• How psychology has been relevant to my own day-to-day experience
• How psychology has been relevant to others’ everyday realities
• How we can apply psychology to achieve enhanced standards of functioning and wellbeing.

 
I hope you find this blog of interest.  If you wish to receive notifications about future blog posts, then simply submit your email address on the form on the homepage of this website.
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark