Q: Joining me today is Positive Psychologist and Happiness Coach Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein. Dr. Barbara is also the author of several books, the most recent being The Truth (I’m a Girl, I’m Smart and I Know Everything), which is a charming and inspiring story for young girls and their mothers. Welcome Dr. Barbara. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.
A: Thanks, I’m thrilled to be here with you!
Q: Let’s start off by having you tell our readers a bit about yourself. How long have you been in practice? What makes a positive psychologist different from other psychologists? What does a happiness coach do?
A: A positive psychologist focuses on what is right about a client rather than what is wrong, while still attending to helping her clients with problems and issues. I am always looking for a client’s talents, strengths, coping skills, and lost potential. A happiness coach is also pointing out talents and working with the client on her potential. Sometimes just having someone help you focus on how to build in more happiness into your daily life can really improve your experience of well-being. I have a free paper about how one can access more happiness in their lives. It is called “The Seven Gateways to Happiness” and is available on the front page of my website.
Q: Do all women have the power to change their lives?
A: Of course we have the power to change our lives. However, circumstances do affect how quickly and how much we can change our lives. And not only external circumstances, I also mean the ways our personalities have developed. If we have a style of seeing the glass as half empty and we’ve been perfecting that style for many years, we have to work on a style change in the way we think, not just changing the way we live. I talk a lot about all of this in my first book, The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, available on Amazon and my website.
