A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

In the mental health professions, scores of conventions and symposiums take place each year, in fields from psychology to psychiatry, social work to school counseling, and everything in between. Events take place within the contexts of academia, as well as the professional world. The annual meeting and convention circuit has been taking on more new causes for congregating lately, though, and the First World Congress on Positive Psychology is a great example of the emergence of new and potentially powerful events.

The Congress took place in Philadelphia, sometimes hailed as the “birthplace of positive psychology.” The event aims to bring together mental health professionals interested in the tenets of positive psychology, which include a focus on the good things and upward trends in individual lives and the world at large, and which embrace a holistic and compassionate approach to therapy. Since its inception, positive psychology has sparked new research initiatives, scientific and academic journals, and specialized degree programs.

Events of note included informal talks and topic-oriented sessions, paneled discussions, and poster sessions covering everything from breakthroughs in related scientific fields to practical applications in professionals’ communities and modern theories and discoveries in psychology and treatment. Dr. Martin Seligman, credited with founding the particular positive psychology movement in 1998, delivered a talk on modern research within the field, accompanied by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. Local as well as national mental health professionals’ groups are abuzz with excitement over the event, which helps to bring positive psychology to a wider audience, and to help professionals interested in the field develop new connections.

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