Lesson 6.3: Positive Psychology Coaching — Building What's Strong

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Explain the PERMA model and apply it across coaching contexts
• Use the VIA Character Strengths survey as a coaching tool
• Identify and coach for flow states
• Distinguish positive psychology coaching from toxic positivity
• Design coaching interventions that build strengths while acknowledging difficulty

What Is Positive Psychology Coaching?

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living. Founded by Martin Seligman in the late 1990s, it shifted psychology's focus from repairing damage to building flourishing. Positive psychology coaching (PPC) applies these findings to coaching: rather than focusing primarily on problems to solve, PPC focuses on strengths to build and conditions for thriving.

This does not mean ignoring difficulty. A common misconception is that positive psychology is about "thinking happy thoughts" or bypassing pain. Good positive psychology coaching holds both: it acknowledges the client's struggles and challenges while simultaneously building the resources, strengths, and conditions that enable resilience and growth.

"The aim of positive psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life." — Martin Seligman

The PERMA Model

Seligman's PERMA model identifies five pillars of well-being. Each is pursued for its own sake (not as a means to another end) and each is measurable.

P — Positive Emotions

Experiencing joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love. This is not about relentless positivity but about cultivating a ratio of positive to negative experiences that supports flourishing (research by Barbara Fredrickson suggests a ratio of roughly 3:1).

Coaching application: Coach clients to identify what generates genuine positive emotion for them, build routines that include those activities, and savour positive experiences rather than rushing past them.

E — Engagement

Being fully absorbed in an activity — a state of flow (see below). Engagement comes from using your highest strengths to meet challenges that are matched to your skill level.

Coaching application: Help clients identify activities that produce time-distortion and deep absorption. What are they doing when they lose track of time? How can they design more of their life around these states?

R — Relationships

Positive relationships are one of the strongest predictors of well-being. Humans are social creatures, and connection matters across all dimensions of life.

Coaching application: Explore the quality of the client's relationships. Who energises them? Who drains them? Help them invest in relationships that matter and set boundaries around those that do not.

M — Meaning

A sense of belonging to or serving something larger than the self. Meaning can come from work, spirituality, family, community, or causes.

Coaching application: Help clients articulate what gives their life meaning. This is not about grandiosity — meaning can be found in small daily acts of service, connection, or craftsmanship.

A — Accomplishment

The pursuit of achievement, mastery, and competence for its own sake. This includes goal attainment but also the sense of making progress and being effective.

Coaching application: Help clients set meaningful goals and celebrate progress. Watch for overemphasis on accomplishment at the expense of other PERMA pillars.

Character Strengths and the VIA Survey

The VIA (Values in Action) Classification identifies 24 character strengths organised under six virtues. The VIA Survey (viacharacter.org) is a free, scientifically validated assessment that identifies an individual's signature strengths — their top 5-7 strengths.

The six virtues and their strengths:

Coaching applications:

• Spotlight strengths: Have clients take the VIA survey and reflect on how they currently use their top strengths and how they could use them more.
• Strength-spotting: Notice when a client is using a strength in session and name it. "I am noticing your perseverance showing up right now. Is that one of your signature strengths?"
• Underuse and overuse: Every strength can be underused or overused. For example, kindness underused becomes coldness; kindness overused becomes enabling. Help clients find the "goldilocks zone" for each strength.
• Strengths in challenge: When a client faces a difficulty, ask which strength could help them navigate it.

Flow State (Csikszentmihalyi)

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described flow as a state of complete absorption in an activity where time seems to disappear, self-consciousness vanishes, and the activity itself is intrinsically rewarding.

Conditions for flow:

1. Clear goals every step of the way
2. Immediate feedback on progress
3. Balance between perceived challenge and perceived skill (challenge slightly exceeds skill)

Coaching for flow:

• Have clients track their daily activities for one week, noting when they felt most absorbed and energised.
• Identify the conditions that enable flow for each client (some people need solitude, others need music, others need a deadline).
• Help clients design their work and personal time to maximise flow opportunities.
• Be aware that flow looks different for different people — for some it is coding; for others, gardening; for others, conversation.

Positive Psychology vs. Toxic Positivity

This distinction is critical. Positive psychology is scientific and evidence-based. It acknowledges negative emotions as valid and useful. Toxic positivity is the cultural pressure to suppress negative emotions and "stay positive" regardless of circumstances.

As a coach, if you hear yourself saying "look on the bright side" or "everything happens for a reason," pause and check: are you serving the client or protecting your own discomfort?

Practical Positive Psychology Interventions for Coaching

1. Three Good Things — Client writes three things that went well each day and why. Increases gratitude and positive emotion (Seligman, 2005).

2. Using Strengths in a New Way — Client picks one signature strength and uses it in a new way each day for one week. Significantly increases happiness and decreases depression (Seligman et al., 2005).

3. Gratitude Visit — Client writes and delivers a letter of gratitude to someone who has been kind but never properly thanked. Produces a large and lasting increase in happiness.

4. Best Possible Self — Client writes about their best possible future self in a domain (career, relationships, health). Increases optimism and positive affect.

5. Savouring — Client practises intentionally savouring positive experiences (taking a mental photograph, sharing the experience with someone, reflecting on it later).

Assignment

1. Complete the VIA Character Strengths survey at viacharacter.org (free, ~15 minutes). Write a 300-word reflection: Were your top strengths what you expected? How do you currently use them in your coaching or professional life?

2. Design a coaching session plan based on the PERMA model. For each of the five pillars, write one assessment question and one intervention you could use with a client.

3. Coach a peer or volunteer client through the "Best Possible Self" exercise. Write a 200-word reflection on what you noticed about the client's engagement and what insights emerged.

4. Create a CoachSheets worksheet titled "Strengths in Action" that guides a client through identifying a current challenge and then asking which of their signature strengths could help them navigate it.

Knowledge Check

• What are the five pillars of the PERMA model?
• Name three of the six virtues from the VIA Classification and at least one strength under each.
• What are the three conditions required for a flow state?
• What is the difference between positive psychology coaching and toxic positivity?
• How can a coach use the concept of strengths underuse and overuse?
• Name two evidence-based positive psychology interventions and briefly describe each.

External Resources:

• PositivePsychology.com — Comprehensive toolkit of PP interventions
• VIA Character Strengths Survey — Free, scientifically validated strengths assessment
• Martin Seligman — Flourish — Authentic Happiness website with questionnaires
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — Flow — Overview of flow research
• Barbara Fredrickson — Broaden-and-Build Theory — Positive emotions research