Positive Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Biography

Biography: Robert M Rosalesg

Abstract

People are an organization’s most valuable asset. In our increasingly service-based economies, social relationships and swift coordination among employees are the means by which a lot of work gets done. Thus, whether organizations -and their employees- flourish or languish largely depends on the quality of the social connections they nurture. The quality of the workplace connections can be defined as life giving (high quality) or life depleting (low quality). Positive social interactions facilitate organizational learning, cooperation, effectiveness, and employee loyalty, among many other desirable outcomes (Ragins & Dutton, 2007). While positive relationships give life and energy to individuals and their organization, toxic relationships sap the energy out of them and lead to individual and corporate floundering (Dutton, 2003). A recent survey highlighted that for three out of four U.S. employees their relationship with co-workers was what most engaged them at work (SHRM, 2015). The Gallup Organization (2015) found that a majority (51%) of full-time workers in America are not engaged in their jobs while another 17.5 percent are potentially hostile to their organizations. Positive psychology provides us with interventions that can help bring about high-quality connections, positive emotions, trust, energy and wellbeing. I will define positive relationships at work, with a particular focus on high-quality connections, examine the benefits of high-quality relationships and connections, and provide a framework for building high-quality connections. I will show that high-quality connections are a pathway to building individual and organizational flourishing. optimism, positive emotions, creativity and other aspects of positive psychology facilitate our understanding of the incredible adaptation pattern, to adverse personal/professional events and maintenance of a health/well-being among survivors of diverse backgrounds. Transforming adversity into a growth experience and moving forward in one’s life are outcome of positive characteristics and resilient behavior among youth and adults across cultures. Being raised in Eastern culture with my exposure to yoga, spiritual tradition and healing experience, I strongly believe in the power of positive outlook and its impact on psychological well-being, relational health and healthy workplace climate. This presentation will highlight mixed method research data from her recent projects on resilience, psychosocial correlates, coping strategies, meaning making and post-traumatic growth among diverse groups of women following traumatic events and adversity. Practical implications of these findings on protective factors, empowerment and growth promoting processes across individual, family and organizations will be addressed. Finally, it will highlight the importance of strength based approaches in therapeutic intervention/prevention programs that foster pathways to psychological recovery, growth and build healthy communities at large.