Dr. Biswas-Diener is the foremost authority on positive psychology coaching and has consulted with a wide range of international organizations on performance management and talent development. He conducts trainings on coaching, strengths, positivity, courage and appreciative inquiry with organizations and businesses around the world. Dr. Biswas-Diener has trained professionals in America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and the Middle-east. He has a Doctorate in social psychology, a Master’s degree in clinical psychology, and is an ICF certified coach.
Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is widely known as the “Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology” because his research on happiness has taken him to such far-flung places as Greenland, India, Kenya and Israel. He is a leading authority on strengths, culture, courage, and happiness. He has published over fifty scholarly articles and multiple books on diverse psychological topics.
He is a member of American Counseling Association (ACA) and International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS), as well as a Certified Mentor Coach. Since 2006, he has been active on several editorial boards, including Journal of Positive Psychology, Journal of Happiness Studies, and Coaching: An international journal of theory, research, and practice.
Books:
The Upside of Your Dark Side (2014), The Courage Quotient (2012), Positive Psychology as Social Change (2010), Positive Psychology as Social Change (2010), Practicing Positive Psychology Coaching (2010), The Strengths Book (2010), Happiness” Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth (2008) and Positive Psychology Coaching (2007)
Session length: 45 minutes
Coaches have long debated the extent to which it is appropriate to focus on emotion. Skeptics worry that too much attention to emotion encroaches on the professional territory of psychotherapy. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that it is impossible to tackle goals or motivation without some attention to emotion. In this presentation, we will discuss major theories of emotion and how they might effectively inform coaching. In particular, we will address:
— Common myths and biases regarding emotion
— The function of emotion
— The relation of emotion to self-defeating behaviors
1. List three common myths related to emotion
2. Describe the specific function of at least two emotions
3. Name two self-defeating behaviors related to emotion
Session length: 90 minutes
Diagnosis is often associated with medicine and related clinical practices. As such, it has long been anathema to coaching. Here, we begin with an understanding of diagnosis from its basic etymology, meaning “to discern or know well.” Understood this way, diagnosis is a natural bedfellow to coaching. The powerful questions that are central to all coaching can be used to gain a greater appreciation of the client experience and process. In this presentation, I will give three examples of how coaches can use diagnosis to understand their clients and to direct exploration and brainstorming. These examples all come from positive psychology topics and include: flow, interest, and hope.
1. Explain the relation between confusion and interest
2. Describe flow theory
3. Use hope theory in a diagnostic fashion with coaching clients