Published May 13, 2015 The Royal Gazette - By Heather Wood
Lorrie Peniston has a master’s degree in happiness. It’s not something she pulled out of thin air — she earned it from the University of Pennsylvania. Technically, it’s a master’s of applied positive psychology; the scientific study of the strengths that enable people and organisations to flourish in spite of challenges. Mrs Peniston is the only person on the Island who has it.
“I say I have a degree in happiness,” the psychotherapist said. “Positive psychology is the science of wellbeing. Traditional psychology is about trying to get people back to ‘normal’, positive psychology is about taking them from ‘normal’ and getting them to flourish and thrive.” She hopes residents come out and learn more at Resilient & Ready, a seminar she’s hosting next month.
“One of the myths is that resilience is rare or heritable,” Mrs Peniston said. “Resilience is teachable and [it’s] skills that anybody can learn. It’s the ability to bounce back from adversity and grow and thrive in the face of challenges. The building blocks of resilience provide the psychological capital to confront life’s changes, stresses and difficulties in ways that enhance wellbeing.
“It’s easy to say ‘be happy’ but how do you do that? There are scientific things you can do to boost your wellbeing. The information will benefit anyone who wants to enhance their ability to bounce back from change and challenge in ways that promote growth.”
Mrs Peniston moved to Bermuda in 1994. She worked at Benedict Associates, Ltd and Transitions, Ltd before opening her own practice, Synergy, Ltd, in 2005.
In 2009 she went back to university.
“I had already been in the helping profession for eight years, working with very resistant clients, before I moved to the Island 21 years ago,” she said. “In Bermuda, I was excited to have the opportunity to develop therapeutic relationships with people who wanted to ‘get better’. Although there were the occasional clients that wanted to be happy, most were just looking for relief from pain and struggle. I realised that although I was an effective therapist at helping them recover from the hardships they were facing, I was not helping nor motivating them to move beyond ‘better’. Fixing what was ‘wrong’ or ‘weak’ just removed the weaknesses. It didn’t make them strong and it didn’t make them happy. I went back to graduate school to study positive psychology because I am invested in my own professional growth, but I really wanted to learn how to help my clients raise the bar on their own wellbeing and help them thrive and flourish in their lives.”
She was one of the first to graduate with the then fledgling degree offered by UPenn.
The Ivy League school and the US Army developed the Comprehensive Solider and Family Fitness scheme around the same time. In essence it provided resilience training for US Army officers, non-commissioned officers and Department of the Army civilians; an elite team of therapists taught them skills to enhance their leadership and performance.
Mrs Peniston was asked to assist. She left the Island for the East Coast every other month, for two-week blocks. More than 20,000 senior non-commissioned officers were eventually trained.
“The Army trained its soldiers very well for physical combat but realised they hadn’t prepared the troops psychologically,” she said. “I would travel to Philly and other army installations [teaching] the science of resilience and resilience skills. They became master resilience trainers and they’d go back to teach soldiers.”
She held workshops and team-building exercises for local companies. Many suggested that she offer the training to the broader community.
Resilient & Ready will take place at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on June 4.
A sample of what’s on offer for those who attend: research-driven skills to enhance resilience, myths and scientific facts about resilience, skills to build mental toughness, skills to develop flexibility in thinking and skills to increase optimism.
“I thought it was a great way to reach out to people who aren’t suffering; an opportunity to give them life-enhancing skills but to do so in a way that promotes growth,” Mrs Peniston said.
Raise the bar on your wellbeing
Lorrie Peniston has a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
It’s the icing on the cake as far as her accomplishments go.
The psychotherapist has spent nearly three decades helping people in need of counselling and in 2005 opened her own company, Synergy Ltd.
However, it’s her work with an elite team hired by UPenn that’s now making the news.
Mrs Peniston provides resilience training for a variety of institutions through her work with the Ivy League school.
It’s a theory she studied at UPenn under noted psychologist Martin Seligman. He links five elements to wellbeing:
• positive emotion, which can only be assessed subjectively;
• engagement, which is only measured through subjective means;
• relationships that evolve from the presence of friends, family, intimacy, or social connection;
• meaning from belonging and serving something bigger than oneself;
• the accomplishment of something that’s pursued even when it doesn’t bring meaning or a positive emotion or relationship.
Mrs Peniston will share those lessons at a 7.30pm workshop at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on June 4. Tickets, $35 or $60 for two, can be purchased at www.bdatix.bm or 232-8499.
