Positive Therapy

И

Positive Psychotherapy is an effective, science-backed short-term therapy method (6–15 sessions). The concept’s name, developed by N. Pesechian and his son H. Pesechian since 1972, stems from the Latin *positum* — meaning 'existing, real' — rather than *positivum* — 'positive'. This highlights the need to address both positive and negative aspects of a person’s life and challenges while broadening their perspective.

The approach focuses on achieving inner and outer harmony, nurturing personal strengths, and fostering constructive responses to difficult situations. It involves problem-solving, goal-setting, and identifying pathways to success. Clients learn to become their own therapists throughout the process.

Ирина Алексеевна Селивановская

И

In my practice, I rely on positive psychotherapy. The core aim of this method is to help clients learn to live in a way that strengthens their resilience, fosters health, and nurtures respect for their own uniqueness.

This approach is applicable to exploring and transforming any area of life: the body, activities, relationships, and intuition.

Potential outcomes of positive psychotherapy include:

Clients may gain:
• A fresh perspective on past experiences;
• A new attitude toward troubling events;
• An alternative action plan for familiar discomforting situations.

Clients can learn to:
• Reframe their symptoms or discomfort by asking, “What purpose does this situation serve for me?” and “What am I learning by overcoming this challenge?”;
• Discover untapped resources and abilities that can enrich their lives;
• Recognize that they are the foremost experts in their own lives.

The general counseling principles align with other methods:
Client:
• Shares their experiences, feelings, and sensations;
• Records observations highlighted by the therapist;
• Selects from the options provided the ones that resonate with them;
• Extracts lessons from their dialogue with themselves and the therapist.

Therapist:
• Guides the client’s choices, offering diverse perspectives and solutions;
• Ensures the relevance and appropriateness of the methods used in each specific case;
• Assigns reflective exercises or tasks.

Ирина Владимировна Журавлёва

Positive psychotherapy operates on the principle that all people are born with fundamental capacities—love and knowledge. As we grow, learn, and adapt to life’s conditions, these capacities evolve into personal strengths that shape our character and individuality. Everyone develops these strengths differently; some may be overdeveloped, while others remain underdeveloped, leading to imbalance. The therapist’s role is to help restore this balance. The approach also emphasizes four key spheres of energy distribution and conflict processing: the body, activities, relationships, and meaning. In times of conflict, individuals may retreat into one sphere—over-focusing on physical care (or neglecting it), immersing themselves in work (or falling into apathy), limiting social interactions (or seeking endless distractions), or losing touch with life’s purpose (or escaping into fantasy). Achieving harmony requires balancing these spheres, recognizing personal resources, and aligning actions with desired outcomes. This is a structured, short-term therapy that incorporates techniques from various schools while staying rooted in the core principles of positive psychotherapy.

Olena Serhiivna Romashko

Imagine a person standing in the middle of a square on one leg. Soon, the muscles of the overloaded leg begin to cramp, making it harder to maintain balance, while the awkward posture tenses the entire body. The pain becomes unbearable, and the person calls for help. Those around respond—one massages the leg they’re still standing on, another tries to loosen the stiffened neck muscles, and a third, seeing them about to fall, offers a supporting hand. Finally, someone else approaches and asks, "Why are you standing on one leg? You have another one. Stand on it."

Clients bring not only their problems to therapy but also the capacity to overcome them. The therapist’s role is to help them do just that.

In positive psychotherapy, clients learn to:

- recognize the positive aspects of a conflict, disruption, or illness;
- understand the paths that led them to their current situation;
- identify their inner resources;
- shift focus to other areas of their life;
- see opportunities hidden within the conflict, disruption, or illness;
- articulate what was once painful;
- openly discuss challenging aspects of their relationships with their partner;
- find resources and solutions to resolve conflicts;
- set new life goals;
- become their own therapist and support those around them;
- independently navigate life’s difficulties.

Sessions often incorporate parables, metaphors, and exercises drawn from other therapeutic approaches.

Halyna Nesmashna

М

One can summarize the story of Positive Psychotherapy by focusing on current abilities (values and "points"), or on the four spheres of conflict response (body, activity, contacts, and fantasy). Or you can take the path that holds the deep wisdom of this approach—the path of parables and associations.
"Positive" does not mean blindly optimistic, seen through rose-colored glasses. Positum in Latin means "objective" or "real." The task of a therapist working in the positive key is to help the client see the true state of affairs. Here, an association with a landowner fits well: he buys new lands, descends from the mountains, and as the fog dissipates before him, he sees what resources he truly has at his disposal. And then, of course, he uses those resources for his own good and for the good of his loved ones.
What I love about Positive Psychotherapy:


The ability to trace the origins of a client’s behavioral traits and reactions, helping them understand and realize these roots.


The positive approach is not limited to explanations alone. The therapist inspires the client to take new steps, make changes, and take action, as well as helps develop a plan to improve the situation.


The positive approach encourages looking at the problem from a completely new angle, often the opposite of the one the client initially brought. And the client, to their surprise and relief, finds an unexpected solution.


The language of parables, full of Eastern charm, weaves delicately into the conversation, intertwining with it and bringing a touch of magic to every session.

With respect and positivity

Мария Петрусь

Ю

Positive psychotherapy focuses on mobilizing a person’s inner resources to make conscious decisions even in the most challenging life situations.

The positive approach doesn’t imply naive optimism or rose-tinted glasses. Instead, it’s a realistic and constructive stance that acknowledges reality as it is. The method helps individuals not fight the world but accept it in all its diversity, finding inner harmony and confidence.

As an old Eastern parable goes: long ago, in a city, there lived a Master surrounded by disciples. The most talented of them wondered, "Is there a question the Master couldn’t answer?" He caught the most beautiful butterfly in a meadow, hid it in his palms, and asked the Master, "Is the butterfly in my hands alive or dead?" The Master, without looking at his hands, replied, "Everything is in your hands."

Positive psychotherapy helps people navigate the fast-paced modern world without losing themselves, rediscover their purpose, and believe in their ability to live happily—just as a bird is made for flight, so too is a person made for a fulfilling life.

Юлия Александровна Фалеева

Positive Psychotherapy, developed by Nossrat Peseschkian, is an innovative approach to personal growth and improving interpersonal relationships. It is built on three core principles: a positive perception of the individual, a content-focused analysis of life situations, and the use of a five-stage therapeutic model. The central idea is to cultivate a positive self-image in the client, fostering trust, friendship, and mutual understanding while overcoming cultural barriers. Peseschkian emphasizes the development of healthy potentials and relevant personal strengths, employing differential analysis and specialized questionnaires. The primary goal of therapy is to identify and activate the client’s inner resources to overcome challenges and adapt to change. The system views psychological disorders not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth, highlighting the importance of unlocking untapped abilities and potential.

Svitlana Anatoliyivna Otenko

Positive Psychotherapy (PPT, developed by Peseschkian since 1977) is a humanistic psychodynamic approach created by psychiatrist and psychotherapist Nossrat Peseschkian and his colleagues in Germany. Originating in 1968, this method is grounded in the belief that individuals possess an inherent positive potential that therapy can help unlock. PPT integrates elements of humanistic, systemic, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral therapies to provide a holistic treatment framework. Today, training centers and workshops in Positive Psychotherapy operate in over twenty countries worldwide. It is important to distinguish this approach from positive psychology.

Mariia Vovk

Positive psychotherapy stands out for its rapid results in restoring mental health, unlocking personal potential, and teaching clients to independently overcome life’s challenges. Its core idea revolves around working with a person’s existing strengths rather than focusing on their problems or symptoms. While everyone is born with inherent abilities, life’s conflicts often lead to psychological disturbances. The therapist’s role is to harmonize these strengths, restore balance, and expand personal boundaries. This approach also encourages broadening one’s value system and breaking free from limiting beliefs imposed by upbringing, socialization, or cultural heritage. It helps individuals see their lives more holistically, rather than getting stuck in repetitive cycles of behavior without recognizing the mental barriers holding them back.

Maryna Ivlieva