How to Tell Anyone Anything

APPENDIX B

Strength-Based Psychology: The Basis of Painless Communication

Years ago, the field of psychology—and for that matter, human relations in general—revolved around the deficit-based model that we discussed earlier, the focus of which was on fixing what was wrong with oneself. You received psychological treatment if you had problems, you were sent to anger management classes if you were angry, and you went to marriage counseling when you and your spouse were at war with each other. In recent years, a new strength-based movement has been gaining popularity, first changing the way we do psychotherapy, later changing the way we deal with people in fields ranging from business and sports, and much more recently, influencing the way we communicate ...