97. The New Happiness with Matthew McKay

What comes to mind when you think of happiness? Joy? Pleasure? A sense of fulfillment? While these states of happiness may make us feel truly wonderful, they are temporary and context-specific. Join us for a discussion about the core components of the “New Happiness,” a path for finding a deep and lasting sense of contentment that springs from discovering and acting upon one’s personal spiritual values.

In this inspirational and heartfelt episode, Dr. Matthew McKay, an expert psychologist, professor, and accomplished author provides a fresh perspective on how to cultivate lasting happiness based on psychological research and spiritual wisdom. He also explains the importance of acting on love. Always.

Listen and Learn:

What role can spirituality play in happiness?

How to achieve genuine happiness based on spiritual values and actions

The importance of service values and self-growth values, and why both are necessary to experience a deep sense of connection and happiness

How moments of choice and pain serve us on the path toward happiness

How to love in the face of loss and change

Resources:

Article Diana sent her psychology tribe: “How to be Happy? A Nearly 90-Year-Old Has Some Advice,”article in Glamour Magazine

What Debbie is reading to her kids: Lulu is Getting a Sister: (Who WANTS Her? Who NEEDS Her?) by Judith Viorst

Watch and read more about Dr. Sonia Lyubomirsky’s Pie Chart of Happiness here and here

Read about 5 Gates of Grief here: The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief  by Francis Weller

ACT and Process-Based CBT with Dr. Steven Hayes, “Psychologists off the Clock” Episode

Process-Based CBT: The Science and Core Clinical Competencies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy edited by Steven C. Hayes and Stefan G. Hofmann

About Dr. McKay:

Matthew McKay, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA and co-director of the Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinic with Dr. Robyn Walser. He also co-founded Haight Ashbury Psych Services, a low-fee community clinic, in San Francisco, CA and is the publisher and co-founder of New Harbinger Publications. Dr. McKay specializes in cognitive-behavioral approaches to treating anxiety and depression and co-developed numerous ACT-based protocols, including ACT for interpersonal disorders, ACT for couples, ACT for anger problems, and ACT for spiritual growth.

Dr. McKay is also an accomplished writer, having authored and co-authored several books including The New Happiness: Practices for Spiritual Growth and Living with Intention, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Self-Esteem, Thoughts, and Feelings, When Anger Hurts, and ACT on Life Not on Anger. Dr. McKay received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.

Books by Dr. McKay:

The New Happiness: Practices for Spiritual Growth and Living with Intention by Jeffery C. Wood and Matthew McKay

ACT on Life Not on Anger by Georg H. Eifert, Matthew McKay, and John P. Forsyth

The Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffery C. Wood, Jeffery Brantley

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, and Matthew McKay

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