Publications
We want to make positive psychology easy to access and for this we draw on Miriam’s strengths from her background in communications and the media. On these pages you’ll find all kinds of resources – articles, audio as well as some links we use ourselves. You can also access a copy of The Happiness Training Plan CD, presented by Chris & Miriam. Watch this space too for online versions of our educational and coaching programmes.
Articles
Miriam has written for a range of British newspapers and magazines including The Independent, The Spark, The Source, Venue and City Life. She also writes on positive psychology for the specialist websites Positive Psychology UK and Positive Psychology News Daily.
Beyond Therapy – Putting the positive into practice
Until the late 1990s, psychology was very much focused on the negative aspects of life and had lost sight of the other end of the spectrum like what makes life worth living, what are our strengths and what makes us … Continue reading
Bridget Jones Depression Diary
Depression is running at record levels amongst women and single females face the biggest risk. According to the Priory Hospital, North London, depression has increased by around 30 per cent in the past five years amongst women aged 30-45 – the Bridget Jones generation. Here Miriam Akhtar describes how she succumbed to and later triumphed over the black dog of depression – using positive psychology, singleton style. Continue reading
Positive Surgery
“… but just to be on the safe side, we’ll need to operate”. Those are the words many of us will have to deal with at some point in our lives and which happened for me earlier this year when … Continue reading
The Dogged Pursuit of Happiness: Are Dogs the Positive Psychologists of the Animal World?
The arrival of the First Dog, Bo, into his new kennels at the White House, has got me thinking this month about how our canine companions contribute to our well-being. Amongst my friends for instance, three of them directly attribute … Continue reading
The PE (Positive Emotions) Kit for Depression
The 5th Annual Bristol Happiness Lectures took place at St George’s Hall, Bristol, on the 18th May 2010. The primary topic was Positive Psychology Responses to Depression. This is the first of two articles on the event, focusing on the keynote given by Miriam Akhtar. Continue reading
Audio/Radio Talks
November 2009, BBC Radio 4, Off The Page
Listen to a clip of Miriam, in which she talks about how she used positive psychology to overcome depression and discovered her purpose in life in the process.
Saturday 15th May, Radio Bristol
Miriam joins her co-hosts for the Happiness Lectures for an exclusive preview on Dr Phil Hammond’s show on Radio Bristol. Find out what’s going to be in her PE* kit to cultivate your capacity for happiness.
* PE = Positive Emotions.
Thursday 20th May, BCFM
Miriam was a guest on the Drivetime show on Bristol’s community radio station BCFM, Thursday 20th May. She talked about her work as a positive psychologist teaching people the tools to increase well-being.
Books
Miriam is the co-author of these social history books, all available through Amazon.
The Fifties & Sixties: A Lifestyle Revolution (Boxtree Books, 2002)
The 1950s and 60s witnessed a lifestyle revolution in Britain. As the world recovered from the adversity of war, these two decades saw a spirit of change, a mood of optimism, where Britain transformed itself from a conservative nation into a trailblazer for youth, hedonism and modernity. Written to accompany the ITV1 series of the same name, the book depicts the metamorphosis from a country in black & white to a nation in full colour.
Available from Amazon.
Some Liked It Hot: The British on Holiday at Home and Abroad (Virgin Books, 2000)
The story of British holiday trends is told in first-hand detail by successive generations. How we did like to be beside the seaside; the high camp of hi-de-hi holiday camps; hiking, hostelling and holidays on a shoestring; the caravan craze; the lure of the Mediterranean; the package holiday explosion; the hippy trail; high society holidays from cruising to winter sun breaks; backpacking, extreme sports and beach parties. Accompanied the popular ITV1 series.
Available from Amazon.
Far Out, The Dawning of New Age Britain (Sansom & Co, 1999)
The ‘New Age’ was not a creation of the flower-power 1960s. The roots of the modern counter-culture epitomised by hippie communes and the current ‘mind, body, spirit’ ethos go back much earlier. It really began in the early decades of the 20th century when New Age pioneers had to face public prejudice, ridicule and even imprisonment. Written to accompany the Channel 4 series of the same name, Far Out tells the remarkable stories of the early pioneers and their alternative beliefs.
Available from Amazon.