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How can virtue, psychology and spirituality help you flourish?

Only 20 % of the U.S. population appears to be flourishing - characterized by an enthusiastic commitment to personal and professional growth and resilience in the face of disappointments.

Psychologists traditionally focused on relieving depression and anxiety. Now, positive psychology aims to maximize positive emotions in the face of life's challenges through living a virtuous life.

Explore the role of Christian spirituality in living a virtuous - and therefore flourishing - life. Your guide, pioneering psychologist, professor and Jesuit priest John J. Cecero, applies concepts from his book, Praying Through Lifetraps: A Psycho-Spiritual Path to Freedom to explain how lifetraps, core fears and experiences, prevent us from flourishing. With fresh insight, he will explore depression, anxiety and isolation, as well as various forms of impulsivity and addictions to processes (e.g. work, gambling, shopping, sex, etc.) and substances (e.g., food, alcohol, drugs, etc.).

These talks illustrate how Christian spiritual tools can powerfully supplement psychology to help flourish. You will gain specific guidelines and spiritual practices to cultivate gratitude, temperance, humility and forgiveness, among other key virtues, in the service of flourishing.

The series concludes with specific recommendations for cultivating and sustaining a spiritual path. The final talk addresses an issue of paramount importance in today's world, namely the call to exercise forgiveness.

With this order you will receive, free of charge, a detailed Electronic Study Guide. With your confirmation email, you will receive a link that will take you to this Electronic Study Guide, which includes outlines for each topic, review questions and suggested readings for further study. The link to access this Electronic Study Guide will also be included on the case of your CDs or DVDs. You are allowed to print up to 7 copies of your guide. Simply click on the link, or type it into your browser, to access the file.

About Your Presenter

Fr. John Cecero, a Jesuit priest and clinical psychologist, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Fordham University. He is also Rector of the Jesuit Community and Director of the Center for Spirituality and Mental Health at Fordham.

Fr. Cecero researches personality assessment and the role of spirituality in mental health. He published Praying through Lifetraps: A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Freedom (Resurrection Press, 2002). Father Cecero maintains a part-time clinical practice, in which he sees individuals and couples for outpatient psychotherapy.

Topic Titles

• From Healing to Wholeness Practicing a Spirituality of Flourishing
• The Lifetrap of Abandonment
• The Lifetrap of Dependence
• The Lifetrap of Unrelenting Standards
• Depressed or Just Feeling Blue?
• Spirituality and Anxiety Disorders: Panic Disorder, OCD, General Anxiety Disorder
• Using Spiritual Strategies
• Beyond Isolation and Fearfulness
• Spirituality for Impulsive Personalities
• Practicing a Spirituality of Confidence
• Confronting Workaholism
• Prayer as Instrument of Light and Life
• Effectively Using Spiritual Direction
• Guidelines for Spiritual Reading
• Sabbath Time
• Practicing Forgiveness