Onward and Upward: Building Personal Capacity and Getting What You Want Out of Life

By Michael W. Brand

Onward and Upward: Building Personal Capacity and Getting What You Want Out of Life is a guide that will help you develop the competencies you need to be successful in life. This is not a “quick fix” solution. But this little book does present an approach that will allow you to better understand why life problems and challenges get you down and why troubling symptoms like depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress and interpersonal conflicts get in your way. Onward and Upward provides a clear guide for understanding how problems develop and more importantly a strait forward format for developing the competences you need to be successful. Onward and Upward will teach you how to increase your personal capacity so you will be able to cope better with the tribulations we all face in life. Life problems and challenges are ubiquitous; there is no escape. However, it is possible to build personal capacity and become a more resilient individual. Based on the accumulated research from medicine, the social sciences, psychology and the author’s experience helping thousands individuals overcome hardships, Onward and Upward identifies six essential individual competencies that build personal capacity. This guide will help you assess yourself and develop a plan to increase your competence and create resilience. The six essential individual competencies are: Cognitive Reflection, the ability to think about your thinking; Affective Regulation, managing your feelings; Personal Power, finding meaning and purpose; Interpersonal Stability, maintaining stable relationships; Social Support, develop a supportive network, and Health Behaviors, developing healthy habits. Once you understand the competencies and have completed your personal inventory the author provides tips on how to develop the competencies that will allow you to defeat life’s struggles. This approach to overcoming life problems and challenges is a strengths based approach. It builds on your current strengths and capabilities. It focuses your attention on what you can do rather than getting bogged down in trying to understand your past mistakes, problems or traumas. Onward and Upward: Building Personal Capacity and Getting What You Want Out of Life is strait forward, easy to read and understand, yet it conveys the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of some of the most respected researchers and practitioners in fields of medicine, neuroscience, psychology and the social sciences. It provides a guide that when applied will build resilience and personal capacity and allow you to get what you want out of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael W. Brand
• Release date: Nov 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311906120

Michael W. Brand

Dr. Brand received a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Abilene Christina University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work from the University of Texas- Arlington. He has over 25 years of experience as a clinician, educator and researchers. Dr. Brand provides individual, marital and family and group psychotherapy. He is a Medical Services Officer in the United States Army Reserve and served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) providing mental health services. Dr. Brand served as a senior clinical administrator in several behavioral health systems in Texas, Idaho, and Oklahoma for 15 years before beginning his academic career. As educator, he has taught at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels in social work, counseling, psychiatry and public health. Dr. Brand is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in the treatment of mood disorders, psychological trauma, substance use disorders and the psychosocial aspects of pain and illness. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and adjunct faculty in College of Public Health. Dr. Brand is a Diplomate and certified member of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, Clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Diplomate -American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. His research interests include disaster response and mental health, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, psychiatric and social work education.

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