Dr Jennifer Guttman - Happiness or satisfaction?

Dr Jennifer Guttman received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Long Island University and began her career working at a family homeless shelter in New York. When she found that traditional protocols made it difficult for people to access her services, she fought to ensure that every resident could meet with her as often as they needed. She then started lecturing and opened a private practice where her approach fuses traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques with her own core methods, which have been developed and refined through thirty-plus years of personal interaction with her clients.

One question she hears all the time from her patients is, “Why am I not happy?” Her response is that happiness is not an achievable goal. Happiness is a fleeting emotion, often it's out of our control and Jennifer urges us to work towards sustainable satisfaction instead, to stop chasing the fleeting emotion of “happy” and redirect our thinking toward sustainable life-satisfaction.

In this podcast:

  • The concept of resilience

  • Why we should aim for long-term life satisfaction rather than constant happiness.

  • The importance of not making assumptions and waiting for concrete evidence before acting.

  • Differences in communication styles between genders

  • The impact of people-pleasing behaviours on relationships.

  • Facing fears as a means of personal growth and building confidence.

  • The six techniques for sustainable life satisfaction

 You can find out more about Jennifer at https://www.guttmanpsychology.com/ or her book is Beyond Happiness: The Six Secrets of Lifetime Satisfaction

There are over 200 podcasts in our library. Visit podcasts to find the full list.

Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.
There are over 200 podcasts in our library. Visit podcasts to find the full list or read our blogs.