Monique Zahavi
Monique is a positive psychology practitioner, with a BSc in Psychology from Birkbeck, University of London and a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from Buckinghamshire New University. She previously founded and managed her own small businesses, where her experiences with clients and other business owners led to an initial interest in resilience and wellbeing.
At undergraduate level, she explored multiple psychological factors, behaviours and personality traits which might enhance wellbeing for a chronically ill population. Her more recent interests include positive psychological practices which might support us through our life journeys, transitions and changes in self-identity.
Having conducted her Master’s research on the lived experience of single Anglo women over fifty, as new immigrants to Israel, this is a journey which Monique, who is originally from London, UK, recently made herself. From just outside Tel Aviv, she continues her writing and research about resilience, wellbeing and thriving.
Monique’s Blog
A Mindful Return to Freedom
The last year has been like none the world has ever experienced in my lifetime and it has certainly been a time of huge change, mental and physical readjustment with many challenges along the way. For me, a move to a new country, culture, and way of being has made…
Grateful, Grounded and Resilient, No Matter What.
I have taken part in and read many conversations recently about improving our own wellbeing, particularly as many of us have seen some light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and are considering the best ways to live our lives with our returning freedoms. Common…
The Positive Psychological Power of Rethinking Your Dreams
We humans are all narrators of our own life stories. We are meaning-making creatures, even those of us with no religious beliefs. Our lived experiences shape the way we see ourselves and influence the creation of our internal ‘screenplay’. McAdams (2001) life story…
Managing Culture Shock with Positive Psychology
Whatever the reason for uprooting from the land where you were born and bred, whether it is for financial reasons, a change of scenery, for career progression or to escape persecution, relocating to another country impacts every aspect of life. My MAPP research…
Living A Colourful, Messy and Resilient Life
Most of us want to live a life of happiness, joy and flourishing, yet whilst we might actively strive for happiness, life throws us all kinds of challenges so that peace, calm and fulfilment often seem to evade us, no matter what we do. So, is it so bad to be unhappy…
Open Hearted Resilience Through Loving-Kindness
When we think of the concept of resilience, it may be that we think of simply being tough or breezing through challenges with little acknowledgment of discomfort. Yet research has suggested that resilience is not about avoidance, but about being able to sit in our…
Making Lemonade When Life Gives Us Lemons
I have always been curious about why, despite really tough circumstances, many people manage to take the lemons life throws at them and make them into lemonade. I have also always loved this saying. Apart from making me smile at the thought of adodging lemons being…
Embracing Change in an Ever Changing World
There are few certainties in our human existence, aside from the understanding that our experience of life constantly changes. Much has been written about how we manage and think about our journey of change and whilst inevitable, change can be experienced as either…
Finding Paths to Resilience
Looking back at my own life journey, particularly over the last decade, I see my personal path to resilience as a series of blue sky days with golden sun-rays with some very grey days flooded by thundery showers. Yet despite some stormy times, I generally find myself…