About Derrick Corrigan

My positive psychology journey, so far…

My name is Derrick Corrigan, and I am The Positive Psychology Coach. I got clean & sober in 1994, age 25. For eleven years until then, I spent my time getting drunk or paying the consequences of getting drunk. Once sober, I made the conscious decision to be of service to others, as I realised that it made me feel happy. I had found my calling. Newly sober, labouring in a scrap yard was my first job, whilst I studied psychotherapy and volunteered in a detox. Smashing up stuff during the day whilst helping people put themselves back together in the evening.

In 1996 I set up a crime-diversion charity to enable prolific offenders to change and get sober. The charity became rapidly very successful, and expanded multi-directionally, from homeless engagement teams, to providing safety resources to street-sex workers. However, the more successful my work became, the further I got from what I loved most; directly supporting people. After twenty years of running national addiction charities, I was burning out, and for the first time in sobriety, drinking alcohol seemed attractive.

I went through my beloved Twelve-Step process three-times in a year and twice I embarked on psychotherapy processes, with highly skilled professionals, and still felt bad. I found out I was going to be a father, and realised I had to make drastic change. I would’ve done anything, not to negatively affect my baby girl. I had started to read about positive psychology, and right away it broke through my cynicism of just trying to repackage the same-old therapeutic theories. Most of which I was highly trained in.

I took a positive psychology coaching course, which consisted of twelve weekly sessions. The immediate effects were nothing short of miraculous for me. The practical interventions I was shown had overwhelmingly optimistic outcomes straightaway. I was reacquainted with my calling, to be of service, and had found the vehicle to take me there.

Babies are expensive, so luckily, I was headhunted to manage a high-end addiction and psychological wellbeing residential clinic. Most of the clients were far better educated and financially fortunate than me, and due to initial imposter syndrome, I found it difficult to effectively assist in their recovery and enhancement. So, I began channelling my lengthy professional expertise through a positive psychology framework and watched the client’s flourish. This enabled me to be of service confidently and effectively. It felt so good that I decided to study positive psychology coaching full-time, left my job and completed my MSc. There followed two lean years of grabbing night shifts in homeless hostels, eating from foodbanks, and relying on the goodwill of friends.

I now harness twenty-five years’ experience working in the field of psychology and psychotherapy, and channel it through a strength-based positive psychology framework. This enables me to dynamically assist clients to identify and fulfil their goals in life. As an experienced psychology coach, my main objective is the client’s happiness, which is achieved by personalised client-centered approaches. It is a privilege for me, and my team to be a part of the client’s positive journey.