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Good Lives Model

Move forward 3B – Building a good life Good Lives Model

A really good approach uses the Good Lives Model developed by Tony Ward (a psychologist) and colleagues. The model breaks down the states of mind, personal characteristics, activities or experiences that are sought by people and, if achieved, they are likely to increase psychological well-being. He calls these needs that people try to achieve primary goods. The primary goods are personal to the individual and therefore will differ according to the kind of person the individual would like to be. The diagram below shows the primary goods Ward has outlined.

For full descriptions of each section, please see below:

Creativity

It is important that we have activities in our lives that we feel good at. In order to feel good about ourselves, we need to have a sense of achievement. This can also help with our self-esteem. This does not mean actually being ‘the best’ in comparison to others but feeling that we are doing the best we can in whatever we do.

Excellence in work

This can also involve feeling like we have ‘mastered’ activities and skills training that are important to us in the workplace. Additionally, it can include creativity, i.e. being able to create/make new things, come up with new ideas or be artistic or practical in some way.

Excellence in play

This is about how people spend their time and the range of activities in which they are involved. It is important for people to see that all activities are worthwhile and for people to have activities which offer elements of fun, excitement, challenge and achievement. This might involve hobbies, work and exercise. This also about balance of activities (e.g. work / life balance).

Spirituality

Whoever we are, it is important for us to feel like we understand our purpose in life. This could stem from religion, but it does not have to. This could be something like ‘being a good friend,’ ‘being a good brother / sister’ or contributing to your community in some way.

Inner peace

This is about feeling peaceful and comfortable. It means that we should feel free from difficult feelings, and that we should know how to deal with these feelings if we have them. This also means feeling safe; physically and emotionally.

Life

This is about how we live our lives in terms of our physical health (exercise, diet, feeling comfortable with our appearance) and emotional health (looking after ourselves inside).

Relatedness

This is about having intimate, romantic and familial relationships.

Excellence in agency

This is about feeling like we can manage and control our lives. The ability to make decisions and to feel as though you have a say in your life is very important. This is also about being able to manage the way you behave and the way you feel (e.g. knowing what to do if you have had a bad day). This is also about being able to make decisions and solve everyday problems in life.

Knowledge

This is about having knowledge and understanding so we feel informed about our world, so that we feel we understand what is going on around us. Knowledge can come from life experience, what we learn at school, from books or from the media. It does not mean ‘being clever’, but feeling as though we know what we need to in order to feel OK in the world

Community

This is about having a sense of belonging and responsibility to the social group you live in. This also includes a sense of fitting in. It is important that we have a group of people where we feel we ‘fit.’ Belonging might stem from friends, family, colleagues, a religious group or another group of people.

Pleasure

Feeling good in the here and now.

You can find out more about the Good Lives Model from the following book: Ward, T., Laws, D.R. & Hudson, S.M. (2004) (Eds.). Sexual Deviance: Issues and Controversies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Alternatively, you can go to www.goodlivesmodel.com (a website that Tony Ward has created to provide information on the model).

What are my primary goods (needs)?

The following exercise will help you identify some of the things that are important to you, the needs that your problematic sexual behaviour might have been trying to meet and start the process of identifying the parts of your life you want to improve.

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