Your Coaches

When Robin Carnes and Nancy Montagna heard the eminent psychologist, Martin Seligman, speak at a Washington, D.C., conference in 2003, about applying the results of research into Postive Psychology, they were both "on fire," so excited they could hardly wait to go home and sign up for the training in Coaching for Authentic Happiness.  This training ultimately led to the creation of Pathways to Happiness.

"We were totally smitten," Robin reports. "We were drawn to his focus on what makes human beings thrive, rather than the more typical orientation of 'fixing' people. I work as a coach and Nancy is a therapist, but we both prefer seeing what's good in people and drawing that out, rather than looking for problems."

"I had come to a positive approach on my own," Nancy agrees, "but this new movement in my profession makes me proud to be a psychologist. Dr. Seligman and other researchers are studying the best in human beings. They are defining that best in ways that are valued in all cultures and religions, and showing us how to bring out that best in ourselves and others."  

 Nancy and Robin created Pathways to Happiness together.  In 2009, Robin stopped teaching the Pathways courses in order to give more time to working with returning soldiers who are struggling with PTSD.  As part of a comprehensive program, she leads them in iRest guided meditations, an outgrowth of Yoga Nidra.

Nancy Montagna, PhD 

"I became a therapist because I didn't have a clue about how to be happy," Nancy says. "When I was in my twenties, I thought that somewhere in psychology someone must know something." Her early experiences with a therapist were not encouraging, however. "My therapist sat behind a big desk, ten feet away from me, and my chair was riveted to the floor," she remembers. "One day he smiled at me, and then he admitted that was a mistake. He took the blank slate thing much too far!"

In her search for better answers, Nancy left her job researching bacterial genetics at a pharmaceutical company and eventually got a PhD in psychology. "In graduate school I defined my mission as learning how to be a human being so I could help myself and others." she says.

When she graduated from college Nancy was headed for the Peace Corps. She applied and was assigned to Thailand.  However by then she had met Don, and chose to get married instead.  She promised herself that one day, late in life, she would do something to help people in developing countries.

"I married my husband at 22, but in a way we didn't stay in the same marriage. There were several points where there was no going back: what was OK before was not going to work in the future. We had to learn from our mistakes in order to move forward. We manage to save other people a lot of grief by telling them what it took us years to learn!"  Nancy is the mother of two grown children, adopted from India.

In 2001, at the age of 58, Nancy started studying Spanish.  She speaks it well enough to have led a week-long training in Paraguay and another in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has done this as a volunteer with International Partners, a group that seeks to connect American resources such as money and expertise with the needs of people in developing countries. Nancy's particular focus has been to train leaders in a program that is effective with domestic violence offenders.

"Part of my passion about happiness work comes from pain about the state of the world," Nancy says. "Many of the most privileged and gifted people live as if they think money is the main goal in life. Now we can say, with the backing of science, that money has no effect on happiness once a person's basic needs are met. Loving relationships and feeling part of something greater than ourselves will have much more bearing. I do feel that this deeper and scientifically accurate understanding of happiness is what our culture needs."

Nancy's training includes psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Gestalt, Core-Energetics (which integrates physical, emotional and spiritual approaches), cognitive therapy, emotional intelligence, and brief therapies such as hypnosis, EMDR, and NLP.  Nancy offers trainings several times a year in various aspects of emotional intelligence.

In addition to her work in Latin America, Nancy has been Volunteer Coordinator of the Helping Hands Craft Sale, a project that raises funds in order to empower hungry and homeless people. She is an active member of the Washington Ethical Society, and enjoys hiking, dancing, yoga, gardening, singing, improvisation, and, especially, the beauty of nature. She is interested in health, in prehistory, and in ancient history, as well as yoga, dancing, and nature. You can read more about Nancy's professional work at www.nancymontagna.com and also at http://www.GoodTherapy.org. 

.