From Coping to Capacity: Psychological Sustainability Under Sustained Pressure with Zeena Hicks

Zeena Hicks is a positive psychologist, executive coach, and doctoral researcher whose work explores how people build inner psychological capacity when pressure doesn’t let up. Known by many of her clients as The Positivity Doctor, Zeena bridges rigorous science with lived experience, translating positive psychology, neuroscience, and coaching psychology into grounded, self-directed practices. Her current doctoral research  at Oxford Brookes, UK, examines how positive self-coaching, particularly when supported by peer connection, can create powerful ripple effects across families, workplaces, and wider systems. This conversation explores what psychological sustainability really means for coaches, leaders, educators, and parents operating under chronic demand. We also explore the realities for parents of neurodivergent children and how positive psychology, according to Zeena helped her  ‘survive some dark moments as a parent’