Positive Psychology Goes to School

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Blaise Dalton
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1 Psitive Psychlgy Ges t Schl Dr Suzy Green, Clinical and Caching Psychlgist (MAPS), Sydney, NSW Flurishing individuals have a rati f 3 psitive emtins t negative. High perfrming teams have a 5:1 rati f psitive interactins. Train yur brain t fcus n what is ging well natural instinct is t fcus n the negative. Her backgrund is in clinical psychlgy. She fund that she culd nt d that all day every day - it was all abut treatment. Better t fcus n prmtin f gd mental health. View yur wrk as a calling = better verall life and wrk satisfactin. Her strengths = zest, curisity, creativity, lve f learning and hpe. Other strengths = Cnnectr, Bunceback, Preventin, Rapprt Builder, Resilience, Persuasin, Legacy. Psitive psychlgy = strength-based psychlgy. What is Psitive Psychlgy? It is "the scientific study f ptimal functining." (Gable & Haidt, in Review f General Psychlgy, 2005) "Psitive Psychlgy wrks t prmte ptimal functining acrss the full range f human functining, frm disrder and distress t health and fulfilment" (Linley & Jseph, Psitive Psychlgy in Practice, 2004) Fairness, equity and justice 3 imprtant character strengths f teachers in her experience. Australia is a wrld leader in caching and psitive psychlgy in research and practice. Her wrk has been abut applicatin f Psitive Psychlgy thrugh caching. Scientific study f ptimal functining Gable & Haidt, Martin Seligman was ne f the riginal develpers f the cncept f Psitive Psychlgy. Psitive Psychlgy wrks t prmte ptimal functining acrss the full range f human functining, frm disrder and distress t health and fulfillment (Linley and Jseph, 2004). It is fr everyne. What is Psitive Educatin? See slides 5 and 6. She is passinate abut it fr staff, nt just fr students. Psitive Educatin utilises the research base frm the field f Psitive Psychlgy t enhance the ptimal functining f students, teachers, staff and the whle schl. It invlves the applicatin f Psitive Psychlgy research n tpics such as wisdm, mental fitness, virtues & strengths, mindfulness, flw, psitive emtins, purpse and meaning + much mre. Caching = applied Psitive Psychlgy. The research shws that Psitive Psychlgy sustains the changes in the lng term. Over 20 years f research shws that setting and striving fr persnally-meaningful gals is highly crrelated with well-being. 1

She fund that she culd nt d that all day every day - it was all abut treatment. Better t fcus n prmtin f gd mental health. View yur wrk as a calling = better verall life and wrk satisfactin.

2 Sme pints f clarificatin abut Psitive Educatin: The terms happiness and well-being are still being used interchangeably. We need t talk abut well-being, nt abut happiness. Seligman states happiness is t wrn and weary a term t be f much scientific use. Fredricksn says it is semantically messy. We need t clarify fr thse in educatin interested in PP that it is fr ptimal functining. It is abut feeling gd & abut ding gd! The Science f Wellbeing bk - extracts at Ggle Bks. Why d we need it? Fr reductin f mental illness; pr mental health can impede academic & scial success. Fr increasing well-being and ptimal functining; better learning & mre creative thinking. Fr creating virtuus citizens and a virtuus sciety! Schls have immense influence n the develpment f yuth. The primary fcus is n the acquisitin f fundamental academic skills. Psitive Psychlgy can directly influence academic utcmes thrugh the develpment f intrapersnal and interpersnal strengths (f students & staff!). Many prgrams are fcused n preventing pathlgy rather than building health, e.g. The Schl Psychlgist s rle is primarily reactive nt practive. Prgrams that aim at reducing depressin are different frm prgrams that increase well-being. We need bth. Australian Psitive Psychlgy Assciatin sympsium in April Click here t pen the page where yu can dwnlad the presentatins. PP in Educatin Sympsium. Hlding it again in Australian schls adpting mindmap diagram n slide 13. Each schl is ding it differently. Many are implementing just ne initiative, rather than a whle-schl embedded prgram. Examples n slide 14: Gratitude (write dwn 5 things yu are grateful fr nce a mnth research shws the benefits), kindness (randm acts f kindness), hpe (gal setting and finding pathways t gals; caching; = high levels f well-being), ptimism (Seligman - Learned Optimism prgrams at Geelng Grammar; cgnitive behaviural caching; challenges ANTS = autmatic negative thughts negative r irratinal thinking), and strengths (big area in Psitive Psychlgy; Celebrating Strengths bk). Yu can take an nline "test" abut learned ptimism - click here. Psitive Psychlgy Interventin Nrrish PhD see slide 15. Authentic Happiness website Martin Seligman is the Directr has an nline inventry. Pleasurable, engaged and meaningful 3 rads t the gd life. Many peple are strng in ne and nt anther. Yu need t be strng in meaning, because it has the biggest impact. Depressin = a sense f 2

We need t clarify fr thse in educatin interested in PP that it is fr ptimal functining. It is abut feeling gd & abut ding gd! The Science f Wellbeing bk - extracts at Ggle Bks. Why d we need it?

3 hpelessness and a lack f meaning. Adlescents are usually high n pleasure and very lw n meaning / purpse. Psitive Psychlgy and Caching Psychlgy are cmplementary: Psitive Psychlgy: scientific research t better understand human flurishing. Caching Psychlgy: a framewrk fr change t apply PP research t everyday life. Cmplementary Partners in the creatin f flurishing individuals, grups, rganisatins, cmmunities! Why d we need caching? Paper by Oliver. Caching is the transfer f training / knwledge. Can be lst, if yu dn t think hw it will apply t yu persnally and hw yu can apply it in yur life. Caching is abut assisted self-regulatin. 24 character strengths ne is abut the ability t stay n task and regulate yur emtins and behaviurs. Mst peple are nt all that great at ding it. Caching helps t build yur strength. What the research tells us abut caching: Significant decreases in Depressin (nrmal). Significant increases in Hpe (shwn t predict gal attainment & well-being). Significant increases in Cgnitive Hardiness (resilience). Psitive Educatin Research. Example f her prgram at a Sydney independent schl - see slide 21. Develpmental Caching fr High Schl Teachers in press, in the Cnsulting Psychlgy Jurnal. Many peple dn t have a space in their lives where they can talk abut their stresses and take a slutinbased apprach t changing their lives. Caching prgram see slide 22. Invlves 360 degree feedback prgram. Then 10 sessins with a cach. 360 degree feedback can be very cnfrnting t peple. Mst peple avid giving feedback t thers. But if we dn t get feedback, hw can we knw what t change? Ggle stress in teachers huge number f references. Need mre prfessinal develpment fr teachers, BUT nt just in technical skills. We ften get prmted n the technical skills, but we need gd peple skills t be successful. We need training, and then we need the caching t transfer that training. Teaching, living and embedding Psitive Psychlgy - Seligman's suggestins. Teaching Psitive Psychlgy: There is a place fr stand-alne Psitive Psychlgy curses. Nt happiness classes if we want t be taken seriusly! It s abut mental fitness r ptimal functining r well-being. Training fr teachers first, then students. 3

Caching Psychlgy: a framewrk fr change t apply PP research t everyday life. Cmplementary Partners in the creatin f flurishing individuals, grups, rganisatins, cmmunities! Why d we need caching?

4 Include Parents!! Hpe t change the term frm Psitive Psychlgy t just Psychlgy. Will give mre balance t treatment / preventin. Living Psitive Psychlgy: WWW: What went well? Mindfulness in all schls! Fr students and fr teachers! A shared language f strengths - VIA knwn t all - seeing the best in thers! A caching culture - bringing ut the best in thers! What went well? The 24 character strengths need t be knwn by everyne, then we can put a language arund it. Psitive Educatin It s fr the students! Yes, but mre s fr the teachers! High rates f stress and burnut! Teachers are rle-mdels. If they re nt flurishing, what is the impact n the students? The future? Key questins: Hw can Psitive Psychlgy and Caching Psychlgy be used in an integrative apprach fr a individualised, hlistic schl-based interventin? Hw can we enhance the transfer f training? Hw can we make the implicit explicit and the explicit implicit? Develpment f an Applied Psitive Psychlgy strategy t supprt the verall schl strategy. Hw t create sustained change. Training. Set up a wrking party cmmitted t ding it. Creatin f a strategic plan ver 3-5 years individualised, multi-initiative strategy acrss all areas f the schl. Gave an example f a draft strategic plan cmplex diagram. Identify the psitive cre and discuss that. Implicit instructin. Behaviurs, use f language, values and beliefs, attitudes, quality f feedback (intentin is t help yu). High stakes cnversatins start with heart. Wish list.. see slides It includes training fr everyne in Psitive Psychlgy. Caching training. Strengths assessment f all students and staff. Use yur champins. Create a caching culture. VIA assessment is free and nline - yu need t register (fr n cst) at their website. Organisatinal psychlgy has plenty f infrmatin. First steps: Immerse yurself in the literature. Attend cnferences & wrkshps. Talk t ther schls. Engage experts and wrk cllabratively. Training in Psitive Psychlgy and Caching Psychlgy. Create a Psitive Psychlgy Wrking Party (champins). Make a start! 4

The 24 character strengths need t be knwn by everyne, then we can put a language arund it. Psitive Educatin It s fr the students! Yes, but mre s fr the teachers! High rates f stress and burnut!

5 Yu can cntact her at 5

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