Peter Forkner PhD Director Bentley University Counseling Center Keith Anderson PhD Psychologist Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst Counseling Center Agenda What is Positive Psychology Why is it important to share Positive Psychology concepts with college students ID: 748475
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Beyond the Counseling Center: Impacting Your Campus Using Positive Psychology
Peter Forkner, Ph.D. Director
Bentley University Counseling Center
Keith Anderson, Ph.D. Psychologist
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Counseling CenterSlide2
Agenda
What is Positive Psychology?
Why is it important to share Positive Psychology concepts with college students?
What are some ways to share Positive Psychology outside of the Counseling Center?
What has been the impact of Positive Psychology interventions? Slide3
What is Positive Psychology?Slide4
Positive Psychology
“The scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life“
In other words, the study of what makes a life worth living
Other side of the coin – not just focusing on those who are struggling with mental health problemsSlide5
Positive Psychology A focus on personal growth
Positive psychology is centered on helping people become fulfilled.
Happiness
Optimism and helplessness
Mindfulness
Flow
Character strengths and virtues
Hope
Positive thinking
Resilience Slide6
Positive subjective states
Positive emotions.
Happiness
Like gas in a car
Satisfaction with life
Hope
Sources of energy and confidence
Optimism
Gratitude –
a key component of happinessSlide7
Early research in Positive Psychology
Prevention of Helplessness
Seligman suggests the best prevention for helplessness is early experience with mastery.
Inconsistent with the self-esteem movement of the 1980’s
Explored life histories of people who were resilient in situations that are likely to cause helplessness.
Self-efficacy, competence already in existence. served as a buffer to helplessness.Slide8
Positive Psychology
Study of increasing happiness/wellbeing not new
Philosophy
Religion
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
More fully embraced by psychology in 1998 with Seligman becoming the president of the APA
Made it the theme of his presidency
“No medication or technique of therapy holds as much promise for serving as a buffer against mental illness as does human strength.”
Used as a form of treatmentSlide9
Why is it important to share Positive Psychology concepts with college students?Slide10
Positive Psychology
Why should we study?
People who report greater happiness and wellbeing are more resilient
“A convergence across several research methodologies indicates that resilient individuals have optimistic, zestful, and energetic approaches to life, are curious and open to new experiences, and are characterized by high positive emotionality” (
Tugade
& Fredrickson, 2004).
Why does being happier make people more resilient? People with high positive affect…
Are buffered against stress
Are more flexible
Are more optimistic about the future
Use humor
Positive reappraisal – more likely to see the good in the badSlide11
Positive Psychology
Why relevant to work on college campuses
We have seen unprecedented increases in the use of college mental health services
Why? Stigma? Medication? Current events?
Generational Resilience???
We have been inundated and have been forced to focus on the negative
Good self care
Have so much more to offer to “healthy” students
Don’t want them to flood the CCSlide12
Trends in College Mental Health
Should we make a comment here about the lack of evidence of parallel or significant increases in mental health problems in the general population.
NIH estimates an increase in mental health problems of approximately 2.5% from 1997-2007.Slide13
Trends in College Mental HealthSlide14
Comments from the field
Emergency calls to Counseling had more than doubled over the past five years
Students are increasingly seeking help for, and apparently having emotional crises over problems of everyday life
Faculty have noted that students’ emotional fragility has become a serious problem when it comes to grading, concerns over suicidality if grades are poor.Slide15
Rationale
Anecdotal evidence that those less resilient:
More likely to have less stable career plans
More problems with low motivation
Have difficulty delaying gratification
Often blame others or circumstances for their problems
Frequently procrastinate
Lower self-esteem
More likely to feel over-stressed
Less tolerant of change
More symptoms of depressionSlide16
Using Your Strengths
We are all born with or develop specific strengths and talents that we use to navigate the world
Typically focus from a deficit perspective
“In order to be better at my job, I need to be more…”
Seligman suggests that when we are using our strengths, we are impacting every letter of PERMASlide17
Using Your Strengths
Two common strength measures
Strengthsfinder
Description
Values in Action (VIA)
DescriptionSlide18
Using Your Strengths
Situations to think about using strengths
At work
Resolving conflict
When addressing a challengeSlide19
Stolen from: https://patticlark.org/tag/martin-seligman
/Slide20
What are some ways to share Positive Psychology outside of the Counseling Center?Slide21
Positive Psychology Outreach
Small scale events
High impact/low effort
Provide education and intervention on individual level
Can be replicated easily
Large scale events
Can involve whole campus including faculty and staff
Take more planning and forethoughtSlide22
Small Scale Events
“Pop-up Wellness”
Identify concepts that can conveyed in a brief intervention
“Improve your life in 5 minutes”
Develop an informational sheet on the concept
Description, research and suggestions for integrating more into life
Collect emails for short survey
Pick a time for staff to solicit participantsSlide23
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
What is gratitude?
Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen in your life and taking the time to express appreciation and return kindness.
Being grateful is more than saying “thank you.” When you express gratitude, it can actually lead to a stronger sense of well-being.Slide24
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
What is the research on gratitude?
Gratitude opens the door to more relationships
. A 2014 study published in
Emotion
found that thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek an ongoing relationship.
Gratitude improves physical health.
Grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and they report feeling healthier than other people, according to a 2012 study published in
Personality and Individual Differences
.
Gratitude improves psychological health.
Gratitude reduces a multitude of toxic emotions, ranging from envy and resentment to frustration and regret. Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., a leading gratitude researcher, has conducted multiple studies on the link between gratitude and well-being. His research confirms that gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression.Slide25
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
Grateful people sleep better.
Writing in a gratitude journal improves sleep, according to a 2011 study published in
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
.
Gratitude improves self-esteem.
A 2014 study published in the
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
found that gratitude increased self-esteem and reduces social comparisons.
Gratitude increases mental strength.
For years, research has shown gratitude not only reduces stress, but it may also play a major role in overcoming trauma. A 2006 study published in Behavior Research and Therapy found that Vietnam War Veterans with higher levels of gratitude experienced lower rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Recognizing all you have to be thankful for – even during the worst times of your life – fosters resilience.The above were adapted from:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-roundSlide26
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
IN SESSION EXERCISE
Find someone next to you and take turns describing someone in your life who you have truly appreciated in the past two weeks
Who is it and why are you grateful for that person?Slide27
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
Text or email that person RIGHT NOW and briefly tell them what you just said
Benefits of gratitude are potentiated if expressed
Secondary benefits increases connectedness
Contagion factorSlide28
Pop-Up Event: Gratitude
Suggestions for programming to help students practice gratitude more often
Keep a gratitude journal.
Note one or more things you are grateful for on a daily basis.
Commit to giving at least one compliment daily.
This can either be directly to someone or by sharing your appreciation of something (“I love how quiet it is in the morning, don’t you?”).
Make your own gratitude board
. Fill a bulletin board with images and words that remind you of the things for which you are grateful. Try and focus more on people and experiences rather than on materialistic stuff that don’t necessarily last very long.
Go for a gratitude walk
: Go for a walk and look for as many good things that you can be grateful for. This will help you see all the goodness around you and raise your happiness level.Slide29
Pop-Up Event: Normalizing Failure
Many of our students see struggling as a sign of weakness
Social media
Decrease in intimacy
High expectations of parents
Life is a resume
Failure is NORMAL and HEALTHY!
Instead, struggling is stigmatized!Slide30
Impact of the stigmatization of struggling
Disconnection, anxiety, sadness and perpetuation of perfectionSlide31
Pop-Up Event: Normalizing Failure
“Shattering the myth of the perfect student”
Asked students about their experience of living up to the “perfect student”
Asked them to share a particular way in which they struggled
Discussed how it made them feel and behave
Asked them to post for others in the community to seeSlide32
Pop-Up Event: Normalizing FailureSlide33
Pop-Up Event: Normalizing Failure
A few of the comments posted:
“Not
Instafamous
– No Followers. Loved by likes.”
“Not smart enough”
“Kind of hate living alone”
“Not ambitious enough”
“Not involved enough”
“Is this school right for me?”
“I took
calc 2 three times before passing”“Sleepless nights before exams worried if I studied enough”“Bombed dream job interview”“Worry about students loans”Slide34
Positive Psychology Outreach
Other “Pop-Up” ideas…
“Finding Strength in Failure”
have participants reflect on a past “failure” and focus on how they grew from that
“Random Act of Kindness”
Provide paper and envelopes to students and have them write a supportive note to someone
“Solving a Problem with Strengths”
Ask student to identify their top three strengths and how they could use them to solve a recent problemSlide35
Large Scale Events
Programs seeking to increase resiliency
“Stanford I Screwed Up”
https://learningconnection.stanford.edu/resilience-projectSlide36
Large Scale Events
Fresh Check Day
Uplifting mental health promotion with a primary goal of suicide prevention
Carnival style event
Encourages volunteers from all over universitySlide37Slide38
Fresh Check Day
Love is LouderSlide39
What has been the impact of Positive Psychology interventions? Slide40
Gratitude Pop Up Results
Out of 30 people, 12 people called, 15 people texted, 2 people in person
What the survey revealed…
76% said that exercise improved their mood
69% said that exercise made them feel more connected
79% said that they will be more likely to practice gratitudeSlide41
Gratitude Pop Up Results
My mother was extremely touched by the gesture and reciprocated by telling me that she loved me.
I was glowing and they were thrilled <3
What a great idea, and mood-booster, right around the most stressful time of the semester!
When I expressed gratitude I studied and performed daily activities more efficiently and effectively because I was motivated.
I love gratitude exercises and I am very glad you did it! Although practicing gratitude one time did not greatly change my mood I hope to do it more daily because that improves my mood.
thanks for a great exercise! during this time of year
i
am very stressed, so this little activity was very helpfulSlide42
Normalizing Failure Pop Up Results
What the survey revealed…
57% stated that they had felt bad when falling short of the “perfect student”
57% stated that they felt better about their struggles as a result of the exercise
71% believed that this was a valuable exercise for the Bentley CommunitySlide43
Normalizing Failure Pop Up Results
I think a lot of students feel that this "ideal" is an issue, and it was nice to see that the Bentley community hears us and understands what some of us might go through. I think students will feel more open and included in this conversation and will hopefully see that they're enough and don't need to conform to standards!Slide44
Fresh Check Day Results
Students are sent a follow up survey about their experience
80% more aware of the warning signs of suicide
85% feel more prepared to help a friend who is exhibiting warning signs of suicide
86% more aware of the mental health resources available
80% more likely to ask for help if experiencing emotional distress
75% feel more comfortable talking about mental health and suicideSlide45
Fresh Check Day Results
I like the linkage from everyday activities like being grateful to mental health
I love it it's so positive
I think it was a positive environment where you got to see that there are people dedicated to helping those with personal problems
i
think this was a great event for people to see what programs we have on campus
It was a good chance to share experiences regarding mental health
This is an amazing program and made me feel more comfortable as a student with a history of suicidal thoughts and mental illness. Thank you!Slide46
Other impacts
Increased visibility of the Counseling Center
De-stigmatization of our center
Demonstrating that we can positively impact more than just those who access our services
Happier staffSlide47
Summary
College students would benefit greatly from education “outside the classroom” to aid in their pursuit of success and life satisfaction
The concepts of positive psychology can have real impact on our students
There are many inexpensive and time limited ways in which to impart this informationSlide48
Revisiting Gratitude
Did anybody receive a response from the person they reached out to and expressed gratitude? Care to share? What was it like for you to express that gratitude and if you received a response, how did it affect your mood.Slide49
Contact Information
Peter Forkner, Ph.D. Director
Bentley University Counseling Center
pforkner@bentley.edu
Keith Anderson, Ph.D. Psychologist
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Counseling Center
anderk4@rpi.edu