Positive psychology interventions can offer an important source of for healthcare workers, who often face considerable challenges and stressors in their work. Rather than focusing on problems, these interventions amplify a person鈥檚 strengths, positive experiences, and meaningful connections with others.
This spring, 黑料传送门鈥檚 Master of Applied Positive Psychology program has partnered with Community Behavioral Health (CBH) to provide a unique
version of positive psychology-based wellness for their employees.
The 7-week program called is a virtual group program facilitated by MAPP students that helps participants develop resilience skills through a variety of positive psychology pathways. These pathways include spotlighting positive daily events, practicing gratitude, identifying and using personal strengths, and finding the lighter side of life.
Offering A Happier You is part of CBH鈥檚 commitment to helping its employees thrive as they provide behavioral health support for the city鈥檚 420,000 Medicaid recipients.
Positive psychology programs like A Happier You have shown promise in of depression, anxiety, burnout, and stress. They also have been associated with increased job and life satisfaction, self-compassion, relaxation, and resilience.
The benefits of programs like A Happier You extend beyond workers鈥� mental health.
According to research, perceived wellness support at work is associated with increases
in . Employers offering workplace wellness programs can also improve .
Research on the reveals medical and absenteeism cost savings of $3.27 and $2.73, respectively, for every dollar spent. Taken together, this represents a 6-to-1 return on investment. Moreover, positive psychology interventions in the workplace are low cost and easy to deliver, with virtual group programs like A Happier You offering access to both remote and in-person workers.
Remote work, while supporting work-life balance, can also . After A Happier You sessions, CBH participants have noted that, in addition to adopting a more positive mindset, they鈥檝e enjoyed the opportunity to connect with co-workers in a fun way. Two staff returning this spring said that they became close friends after meeting in a previous A Happier You session.
Delivering A Happier You creates a warm, inviting, happiness-reinforcing environment for both participants and facilitators. One activity called 鈥淗appiness Bookmarks鈥� asks group members to bring in something that makes them smile and share something about it. MAPP student facilitators model this by sharing a bookmark of their own.
The personal shares are often juxtaposed with research that supports each session鈥檚 positive psychology pathway. In this way, A Happier You creatively combines psychoeducational, experiential, and group process components.
鈥淭he multimodal training model is essential to the program鈥檚 success,鈥� says Scott Glassman, PsyD, director of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at 黑料传送门.
The MAPP program features A Happier You as a practicum experience for its students. Students progress from being a participant to an intensive 13-week facilitator training to co-facilitating the program in the community under the supervision of Dr. Glassman. MAPP students also take a certification exam at the end of their practicum to assess their mastery of the curriculum and facilitation process.
According to Glassman, several of his students have expressed excitement about bringing A Happier You into their workplaces after graduation.
"As MAPP students reach the end of their immersive journey in positive psychology, elevating the well-being of an organization like CBH, they now really feel the potential of creating happier workplaces on a broader scale," he said.