Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Heliotropia – Creating an Altruistic Ecosystem of Wellbeing  (#119)

Lisa Barker 1
  1. Heliotropia Wellbeing, Heliotropia, Armadale, VIC, Australia

As we move through the transformational experience and long-lasting after effects of a global pandemic, the field of Positive Psychology has had an opportunity to step up at a systems level and altruistically address the experience of access inequity for many people when it comes to high quality wellbeing experiences. This Apply session will share how a heliotropic wellbeing ecosystem via free online webinars was imagined, constructed and implemented to support the community throughout the global pandemic. Heliotropia’s vision was very simple and deeply inspired by systems change framework, Theory U (Scharmer & Kaufer, 2013): wellbeing is for all, not just a handful. In order to create an ecosystem approach and counterbalance the time spent inside on screens, Nature Connectedness (Schutte & Malouff, 2018) elements were embedded within every webinar. Weekly wellbeing sessions were prototyped and delivered via online platform Zoom and follow up resources and activities were made available. Qualitative data and feedback was gathered before and after each session to ensure contextual integrity and ample opportunities for iteration. Sessions followed the Theory U journey moving through the seven stages of the U journey: Downloading–current reality and past patterns that possibly no longer serve us. Seeing–with fresh eyes through meaningful, reflective movement and dialogue. Sensing–all stakeholders in the system through deep listening and engagement. Presencing–retreating and reflecting to connect with deepest source of inspiration. Crystallising–forming a new vision and intention through conscious awareness. Prototyping - learning by doing, innovating, collaborating, rapid design. Performing–integrating the new into daily life, scaling up, sharing with others. This presentation highlights the power of foundational systems thinking in constructing a heliotropic systems informed approach to wellbeing during a time of 'real world' complexity and challenge.  Its philosophy is supported by the combined sciences of systems thinking, positive psychology and nature connectedness. 

  • Keywords: Creativity, Diversity and Inclusion, Environment and Nature, Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth, Systems
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