Richard Appiah International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Richard Appiah

Richard Appiah is a Senior Lecturer in the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Northumbria University. He holds a PhD in health sciences with positive psychology from the North-West University, a Masters in clinical psychology from the University of Ghana, and recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Center of African Studies at Harvard University. Dr Appiah was the lead implementer (mental health arm) on the Escaping Poverty (EP) project, where he collaborated with the Innovations for Poverty Action and Heifer Ghana to co-develop mental health and strengths-based intervention modules and led the implementation of the EP and related projects in 165 rural communities across four regions of Ghana. He is presently collaborating with colleagues in the US, Italy, and South Africa to design context-tailored parenting support program to support parents and adolescents to nurture positive relationships and communication, acquire skills to manage individual and family stress, and to adopt effective/non-violent disciplinary approaches to parenting. Dr Appiah’s publications have critically reflected on the informed consent process, and the theoretical, sociocultural, and methodological issues that constrain the design, uptake, and effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in the more collectivistic context of sub-Saharan Africa. His recent work translated and validated the Twi versions of six mental health and well-being measures, and developed and evaluated a 10-session, two-hourly, once-weekly group-based multicomponent positive psychology intervention program (the Inspired Life Program), designed to promote mental health, build resilience, and increase vocational productivity of rural poor adults in Ghana.