Background
With the proliferation of social justice movements globally, Positive Psychology practitioners are poised to help marginalized communities experiencing health inequity to find and use their voices to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental health. This presentation shares how positive narrative and appreciative inquiry impact overall well-being. Participants will have an immersive how-to training experience using empirically valid, award-winning expressive projects. Additionally, 23 virtual/in-person positive health workshops have been shared in hospital, clinical, educational, and corporate settings with 500,000+ people.
Aims
This presentation provides a strong conceptual overview of the benefits of positive narrative and appreciative inquiry, bolstered by immersive activities for participants to experience well-being shifts. This workshop is relevant for professionals in health care, clinical, corporate/organizational, educational, and coaching seeking to enhance well-being personally and for the constituencies they serve.
Method
Since 2000, Soaringwords has shared hands-on expressive activities and appreciative inquiry interventions with diverse populations worldwide. Thousands of people created thematic messages/artwork to donate to hospitalized children. Pre- and post-activity surveys created by Dr. Margaret Kern, renowned researcher in health outcome scales, measure shifts in well-being.
Results
100% of participants reported looking forward to creating their pay-it-forward activity and 86% reported they felt more in touch with their values afterward. (Source: Tampa, Florida, 2021 initiative). 86% of participants reported decreased worry, 75% increased joy, 57% increased pride, and 41% increased gratitude after a Soaringwords intervention. (Source: Silicon Valley year-long initiative, 2020-2021).
Conclusion
When Positive Psychology practitioners access the benefits of positive narrative and appreciative inquiry, it can enhance the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of themselves and the constituencies they serve in health care, clinical, educational, corporate/organizational, and coaching domains. Empirical findings show enhanced resilience, agency, and overall health across cultures and countries. These findings are especially relevant as COVID amplified health inequity among marginalized communities. This model is scalable and replicable for IPPA members to bring to communities worldwide.