[Commpsych] FW: Announcing the International Positive PsychologyAssociation

Wed May 7 16:50:33 WST 2008

Hi AJ and everyone

A bit belated, but I have just responded to a query from a Social Work student about the legitimacy of this same invitation, so I thought I'd post my thoughts on CommPsych and see how others respond:

Dear xxxx

I have seen this invitation to join IPPA in a few places, and it's quite legitimate as an organisation that is gathering lots of interest internationally, especially while one of its founders, Martin Seligman, is here in Victoria spending time at Geelong Grammar (for a huge amount of money, I understand).  It is refreshing to see a countervoice to psychology's tendency to pathologise and subdivide human experience into categories of disorder and dis-ease. I like Seligman's emphasis on what we do with our lives, as a basis for 'authentic happiness', rather than worrying excessively about how we feel from one moment to the next.

Personally though, I have reservations about the Positive Psychology movement. Some of them are encapsulated by the very fact that Seligman spends time at Geelong Grammar and not, say, Braybrook or Broadmeadows or Frankston (or Wadeye or Yuendemu, for that matter) where a few realities would make 'learned optimism' a much more difficult task.  I think the best way to 'teach' someone to be optimistic is to give them a real experience of success; otherwise it's a false promise.  There have been links made between positive psychology and life coaching, a concept that I think is designed to market psychological services to people who have the least need of them but the greatest capacity to pay exorbitant fees.

There have been other criticisms of the movement from those who see it as masking or denying 'negative' human emotions such as sadness, pain and anger.  Our VU head of psychology, Jenny Sharples,  wrote a paper in the Australian Community Psychologist a couple of years ago that included some references to these critiques - you can access it at: http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/ACP_18(3)a.pdf <http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/ACP_18(3)a.pdf> 

Despite the theme on the IPPA website "Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive", another concern of mine is that the movement is very much focussed on individuals rather than communities. There is very little reference to power dynamics or the structural/global causes of human misery. 

I hope this is helpful - I'd be interested to know what caught your attention about the invitation, and where it fits with your own work and life experiences.

Heather Gridley 
School of Psychology 
Footscray Park Campus 
Victoria University 
PO Box 14428 
Melbourne 
VIC 8001 
Australia 
TEL +61 3 9919 5224 
FAX +61 3 9919 4324 
MOBILE: 0419 113 731 
Email: heather.gridley at vu.edu.au

________________________________

From: commpsych-bounces at lists.curtin.edu.au on behalf of Amiee-Jade Pember
Sent: Fri 7/03/2008 12:15 PM
To: commpsych at lists.curtin.edu.au
Subject: [Commpsych] FW: Announcing the International Positive PsychologyAssociation

Amiee-Jade Pember 
-----Original Message----- 
From: Louisa REHAK [mailto:l.rehak at ecu.edu.au] 
Sent: Friday, 7 March 2008 8:57 AM 
Subject: FW: Announcing the International Positive Psychology Association 

FYI - Positive Psychology 

Louisa Rehak 
Postgraduate Support Officer 
School of Psychology & Social Science 
Edith Cowan University 
100 Joondalup Drive 
Joondalup, Western Australia 6027 

Telephone: +61 8 6304 5301 
Facsimile: +61 8 6304 5834 

________________________________ 

From: Kathryn RUSSELL 
Sent: Fri 07/03/08 8:24 AM 
To: Louisa REHAK 
Subject: FW: Announcing the International Positive Psychology Association 

Louisa, 

This new organisation may be of interest to postgrads and staff interested 
in positive psychology 

Kathryn 

Kathryn Russell 
Phone: 0419 807 142 
Email: k.russell at ecu.edu.au 

________________________________ 

From: Authentic Happiness [mailto:announce at authentichappiness.org] 
Sent: Fri 7/03/2008 6:17 AM 
To: Kathryn RUSSELL 
Subject: Announcing the International Positive Psychology Association 

Dear Kathryn, 

We are delighted to announce the founding of a new organization: The 
International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).  The purpose of this 
organization is to promote the science and practice of positive psychology 
and to facilitate communication and collaboration among researchers and 
practitioners around the world who are interested in this new field. 

This is a brand new organization, and we would like to extend a cordial 
invitation to you to be among the very first to join.  We have been hard at 
work developing the infrastructure for what will without question be a major 
international organization.  Here are some highlights we wanted to share 
with you: 

-We have set up a website where you can find out more about IPPA and where 
you can join today.  Please visit www.ippanetwork.org 
<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=7031470&msgid=88104&act=&c=174806 
&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ippanetwork.org>  to sign up as a 
Charter Member, Charter Associate, or Charter Affiliate. 

-IPPA is run by a Board of Directors comprised of leading positive 
psychologists from around the world.  Visit the website for a full list of 
the members of the Board, which includes such founding figures as Martin E. 
P. Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 

-On the website, you will see the categories of membership developed by the 
IPPA Board of Directors.  We're excited that there is a category available 
for everyone, whether you are a researcher, a practitioner, a student, or 
someone who just wants to keep abreast of the latest developments in 
positive psychology. 

-You will also see the various membership benefits, including journals, an 
IPPA Newsletter, and quarterly conference calls with leading figures in 
positive psychology. 

-The First World Congress of Positive Psychology has been scheduled for June 
18-21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.  IPPA members will receive a 
discount on their Congress registration. 

-In the coming days, we will be adding more content to the website, so be 
sure to check back often. 

If you have any questions about IPPA or your membership, please send them to 
info at ippanetwork.org. 

Please help us spread the word about IPPA by forwarding this email to any 
groups or individuals you think might have an interest in joining this 
exciting new association. 

We look forward to having you join IPPA and to welcoming you into this 
global positive psychology community. 

Very best wishes, 

Ed Diener, President 
International Positive Psychology Association 

James Pawelski, Executive Director 
International Positive Psychology Association 

This message was sent from Authentic Happiness to k.russell at ecu.edu.au. It 
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CRICOS IPC 00279B 

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