Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0487
ISSN: 2161-0487
Troy W. Norris
WellBalance Institute, Boston, MA, United States
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother
The Wellbeing Balance and Lived Experiences (WBAL) Assessment evaluates the frequency of various positive experiences and feelings across a range of activation and arousal levels, to identify discrete modifiable contributors to wellbeing as targets for individualized wellbeing interventions. The WBAL Model integrates multi-disciplinary findings across positive psychology and wellbeing research to encompass a full range of hedonic and eudaimonic positive human experiences and feelings. As a result, the WBAL Model can be used to design tailored wellbeing interventions to address individuals’ life situations, identities and habits, but can be complex to interpret and apply in practice. This workshop will review the practical application of the WBAL Model and Assessment to design individualized wellbeing plans, using illustrative archetypal examples to interactively design wellbeing plans. The workshop will discuss: categories of positive experiences and related positive feelings; the concept of wellbeing productivity, including the use of wellbeing multipliers and boosters to enhance wellbeing; and the importance of balance and variety to reduce hedonic adaptation, build wellbeing resilience and catalyze upward spirals of positivity in accordance with the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Storytelling (Personal Story) Finding My Way to Resilient Wellbeing: How I Finally Became Well and Stayed Well Troy W. Norris Resilience doesn’t assure wellbeing, and wellbeing, once achieved, can be fragile. Indeed, our well-intentioned efforts to be happy, or simply survive, in the moment can erode our foundations of wellbeing over time. In this talk, I will tell how I found my way from unwell resilience through fragile wellbeing to finally build resilient wellbeing, creating a novel model of applied positive wellbeing to guide my way. As a child, I was abandoned by a parent, abused by a neighbor, watched my remaining parent die, and then moved across the continent. Somehow, this troubled boy became a sports team captain, accomplished musician and student officer on his way to Harvard - a model of resilience! But I was not well, suffering major depression and suicidality in the months that followed. Over the next two decades, I assembled the trappings of the “good life” – married in a comfortable suburban home with three wonderful children and a successful career. But my wellbeing became increasingly narrow and fragile, until suddenly this life unraveled. In deep despair, I discovered the science of positive psychology, learned how to build a flourishing life with lasting wellbeing, and devoted myself to helping others achieve positive transformation and fulfillment