The fundamentals of positive psychology

Dr Corey Lee M Keyes, PhD, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Health, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Co-editor, Flourishing - Positive Psychology and the Life Well-lived

Three fundamentals of positive psychology will be illustrated in this workshop. First, the absence of the negative (e.g., illness or suffering) does not mean the presence of the positive (e.g., health and happiness). Second, the complete state of mental health (the presence of the positive and the absence of the negative) represents a markedly better state of feeling and functioning in life than merely the absence of the negative. Third, being and becoming are related to distinct facets of subjective well-being. People who see themselves making more improvements in their lives report better eudaimonic (eg personal growth), but worse hedonic (ie happiness) well-being than adults who see themselves unchanged.

You will learn about the measurement of the "mental health continuum"and the diagnosis of states of flourishing, moderate mental health, and languishing. You will learn about the author's "complete mental health"approach to diagnosing and assessing patient and population mental health. We will review the scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis that anything less than flourishing in life results in increased physical and psychosocial impairment. An important element of this workshop will be to engage its participants in a break-out group brainstorming session to generate suggestions for ways to promote flourishing that could be implemented in private practice and investigated scientifically.

Learning to recognize concealed emotions: Micro Expressions

Professor David Matsumoto, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Director, Culture and Emotion Research Laboratory, San Francisco State University, USA

Micro expressions - facial expressions of emotion that are very brief (1/15 of a second) are signs of concealed emotions. When viewed in slowed motion they look like ordinary expressions of one of the seven universal emotions: happiness, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, contempt or surprise. Micros are the result of either deliberate suppression or unconscious repression. Most people do not recognize micro expressions without the specialized training provided in this workshop. First the participants will take a test of how well they can recognize micro expressions. Then they will receive training and practice. A post-test will reveal how well they can now spot micro expressions and feedback as to which emotions they are still missing. The use of information taken from micro expressions in family relationships, friendships, and in the workplace will be learned through interactive breakout groups.

Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials

Stephanie Dowrick, Interfaith Minister, Author: Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love

Learn how to change the way you relate to other people so you can be happier. Most importantly, learn how to change the way you relate to yourself. Stephanie Dowrick will offer a very practical interactive workshop based on her most recent book, Australian best-seller Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials. This will be suitable for people of all ages and stages and will focus on the key psychological and spiritual attitudes and skills that promote resilience, inner stability and an authentically positive and uplifting response to life.

Stillness in Daily Life - A Meditation-based Workshop

Dr Ian Gawler, OAM, Therapeutic Director, The Gawler Foundation

"All of man's difficulties are caused by his inability to sit, quietly, in a room by himself." B Pascal – French Philosopher

Yet so many people these days seem to find their lives becoming busier and busier. So much to do. Doing, doing, doing. No time for being still. No time for stillness. No time for being.

And stillness has so much to offer. For in stillness there is deep natural peace, deep natural rest. Time to regain balance. Time for healing. And more profoundly, time to reconnect with the essence of who we are. The possibility of a direct experience of our fundamental nature.

The awareness that comes from this experience in inner stillness can then inform how we live our lives. More centered, more balanced; and the natural expression of compassion and loving kindness.

In this workshop, meditation that leads into this stillness will be introduced and practised.

Ian Gawler draws on his experiences with Ainslie Meares and the therapeutic application of meditation, as well as the Dzogchen tradition of his long term teacher Sogyal Rinpoche.

Unravelling Our Negative Emotions

Venerable Robina Courtin, Director, Liberation Prison Project, USA & Australia; subject of award winning documentary Chasing Buddha

In our contemporary understanding of the human mind, we give equal status to the positive and negative emotions, such as anger, kindness, love, jealousy, self-hate and the rest. We assume that we're all born this way, that this is what we're stuck with. We do our best to keep the disturbing emotions under control, but not with much conviction; and even though we can see that they cause us and others so much distress, we even defend our right to have them.

According to Buddha's model of the mind, however, the positive emotions are at the core of our being, are what actually define us. The disturbing emotions, he says, are like pollution, additives: they simply don't belong. This empowering and radical approach to understanding our human experience is the basis of Buddhist practice. Through the use of Buddha's skillful psychological techniques called "meditation" we are able to unravel the complexity of our own emotions and gradually develop our innate potential for kindness, empathy, joy and happiness.

Relationships: survive and thrive

Ven Tenzin Chonyi (Dr Diana Taylor), psychologist and touring teacher, FPMT; and

An experiential workshop using mediation, visualisation techniques, mindfulness principles and discussion in small groups to explore the dynamics of intimacy, love and attachment from a Buddhist point of view.

Topics incliude:

• Romantic love and its expectations
• Attachment and letting go
• Ego and conflict: anger, depression and running away
• The art of listening: assertiveness, acceptance and inner renewal
• Pseudo intimacy and real intimacy
• Communication: exchanging ourselves for the other

The Heart of Healing

Petrea King, Founder and CEO, The Petrea King Quest for Life Centre
ND, DBM, DRM, Dip C Hyp, IYTA

We so often get caught in the "doing" of life, yet real healing and health is found in our capacity to "be" rather than "do". It is in our being that we discover the heart of healing. Illnesses, accidents, disappointments and tragedies cause us to stop in our tracks and consider the question of our own existence and the challenges we face. Asking:

• Who am I?
• What am I doing on the planet?
• Am I living the life I came here to live?
• If not, why not?
• And what am I going to do about it?

can cause a powerful awakening to the great privilege of human existence. In human form we are creative beings who have choice. We do not have to be helpless victims of our history. In human form we can discover the peace that passes all understanding, where we are no longer defined by our physical limitations or our mental and emotional turbulence.

Life is full of uncertainties. It presents us with the unexpected, the unasked for and, sometimes, the unthinkable. Our struggle for understanding and acceptance can cause us to find the heroic within ourselves and in so doing we find self-understanding, resolution, humour, courage, wisdom and more.

Healthy Self Esteem: Using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to build and maintain healthy self-esteem

Dr Sarah Edelman, Psychologist and Author, University of Technology, Sydney

Our self-esteem is the way we perceive our own worth as human beings, and as such, it has enormous implications for every aspect of our lives. It affects our ability to feel happy, safe and valued, and to have healthy relationships based on equality and mutual respect. Over the course of our lives most of us experience events that challenge our sense of self-worth, and have the potential to affect the way we perceive ourselves. In this workshop participants will learn to recognise some of the beliefs and ways of thinking that contribute to diminished self-esteem, and will learn practical strategies for changing those beliefs.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a widely used psychological approach in clinical psychology and self-improvement programs. It has a well established track record in helping people to manage a range of psychological problems, including anxiety, depression, anger, stress and relationship difficulties. In this workshop participants will learn how to apply the principals of CBT in the process of building and maintaining healthy self-esteem.