GAPP

Positive Psychology is gaining ground in Deutschland: New Associations and Conferences

Flag - German SmileyAbout two years ago, I uttered an outcry via Mappalicious: Positive Psychology in Germany – where are you? In the meantime, someone answered, as the movement is gaining some traction in Germany. Here´s an overview of Positive Psychology Associations and conferences taking place this year:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Positiv-Psychologische Forschung (DGPPF e.V. – English: German Association for Research in Positive Psychology)

The DGPPF is an association of scientists from all academic backgrounds who conduct research on and teach positive psychology. It is an interdisciplinary research and teaching association which seeks to promote and disseminate the science of positive psychology. Over the next years, they plan to host congresses, promote publications, create empirical instruments, collect data, create a journal, and much more.

DGPPF will host a conference at University of Trier from May 19-21, 2016: “State of the Art – Zum Stand der positiv-psychologischen Forschung im deutschsprachigen Raum” (Info)

Deutschsprachiger Dachverband für Positive Psychologie (DACH-PP e.V. – English: The German-speaking Association of Positive Psychology | GAPP)

GAPP’s goal is to bring the concept and methods of Positive Psychology to the attention of a broader public in the German-speaking countries. GAPP supports the practical application of PP in areas such as coaching, psychotherapy, counseling, school, business and politics. GAPP wants to serve as a communication platform for initiatives which are rooted in academic application of positive psychology.

GAPP will host a conference at Freie Universität Berlin from September 17-18, 2016: “Erste Konferenz des DACH-PP – Positive Psychologie für die Praxis” (Info)

The German Chapter of the European Network for Positive Psychology (ENPP)

The European Network for Positive Psychology (ENPP) is a collective of European researchers and practitioners with shared interests in the science and practice of positive psychology. Researchers and practitioners from other disciplines like economics, sociology, philosophy or biology are also invited to participate.

The website www.positive-psychologie.org is currently under construction. In the meantime, you might want to check out the general ENPP Homepage.

ENPP will host the “8th European Conference on Positive Psychology” at Angers (France) from June 28-July 1, 2016. (Info)

Positive Psychologie Tour 2016

Additionally, you might be interested to hear that some of the spearheading figures in Positive Psychology will be coming to Germany and Austria over the summer for several conferences and workshops, among them Martin Seligman, Barbara Fredrickson, Roy Baumeister, Tayyab Rashid, and Kim Cameron. All information can be found here.

 

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Positive Psychology in Germany – where are you?

Flag - German SmileyIn terms of age, Positive Psychology is now in its teenage years. Most of the stuff that´s been happening so far – be it research or practice – is located in in the USA (but PP is pretty well-developed in other Anglo-Saxon cultures such as the UK and Australia as well).

But what about my Germany, my mother country? Well, Germans in general are known for a lot of sought-after character traits – but we may just not be the perfect audience for Positive Psychology. At the end of the day, we´re not really the shiny happy people, right? And the more we need PP…maybe.

There are a few German PP researchers out there, but typically, they tend to work in the U.S., such as Matthias Mehl. I´m the third German MAPPster. The first one is Johannes Eichstaedt who is now a Ph.D. student at Penn´s Positive Psychology Center. The second one is Judith Mangelsdorf who now pursues a Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

A couple of months ago, the German (-speaking) Association of Positive Psychology was founded (is also associated with IPPA, the International Positive Psychology Association). In addition, a lot of information can be found via www.seligmaneurope.com.

If you are in Germany and interested in Positive Psychology – please reach out to me…

 

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