Category Archives: Podcast

Dr Katie Fitzpatrick and HPE leader Kat Wells talk to Denise about Mental Health Education and Hauora – their HPE curriculum resource for NZ schools. They explain how important HPE is for building wellbeing literacy and why ‘educative’ rather than ‘interventionist approaches’ are essential in schools. They are advocates for more curriculum time for this…

Why should we value and endorse a coaching culture in schools? In this interview, Clive and Denise discuss the overlap of organizational coaching and positive psychology. A growing body of research demonstrates that coaching conversations can support performance and wellbeing. Clive believes that giving people an opportunity to consider a preferred future is a powerful…

How can we support wellbeing for Māori students and staff? In this episode Wiremu shares his school experiences both as a Māori student and as a school counsellor. He describes a sense of not belonging – that this wasn’t meant for him even though he is tangata whenua, a person of this land. To help young…

Low down: Dr Tayyab Rashid, developer of the Strengths-Based Resilience program for school and university students, and author of the Positive Psychotherapy Clinical Handbook talks to Denise about implementing wellbeing work in schools. He emphasises the importance of schools adapting programmes to their context – of adapting and interpreting the work for their students. His…

Why does paying attention to culture matter for Wellbeing? In this episode, Denise and Brenda discuss how families and schools can work together to build a resilient context for community members. Internal resources are only part of the equation for strengthening wellbeing and resilience. Brenda argues that we need to think about wellbeing in terms…

Where has PodEd been and where are we going? In this episode, Denise speaks to Mathew White who has been involved in PosEd since its inceptions.  Mathew has taught at St Peter’s Adelaide, and  Geelong Grammar.  Mathew suggests the first wave of PosEd was characterized by zest and enthusiasm while now there is more questioning…

What does PsychCap look like in schools? In this episode, Denise and Mike discuss the value of using the Psychological Capital framework in an educational environment. The acronym H.E.R.O. represents the four pillars of this model: Hope, Self-Efficacy, Resilience, Optimism. Mike believes HERO overlaps significantly with John Hattie’s work, particularly in regards to teacher and…

What can schools do to help staff and students engage with learning about wellbeing? Rhiannon McGee is charged with overseeing how wellbeing is supported throughout Geelong Grammar School and how it is taught to students from early years to high school. She explains the range of strategies they use to work with staff and students…

What can we do to help children and adolescents develop secure attachments? Nathan Wallis, long time child advocate, started as a young teacher who realised that “scared kids don’t learn”.  He realised he had to act like a nurturer before he could be a teacher and retrained as a child therapist. Nathan knows social and…