The power of wellbeing, packaged for a 21st century mindset

In 2016, the University of Melbourne received a major gift of $2.3 million from philanthropist John Higgins AO to strengthen and enrich teaching and research in the field of positive psychology. The gift has enabled the wide-scale application of specialised programs to support the wellbeing of young Australians.

“Their world is different to ours and we have to speak their language and heavily involve them, not just consult them,” Professor Vella-Brodrick explains.

The dynamic technology provides immediate feedback to the students about how well an activity is working to improve their levels of relaxation. To provide motivation and to encourage them to stay interested, gamification incorporates game mechanics like competition, rules and points scoring into a task.

Communication has always been at the heart of Professor Vella-Brodrick’s work. While recognising that there were some great wellbeing interventions available, she felt they were not always youth friendly.

The extraordinary $2.3 million gift that established the Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne in 2016 allowed her the freedom to focus on creative research projects like Bio-Dash.

“Being given the opportunity to do that has allowed me to better understand what the issues are and to reflect, synthesise and come up with solutions.”

The donation of philanthropist John Higgins AO honours his late father, Gerry Higgins, who emigrated from Ireland in 1949 and built his one-man painting business in Melbourne into a successful national enterprise, Higgins Coatings.

Higgins believes every school student should be exposed to the principles of positive psychology so they have the skills to influence their own lives and those of the people around them.

“Psychology has traditionally supported people to move from minus 10 to zero,” he has said. “What I love about positive psychology is it helps people move from zero to plus 10.”

In addition to her role as Chair, Professor Vella-Brodrick is deputy director and head of research at the University’s Centre for Wellbeing Science. In these complementary roles, she has been committed to the development and evaluation of school-based and workplace wellbeing programs.

The rationale behind Bio-Dash was to make such a program affordable, accessible and penetrative. Professor Vella-Brodrick and her team chose to trial the program with a group of high school boys at Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne. She says a boys’ school was deliberately chosen because teenage boys can be resistant to intervention programs.

The trial results and feedback from the students and teachers were impressive. The students reported improvements in relaxation and anxiety after their Bio-Dash sessions. They also reported that they enjoyed its biofeedback and gamification features and could see its value in their everyday life. Their input helped refine the program.

Professor Vella-Brodrick says the aim is to make the program available to all high school students across all school sectors.

“It gives them autonomy,” she says by way of explaining how Bio-Dash works. “I’m a big advocate of empowering students with knowledge and tools. They can make informed decisions about their own mental health. This provides them with their own personalised wellbeing pathway.”

The tools are cool and non-invasive. They allow the students to track their wellbeing and understand how they respond to certain strategies. “I don’t like to prescribe specific wellbeing strategies,” she explains.

“I want to expose them to a variety of different strategies from different disciplines and enable them to make their choices. They will have the data to see what works for them.”

Victoria’s Department of Education has released money for wellbeing programs in its schools and Professor Vella-Brodrick hopes that Bio-Dash will be included in the programs offered in 2022.

The Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology has also enabled her to flex her creative muscle in other areas. She has just completed a systematic review of how green spaces in schools can augment the attention and memory of children.

The implications are profound at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental wellbeing of so many young people.

“Using green spaces in the classroom or green opportunities – virtual or real – provides cognitive relief and restoration,” she says.

The demands on today’s children are significant. “We expect them to do so much,” Professor Vella-Brodrick adds. “Their minds have not always had the opportunity to restore. They’re always on the go – on screens or on social media. They face the pressure of exams and on securing points to get university places.

“They have so little time to take stock and to rejuvenate. We need to give them the space to do that and appreciating nature is a great starting point.”

The Chair of Positive Psychology has also afforded Professor Vella-Brodrick the space to mentor staff and to grow the Centre’s research, an opportunity she describes as “highly rewarding”. “Over the past couple of years, six of my PhD students successfully completed their PhDs.” In 2021, she was awarded the Melbourne Graduate School of Education award for mentoring excellence.

“This wonderful and generous gift from John Higgins has allowed me to create pathways for young people to self-manage their mental health and wellbeing. Bio-Dash equips young people with the tools, skills and support to enhance their quality of life and move beyond day-to-day pressures.

"The benefits of these wellbeing skills can extend well into the future in their roles as partners, parents and employees. With education and training, young people can be empowered to improve their wellbeing. This creates much needed hope and motivation for a good life in the present and in the future.”