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ABOUT

ME

discover the best in life

ABOUT THRIVE

A comprehensive guide to individual and collective well-being

Featured in THE US NEWS 2019 Best colleges guidebook
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PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS INCLUDE

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THRIVE is a simple theoretical model, comprehensive curriculum, and engaging program that organizes and teaches both the classic and contemporary, research-verified strategies to evoke individual and collective well-being.

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The cornerstone of Positive Psychology (the study of human flourishing and strengths) is the PERMA Model of Well-Being (2011) by Dr. Martin Seligman, the former President of the American Psychological Association. This evidence-based theory states that well-being is comprised of the following elements:

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  • Positive emotion: feeling joy, hope, excitement, satisfaction, etc.

  • Engagement: feeling captivated or content with the present moment

  • Relationships: feeling a sense of love, belonging, and support from others

  • Meaning: feeling purposeful or a part of something bigger than the self

  • Accomplishment: feeling a sense of achievement, creation, or contribution

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The corresponding PERMA-Profiler questionnaire (Butler & Kern, 2015) created by the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center to measure well-being recognizes physical health as a sixth required component of well-being.

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In reviewing the PERMA model, one notices that all proposed well-being components are end states of being or feeling, except for "Relationships", which is more of a means to an end. An alternative acronym is proposed for PERMA to include physical health within the acronym and to replace the word "Relationships" with the end state feeling word of "Love" to provide a more memorable acronym that summarizes the same essence of well-being: WELMAP. 

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  • Wellness (physical health): feeling comfortable and capable in your own skin

  • Engagement: feeling captivated or content with the present moment

  • Love (Relationships): feeling a sense of belonging and support from others

  • Meaning: feeling purposeful or a part of something bigger than the self

  • Accomplishment: feeling a sense of achievement, creation, or contribution 

  • Positive emotion: feeling joy, hope, excitement, satisfaction, etc.

 

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While PERMA / WELMAP deliver on clarifying what well-being is, perhaps a more important question is, "What must one do to achieve well-being?" A comprehensive theoretical and operational paradigm explaining how well-being is achieved has remained unclear. Until now.

Thoughts      Health        Relationships    Impact        Vision        Emotions

Christie Versagli, M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University, noticed how the skills and practices counselors teach clients to successfully improve their well-being all tend to fall within the same six categories:

  • Thoughts: you need to manage your negative and unproductive thoughts

  • Health: you need to practice physically healthy behavioral habits

  • Relationships: you need to engage in uplifting, reciprocal relationships

  • Impact: you need to make a positive difference in the lives of others

  • Vision: you need to pursue a worthwhile goal

  • Emotions: you need to regulate your negative or difficult emotions

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Each of the six THRIVE skill sets is believed to (i) evoke one of the six WELMAP states of well-being and (ii) prevent one of the six major health crises on the rise society: anxiety, disease, conflict, narcissism, depression, and neuroticism (Versagli, 2018).

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By practicing THRIVE, well-being can be evoked 

and illness can be prevented.​

"THRIVE is distinguished from other wellness programs by the way it recognizes how well-being cannot be achieved alone. It provides both the practical tools to take control of one's own wellness with the uplifting community environment to experience it."

 

- MARGARET HAZLETT, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE

PARTICIPANT TESTIMONiALS

“Absolutely fantastic. So helpful for getting through college without going insane.”

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“It is so inspirational, makes me happy. People need this education.”

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"The whole thing was engaging!"

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"This is such necessary information for everyone."

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“I liked the small supportive community."

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"College teaches you how to do something.

THRIVE teaches you how to live."

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"Helps you be a better you in every sense."​

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"Well worth my time."

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“Deals with doable, manageable things instead of lofty overarching information.”

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“I liked the feeling I had after every meeting. I’d walk in here and forget all my problems and just focus on myself.”

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“You’ll thank yourself for attending.”

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“The THRIVE program opened my eyes to the lack of education and implementation of well-being and then inspired me to do so. I’m now more aware and happier.”​

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"THRIVE is simply the best all in one club."

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"We've become such great friends!

We've invested in one another."

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"It's a program that is 100% relevant in everyone's lives that all of us can benefit from in order to thrive in our lives and help others to thrive in theirs too."

LEADERSHIP TESTIMONiALS

"The response to the THRIVE program from students, staff, and parents was exceedingly positive. The timing is right for THRIVE to be adopted on campuses as a preventative approach to addressing the nationwide mental health issues facing our students."

 

-TERRY MARTINEZ, DEAN OF STUDENTS

HAMILTON COLLEGE

& JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

The THRIVE SKILL SETS              produce       THE WELMAP WELL-BEING STATES.

Thoughts

If you manage your negative or unproductive thoughts            you will feel

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Health                  

If you practice physically healthy behavioral habits                    you will feel

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Relationships

If you engage in uplifting, reciprocal relationships                     you will feel

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Impact

If you make a positive difference in the lives of others              you will feel

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Vision

If you pursue a worthwhile goal                                                    you will feel

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Emotions   

If you regulate your negative or difficult emotions                     you will feel

Engagement (prevents anxiety)

captivated and content with the present moment.

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Wellness (prevents disease)

physically healthy, comfortable, and capable. 

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Love (prevents loneliness, conflict, and abuse)

belonging, support, collaboration, companionship.  

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Meaning (prevents narcissism)

a part of something bigger than the self.

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Accomplishment (prevents depression)

a sense of achievement, purpose, and contribution.

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Positive emotion (prevents neuroticism)

joy, hope, excitement, satisfaction, and so on.

What sets the THRIVE curriculum apart from

other wellness models?

  • Simple: A clear, manageable, and memorable system for organizing the comprehensive span of well-being.

  • Substantiated: Teaches research-verified, practical skills for improving clarity and control over personal well-being.

  • Interconnected: Explains how the THRIVE elements connect and work together to evoke individual and collective well-being.

  • Preventative: Proactively equips participants with strategies to reduce or prevent future crises.

  • Collective: Well-being cannot be achieved alone. Fosters uplifting community support, not just self-help.

  • Experiential: Allows participants to practice the skills and directly experience their benefits to reinforce repetition.

  • Relatable: Suitable to be tailored to diverse audiences, and offers engaging materials and exercises.

  • Meaningful: Promotes deep fulfillment and meaningful connections with others; not shallow, temporary highs.

  • Comforting: Creates a safe space to reveal one's true self and normalize sharing difficulties to give and receive real support.

  • Uniting: Fosters compassion by exposure to the different ways we experience what we all have in common.

  • Flexible: Provides a guiding framework that can be customized to fit your organization's needs and resources.

  • Affordable: Able to reach and impact large audiences with little institutional resources or expenses.

  • It works: Students and faculty exposed to the program rated it high and a necessity on campus.

References

-Butler, J. & Kern, M. L. (2015). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. Retrieved from http://www.peggykern.org/questionnaires.html

-Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Atria.

-Versagli, C. (2018). THRIVE: A Guide to Individual and Collective Well-Being. Romansville, PA: THRIVE Institute.

Curious how you or your organization can begin to THRIVE?

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