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School counselling 2.0: Reimagining school wellbeing through the lens of positive psychology 2.0
Author(s)
Date Issued
2025
Citation
Harrison, M. G., & Tam, A. (25 Jun 2025). School counselling 2.0: Reimagining school wellbeing through the lens of positive psychology 2.0. Positive Psychology 2.0 International Conference 2025 (PP 2.0 2025), Tung Wah College, Hong Kong.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
In the high-pressure climate of contemporary schools, counsellors face a tension between
institutional demands for performativity – measurable success and productivity – and a need to address the root causes of stress and disengagement. This chapter proposes a pragmatic,
reimagined approach to school counselling (School Counselling 2.0) grounded in Positive
Psychology 2.0 as a step towards addressing this tension. Drawing on Heidi Rimke’s critique of psychocentrism and Christoph Teschers’ exploration of Lebenskunst (the Art of Living), School Counselling 2.0 challenges growthism paradigms that focus on the pursuit of achievement and neoliberal narratives that prioritize resilience and productivity over systemic change, revealing how schools instrumentalize wellbeing and responsibilise students for their own mental health in harmful ways. Instead, it advocates degrowth, simplicity, and ecological ethics to foster sustainable flourishing, foregrounding contextual and systemic wellbeing. An empirical study with practicing school counsellors revealed that counsellors implicitly align with many of these principles, emphasizing emotional complexity, systemic advocacy, and intrinsic wellbeing over growth-oriented metrics in their work with students. Key themes in the data were: embracing emotional complexity, contextualizing wellbeing through community-based approaches, decoupling wellbeing from productivity, and promoting justice-oriented flourishing. We propose several strategies for implementing School Counselling 2.0 while navigating institutional
demands. Piloting small-scale programs, leveraging data, and aligning with global trends (e.g., UNESCO’s wellbeing focus) promote credibility and buy-in. The chapter concludes with a call to action for counsellors to pilot this model, balancing radical critique with pragmatic alignment to transform school counselling in high-pressure academic environments.
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