SMD Practitioner Speaker Series – Regenerative Positive Psychology: Elevating Meaning and PP Beyond an Individualistic Focus
Meaning, purpose, and wellbeing must come from somewhere. It is nonsensical to imagine that we develop out capacities for bliss, moral excellence, and appreciation for a fulfilling life solely from our individuality. Yet, there is a sense that much of positive psychology and wellbeing science approaches the topic as if humans are individual shoppers, browsing for flourishing fundamentals and new and improved happiness treats. Scholars have argued for systems approaches to wellbeing for quite some time. Regenerative Positive Psychology adds to these calls, and tries to lay out some ideas for what it would look like if we treated wellbeing as a signal that we are an active part of healthy social, political, economic, and environmental systems. Regenerative approaches point us toward participating in systems in ways that improve the health of those systems, offering a different approach to the prevailing approaches that are vulnerable to creating the perception that wellbeing supporting systems exist for us to exploit until they are depleted.
Speaker Biography:
Michael F. Steger, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology, and the Founding Director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University. He also holds honorary positions at the University of Melbourne, the Stockholm School of Economics, and North-West University in South Africa. His research focuses on how people flourish through building meaning and purpose in their lives and in their work. His recent work focuses on aligning human wellbeing interests with the wellbeing of natural and societal life-sustaining systems. He has published more than 150 scholarly articles and book chapters, and his published works include the two most widely-used measures of meaning and meaningful work, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire and the Work and Meaning Inventory. He is currently writing the forthcoming book, The Presence of Meaning, with Oxford University Press.
IPPA’s New Spirituality and Meaning Division Practice Series (2026):
The Spirituality and Meaning Division is pleased to announce the 2026 Practitioner Speaker Series, opening with our initial webinar on Feb 5, 2026. Dr. Maria Sirois, (Psy.D.), resilience expert, and long-standing practitioner of meditation, prayer, and writing on behalf of the spirit, will be leading this quarterly series. Each exploration offers an opportunity to learn from extraordinary thinkers and practitioners, devoted to the science and the experience of meaning and of connection to that which is larger than ourselves. In our quarterly webinars, Dr. Sirois will lead guests in conversation oriented to illuminating the latest considerations of practice, both on personal and systemic levels. Each webinar, lasting 1-1.5 hours, will offer opportunities for audience questions and for shared wisdom about what works on behalf of our own spirits, and those we coach, consult with or counsel. Anticipated webinar dates for 2026: Feb 5, April 8, July 8, Oct. 7.
Please note: Registration ends two days before the event, please register before July 6th!
