Dedications

Jo Mitchell
Jo Mitchell (PhD) is a clinically trained psychologist and works with professionals experiencing mental
illness, burnout, or struggling to achieve important life goals, find meaning and live well. Jo has an active
interest in wellbeing science – including positive psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT) and mindfulness – and completed her PhD in this field. She has a passion for remixing ideas and
connecting people and projects to create collaborations that make positive change. Jo is co-founder of
The Mind Room and Wellbeing Manager for the AFL Players Association in Australia. She is a board
member of Action for Happiness Australia and Science Advisor for Band4Hope.
In general terms and from your point of view, what are some of the defining features of positive
psychology?
For me the defining feature of positive psychology is that it’s a different lens for viewing the world. That
lens is the crucial element in that it’s getting us to ask questions differently, to look at the world
differently, to consider things that we were missing before, and if that’s all that it does, then it’s
amazing.
I had a conversation the other day with one of our major mental health organisations in Australia, and
the first thing I checked with them was if they would have a focus on wellbeing as much as mental
illness and verbally they assured me “yes”. But when I went through all their materials all I could see is
this focus on illness and illness prevention. So, yes, while I think we are getting there, I think they get it
to some degree, but there was not this flow-on effect to the publications the organisation was
producing, so they need that lens. So for me it’s the lens that is a key feature.
What’s one aspiration you have for positive psychology as a whole?
That it’s no longer called “positive psychology,” that it’s just psychology, that it becomes so integrated
and woven into the fabric of how we think and approach health and wellbeing that we don’t need to
call it “positive psychology” as an entity on its own.
107