Mental Health Panel 7: Leveraging Character Strengths to Drive Systemic Change for Authentic Autistic Flourishing
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Leveraging Character Strengths to Drive Systemic Change for Authentic Autistic Flourishing
Moderator: Gregory Yates
Objectives:
- Understand the value of Character Strengths as an inclusive approach to support neurodivergent people from different backgrounds with varying abilities to identify personal strengths that resonate with their core values and identity and feel empowered to flourish by putting their values in action.
Explore ways that Character Strengths can elicit wider systems change by shifting family and healthcare professionals’ perspectives to understand: a) how CS motivates neurodivergent people to act in everyday life; b) how to create opportunities in the environment to support neurodivergent people to utilise their Character Strengths in an authentic manner to boost self-esteem, develop positive identity, and buffer against mental health difficulties.
Jiedi Lei, PhD, Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford
I am a clinical psychologist and research fellow at the University of Oxford. In my research, I adopt a developmental and mechanistic approach when working with autistic children and young people (CYP), to understand the underlying cognitive, social, and environmental factors that influence individual’s mental wellbeing through childhood and adolescence. As a scientist-practitioner, I focus on translating research to: 1. Better inform and adapt existing evidence-based interventions for autistic CYP. 2. Develop novel interventions or programmes to make a difference to their quality of life. I am particularly keen to adopt a person-centred and strength-based approach to enable autistic CYP to build a positive autism and self-identity, and to develop and validate novel assessment tools to improve the formulation and identification of treatment targets for mental health interventions for this clinical population.
Alicja Nocon, MSc EIA, Autistic & AuDHD Experience Coach, Expand the Circle
Alicja (‘Aleetsya’) Nocon is a UK-based late-diagnosed autistic coach, coach supervisor, and speaker, and the founder of Expand the Circle. She supports late-discovered autistic and AuDHD adults in thriving in their careers with confidence, authenticity, and impact. As a woman and first-generation economic immigrant with coal-mining heritage, she is deeply aware of intersectionality and the effects of multiple marginalisation on neurodivergent wellbeing. In her work, Alicja seeks to integrate coaching research and practice. Building on her peer-reviewed study on character strengths in autistic adults in community settings, she has contributed to the field by sharing her reflections on the application of the VIA Character Strengths framework in neurodiversity coaching, with the hope of informing clinical practice and other helping professions. Her work introduces the concept of "camouflaged signature strengths" and highlights the importance of distinguishing core strengths from those shaped by the external environment and societal pressures, as well as optimising strengths to enhance psychological flexibility, wellbeing, and professional success. Alicja holds a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London and is accredited with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) at Senior Practitioner level.
Denise Martin, Occupational Therapist and Positive Psychology Practitioner, MAPPCP, NHS (UK)
Denise brings over two decades of experience as a children's occupational therapist, with a specialisation in autism. Her commitment to leveraging strengths is further underscored by her MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. For her capstone research, Denise explored the intersection of character strengths and occupational performance, specifically within autistic adolescents. Denise has lectured on the converging topics of occupational therapy, and positive psychology to diverse audiences, including the Northwest (England) Youth Justice Service and the University of Toronto's Occupational Therapy Preregistration MSc Students. Her recent contributions include appearing as a guest on three episodes of a podcast series focused on sensory processing with Autism Central, commissioned by NHS England. As a dyspraxic and dyslexic individual herself, Denise offers a unique perspective, blending her extensive professional knowledge with valuable lived experience to advocate for neurodiversity and the application of individual strengths.
Ryan M. Niemiec, PsyD, Chief Science & Education Officer, VIA Institute on Character
Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. is a character strengths scientist, educator, and practitioner. He’s Chief Science & Education Officer at the VIA Institute on Character, a global nonprofit organization in Cincinnati. Ryan has been at the center of the advancement of the science and practice of character strengths for 16 years, positively impacting many millions of people. Ryan is a 4-time, award-winning psychologist, annual instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of 15 books and over 100 academic papers. His books include the bestselling, The Power of Character Strengths and the two leading practitioner books in positive psychology – Character Strengths Interventions and Mindfulness and Character Strengths. He created the empirically-validated program, Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP), used in over 50 countries. In the neurodivergence space, he recently coauthored Character Strengths and Abilities within Disabilities, and the core paper on integrating character strengths for intellectual/developmental disability (Niemiec, Shogren, & Wehmeyer, 2017). Ryan lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three young, zestful children. His highest strengths are hope, love, honesty, fairness, spirituality, social intelligence, and appreciation of beauty. Ryan’s hobbies include creative writing, poetry, playing tai chi, chess, basketball, tennis, and guitar; traveling; watching Michigan State athletics; and collecting vintage Pez dispensers.