Flourish (Flourishing Lives through OUR Innate Strengths to Heal) Lab

The Flourish research lab led by Dr. Deborah Moon is dedicated to promoting global research and development related to promoting the flourishing of children, youths, and families in disadvantaged environments. Flourishing, a construct developed in the field of positive psychology, refers to the ultimate status of well-being across all dimensions of human functioning such as positive emotions (feeling happy), engagement, human relationships, meaning, accomplishments, and more. Current mental health research tends to be driven by the narrow definition of mental health, which is the absence of mental illness. However, all people are born with the right to flourish while pursuing happiness, well-being, self-actualization, and fulfillment with or without mental illness. The Flourish lab seeks to promote innovative and cutting-edge research that contributes to redefining the concept of mental health with an emphasis on prevention and the promotion of mental health, i.e., flourishing beyond symptom reduction for people living in diverse cultural and geographical contexts.  The following initiatives are central to the mission of the Flourish lab:

• Create global partnerships for research and development focused on promoting the flourishing of children, youths, and families in disadvantaged environments.

• Promote research focused on preventing adverse conditions and promoting flourishing or other related well-being outcomes beyond symptom reduction.

• Develop culturally sensitive and globally informed measures of flourishing through stakeholder-engaged research throughout the Globe.

• Employ and further develop innovative research methods including the methods of Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science, realist inquiries, and community-based participatory research to identify and strengthen the contexts and mechanisms that are associated with human flourishing.

• Cultivate future generations of scholars capable of leading transdisciplinary, transnational, and cross-cultural research using innovative research methods.