Hello Friends,
My name is Shaleen Porwal. I have a professional education, training, and experience in engineering (Bachelor of Technology. in Electronics and Communications Engineering) and management (Master of Business Administration in Banking Management).
However, my passion took me on a more meaningful path for a greater purpose in my life.
My quest to understand human behaviour led me to further studies and training in Positive Psychology and helped me appreciate the good in myself and other people. The parenting lens helped me develop practices to enjoy the parenting journey for parents and the educational journey for children.
I am proud to say I am a Positive Parenting & Education Practitioner and the founder of Well-Being Of A Child [https://wellbeingofachild.com/]
My top 5 VIA Strengths are Kindness, Love, Love of Learning, Creativity, and Gratitude.
Besides parenting and education, I love to engage myself in gardening, photography and reading history.
Below is my journey in brief!
We all know that Parenting is a journey, and to know the process better, I had to delve into Psychology – to understand the basics of human behaviour. It helped me to complete my Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy & Counselling from The School of Positive Psychology, Singapore.
This was furthered by researching the latest branch – “Positive Psychology”.
All thanks to the amazing person, Ms Jana Dawson, who introduced me to this evidence-based field of psychology during my training process.
In the photo, I am with Jana after my completion of the Graduate Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology.
I could identify myself with the science of happiness, which eventually became my calling. This also helped me to complete my Graduate Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology from The School of Positive Psychology, Singapore.
I am very fortunate to have undergone SPARK Resilience Course by the developer of this programme and my guide in this journey of well-being, Ms Ilona Boniwell. And it was an auspicious and opportune moment that I received her blessings at the time.
In this journey of understanding relationships, happiness, well-being, and parenting, I enrolled on the next level of education, i.e. Postgraduate Diploma in Positive Education Strategies from The School of Positive Psychology, Singapore. I completed it on 1 September 2021.
In the photo, I am with Stephen – the founder of The School of Positive Psychology.
With my continuous learning, it is only natural and organic to become an expert in this field, and I earned it by completing my Master’s Degree, i.e. M.Sc. in Applied Positive Psychology, from Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom.
I understand that Parenting is very tiring and hectic, therefore whatever time I am left within a day, I try to indulge in reading the notable works of the following researchers, scientists and practitioners:
Dr Ed Diener, Dr Ilona Boniwell, Dr Martin Seligman, Dr Barbara Fredrickson, Dr Angela Duckworth, Dr Evie Rosset, Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky, Dr Judith S. Beck, Dr Daniel J. Siegel, Dr Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dr Lea Waters, Dr Christopher Peterson, Dr Kristin Neff, Dr Robert Biswas-Diener, Dr Ryan M. Niemiec, Dr Neal Mayerson, Dr Matthew D. Lieberman, Dr Itai Ivtzan, Dr Brené Brown, Dr Marc A. Brackett, Dr Shauna Shapiro, Dr Todd B. Kashdan, Dr Tim Lomas, Dr Carol Ryff, Dr Holli-Anne Passmore, Dr Peter Gray, and the like.
Besides, there are other numerous learnings that I am doing in my journey of well-being:
My Top 9 Character Strengths, as per the VIA Institute on Character, are represented in the adjoining profile taken from the VIA Character Strengths Survey.
It helped me understand and shift my focus from “what is wrong” to “what is good” and “how can we get better” processes. Further, this knowledge has helped me to take a balanced approach to using my Strengths. I happen to find an organic connection by applying the science of positive psychology to everyday interaction with my child as well. It has helped us do activities together, as The VIA Institute on Character shared on their Facebook Page.
Certified Positive Educator from The Flourishing Center, USA and GoZen, USA.- a direct application of Positive Psychology to education and parenting.
Date of completion: 22 January 2020.
Certified SPARK Resilience Trainer from Positran, France – a Resilience Training Programme designed by Dr Ilona Boniwell and her team.
Date of completion: 23 June 2019.
In the refinement and specialisation process of the parenting journey, I am closely following the works of an eminent research scientist Dr Lea Waters. She has published numerous research papers relevant to the new science of Positive Education and Parenting. I admire her work in her book, which comes straight from her heart, “The Strength Switch”. Moreover, she has recently launched her course by the same name.
And our family is proud to say we are A Strength Switch Family.
Date of completion: 21 February 2020.
REACH Programme, Certified by The School of Positive Psychology – A Resilience Programme designed by Ms Jana Dawson and Ms Tara Schofield.
Date of completion: May 2020.
Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty & Stress, certified by Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence designed by Dr Marc Brackett.
Date of completion: 28 January 2021.
Neuroscience for parents: How to raise amazing kids by Gregory Caremans from Brain Academy, certified by Udemy.
Date of completion: 31 May 2021.
The Science of Happiness – Exploring the roots of a happy and meaningful life, by The Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA in association with the EdX, BerkeleyX GG101x. This training was completed under the guidance of Dr Dacher Keltner and Dr Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas.
Date of completion: 31 May 2021.
Certified Digital Wellness Educator – With a solution-focused approach, my training at the Digital Wellness Institute helped me grasp digital wellness concepts with science and research-based evidence under the guidance of Nina Hersher, Amy Blankson and a team of experts at DWI. My final project is on this link.
Date of completion: 28 November 2021
I had the honour of getting trained by Dr Robert Biswas-Diener in learning the multiple facets of Positive Psychology Coaching. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have received this opportunity due to the wonderful partnership between Positive Acorn and The School of Positive Psychology. I am thankful to Stephen Lew and the wonderful people I met on this journey… Eve Loo, Zax Woon CCSP, Wei Jun Ngo, IHRP-CA, Frank Geelink, Fern Lim.
Date of completion: 07 May 2021
During the Positive Psychology Coaching, I learned that there is an opportunity to Understand the Science of Happiness with Positive Acorn.
Dr Robert Biswas-Diener has curated much-needed research on the concepts related to human happiness.
Date of completion: 28 November 2022
With the blessings of my friends, mentors, teachers, family and the entire community, I hope to contribute to the well-being of all, as in the words of Dr Christopher Peterson – “Other People Matter”.
I keep myself continuously updated with the latest research and findings by keeping in constant touch with active Positive Leaders of the world and the Positive Psychology Communities.
In this attempt, I have enrolled myself as a member of the following organisations:
1. International Positive Psychology Association, USA. Member ID: 6808
2. Positive Education Schools Association, Australia. Subscription ID: 51084
3. World Happiness Fest, Spain. Member ID: 318
4. International Positive Education Network, UK
5. Active Member of Singapore Positive Education Network, Singapore
6. National Positive Psychology Association (NPPA). Membership number: 1069
7. ORCID iD
Shaleen Porwal – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3338-5846
Words of Wisdom
Raising children is vastly more than fixing what is wrong with them. It is about identifying and nurturing their strongest qualities, what they own and are best at, and helping them find niches in which they can best live out these strengths.
Martin Seligman
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Viktor Frankl
Parentage is a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.
George Bernard Shaw
We are all together in this; let’s learn, share and…evolve!
Well-Being Of A Child (@wellbeingofachild) 