This past week was spent with my core course class, Positive Psychology (section A), in Copenhagen and in Aarhus (a city in Western Denmark). From learning about the non-profit, Cycling Without Age, to walking around downtown Copenhagen to see how architecture influences people and the community, to participating in a figure drawing class, to visiting the infamous ARoS art museum, to many group meals and bus rides, and to spending time in a unique community living group, it was a week of learning and experiencing that I will not forget. While it would be a ten-thousand-word blog post to go into detail about everything my class did, I will pick a few of my favorites to tell you about.
The city of Aarhus, the second-largest in Denmark, has the modern art museum ARoS. It is 10 floors and is filled with a large variety of art from film, to sculpture, to immersive rooms and optical illusions, to impressionist and religious paintings, it really has it all! It also has a well-known color wheel skywalk at the top of the museum (see some of my classmates and in the wheel below). It was really interesting to see how different types of art pieces and exhibits can affect your wellbeing so drastically. One picture may make you uncomfortable or distressed, but another can make you feel at home or happy. Why is that? Do people experience art the same way? How can art be used in the treatment of mental health? These are some of the many questions that arose in relation to positive psychology while touring the museum.
When traveling back from Aarhus my class went to visit the community Svanholm. We had a tour around their grounds and farms to see how living in a community where meals, childcare, economy, and so on, is all shared affects wellbeing and happiness. Svanholm describes their mission as follows;
“Our basis is formed by common ideals concerning ecology, income sharing, communal living, and finally, Self Government. We are still a part of the outside society, we invite our nabours to harvest-marked, Christmas-marked, etc., and we participate in commitees and the social life in the schools and local area, as well as some of us join political parties, NGO’s and global movements. Realizing some of our ideas of a better society at Svanholm can actually give us inspirations to formulate goals and strategies for the outside society for which we also feel a responsibility.” (https://svanholm.dk/english)
This ideology is very unique and it was quite impactful to be able to meet the people who live there, see the difference in their cows, taste the wholeness of their grains and vegetables, as well as to feel the peace that one may find in their gardens. While this type of living situation is not for everyone, it is important as a class of aspiring psychologists to see firsthand how different living communities can positively affect people’s wellbeing.
This trip was also a great opportunity to be able to get to know my classmates, professor, and intern advisor, outside of the classroom and immersed in different learning environments. In March I will be traveling with this same group to Edinburgh, Scottland and I can not wait! It is a really great group of people and the immersive learning experiences are truly unparalleled to anything I have previously experienced.
Meet Me in Copenhagen ♥ Michelle 