Caroline Raphael

Thesis Name

Thesis Abstract

Despite growing attention to mental ill-health globally, research continues to focus predominantly on pathology rather than the lived experience of thriving. Positive psychology highlights the importance of meaning, purpose, and human strengths, yet limited research explores how these are experienced within communities that actively cultivate these values. Understanding how individuals sustain well-being in the face of adversity remains an important gap in psychological research.

This phenomenological study explores how members of The Way of The Livingness, an international values-based community centred on ethical living, service, and shared responsibility, experience meaning and purpose in their everyday lives. The study investigates how community values, such as altruism, love, and collective responsibility, contribute to individual and collective well-being and support thriving.

A three-stage qualitative design will be used. Stage one involves a focused literature review examining existing research on meaning, purpose, and thriving. Stage two consists of in-depth semi-structured interviews with community members to explore their lived experiences of meaning, purpose, and thriving. Stage three uses focus groups to further develop shared insights and collective understandings emerging from the interview data.

The study aims to contribute to psychological and well-being research by exploring how meaning-centred community values support individual and collective strength and thriving. Findings may inform preventative approaches to well-being, including future research, frameworks, and community-based practices that support individuals and communities to thrive.

Why My Research is Important/Impacts

By examining how meaning and purpose are experienced within a contemporary philosophical community, and how these contribute to thriving, the study grounds psychological theory in lived, community-based experience. Using Reflexive Thematic Analysis and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the research spotlights participants perspectives while reconnecting psychology with its philosophical foundations. In doing so, it extends theoretical and applied contributions to positive and community psychology and supports the University’s commitment to enhancing individual and collective well-being.