After experiencing burnout in her accounting career – and realising she was far from the only one going through it – Ozlem became inspired to help others who had been through the same thing.
Ozlem had a successful, rewarding career as an accountant, including secondments to the UK, India, and Dubai. However, when she found herself struggling with exhaustion in her professional life, she realised she was suffering from burnout.
“Over time, I came to realise that my experience was not isolated: there was a crippling pattern of burnout among women in workplaces. I always had a deep-seated desire to help people, so I transitioned my career focus from numbers to humans, leading me to study a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP).”
“Positive psychology is the scientific exploration of wellbeing, often defined as functioning at your best and living a fulfilling life,” Ozlem explains. “It offers practical tools to nurture our wellbeing and create positive ripples around us. Its significance is pronounced for individuals in influential positions – parents, educators, leaders, and policymakers – who have the power to shape systemic structures, making wellbeing more widely accessible.”
It’s something that Ozlem feels “everyone should have the chance to explore and integrate into their lives.”
Studying positive psychology provides a toolkit applicable in a broad range of real-life situations. In addition to enhancing emotional wellbeing and interpersonal connections on an individual level, Ozlem explained how “some of the real-life applications of positive psychology include strategies to enhance educational environments for learning and growth and assist workplace leaders in eliciting the best from their employees.”
Ozlem chose to study the MAPP at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science because of the Centre’s “excellent reputation, eminent scholars, and highly practical and inclusive pedagogy”.
One of the most impactful aspects of Ozlem’s MAPP studies was “examining wellbeing through a diverse and systemic lens”. She found that “recognising the impact of external systems such as culture, communities, schools, and workplaces provided a holistic understanding of my personal experiences of burnout. Although positive psychology is often perceived with an individual focus, its ultimate goal is to promote collective wellbeing within the systems we inhabit. Understanding the interdependency of my internal and external systems and their impact on my wellbeing was empowering.”
The program’s practicality was a major highlight for Ozlem, allowing students to “learn by doing”.
“One of my first tasks focused on designing an intervention to improve my own wellbeing. It is difficult to imagine anyone completing MAPP without knowing themselves better and being impacted positively.”
The MAPP curriculum was diverse and inspiring, “incorporating cross-cultural and Indigenous models of wellbeing.”
Diversity was apparent among the cohort too, in terms of occupation, nationality and lived experience. Ozlem studied alongside “individuals from the education sector, organisational consultants, a lawyer and even a firefighter!” She went on to say, “The cultural richness in each class extended worldwide, featuring course-mates from places like Qatar, Japan and North America. The diverse cohort not only enriched our discussions but also broadened our perspectives.”
“Perhaps the most memorable aspect of MAPP lies in its faculty – our teachers, markers, and mentors. These eminent scholars, respected researchers and practitioners embody the principles of positive psychology and actively strive to make this beautiful humanitarian science accessible to all.”
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