Rettger, Mary Beth
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Publication From Eminence to Preeminence: Developing Resilience and Well-being for Penn Law Students(2018-04-01) Danzger, Sharon F; Glaser-Reich, Joseph; Lamperski, Rebecca; Rettger, Mary BethLawyers are known to suffer from an increased risk of substance abuse and mental health issues. There is evidence that symptoms of these issues may arise years earlier in law school where students often suffer from psychological distress, anxiety, and alienation. The Penn Law Center on Professionalism (COP) seeks to help students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School better navigate law school and their transition into the workforce by increasing their resilience, confidence, and engagement. Informed by current psychological literature, we have proposed four positive interventions to help Penn Law students reinterpret and manage stress, more objectively assess their current situation, and bolster their intrinsic motivation. We recommend a brief social-belonging letter writing intervention, a mindfulness and mindset workshop, a workshop exploring explanatory styles and resilience, and a poster campaign aimed at addressing imposter syndrome. We suggest measuring results through mixed qualitative and quantitative metrics. We believe that developing these skills will enable students to flourish both in law school and in their future careers.Publication Finding the Silver Lining: How Positive Psychology Can Help You Use Critical Feedback to Flourish(2018-01-01) Rettger, Mary BethWe all need feedback to grow professionally and improve our skills. Our cognitive biases and limited perspective mean it is imperative that we draw on others to help us see what we cannot, and point us to new strategies to achieve our goals. But, even if you agree with that sentiment, you might find it emotionally wrenching to hear that your work falls short or could be improved: many of us avoid or reject beneficial, but critical, feedback. And, sometimes negative feedback is inexpertly delivered, making it even harder to hear. Positive psychology aims to help people flourish; while it’s sometimes hard to remember this, critical feedback is usually intended to promote flourishing, too. This capstone describes a model for thinking about how to flourish from feedback. It provides tools which can be used to make us more receptive to feedback and influence our feedback environment; these same tools can be used to prepare for, engage in, and process feedback conversations. Finally, the model offers guidance for selecting the right tools to help everyone reap the benefits that can come from hearing the wisdom that others can share with us.Publication Finding the Silver Lining: How Positive Psychology Can Help You Use Critical Feedback to Flourish(2018-07-26) Rettger, Mary BethWe all need feedback to grow professionally and improve our skills. Our cognitive biases and limited perspective mean it is imperative that we draw on others to help us see what we cannot, and point us to new strategies to achieve our goals. But, even if you agree with that sentiment, you might find it emotionally wrenching to hear that your work falls short or could be improved: many of us avoid or reject beneficial, but critical, feedback. And, sometimes negative feedback is inexpertly delivered, making it even harder to hear. Positive psychology aims to help people flourish; while it’s sometimes hard to remember this, critical feedback is usually intended to promote flourishing, too. This capstone describes a model for thinking about how to flourish from feedback. It provides tools which can be used to make us more receptive to feedback and influence our feedback environment; these same tools can be used to prepare for, engage in, and process feedback conversations. Finally, the model offers guidance for selecting the right tools to help everyone reap the benefits that can come from hearing the wisdom that others can share with us.