The Healthy Relationships Series: An untapped potential for human connection

Human connection fuels a sense of belonging, comfort and general wellbeing. In our ever-changing world of technology, relationships have become more and more complex. There is a shortfall when it comes to young adults understanding what a healthy relationship is, and how to create one. Supporting this claim, there is a growing body of research and evidence that indicates the dire need to teach young adults, including students, how to have healthy relationships (Khalifian, Murphy, Barry & Herman, 2016). Unique to The University of Queensland (UQ), the Healthy Relationship Series (HRS) is a highly interactive, psychoeducational program consisting of four sessions, running over two hours once a week (or twice over semester break). The series aims to improve the connections that students have with important people in their lives, increase confidence, reduce psychological distress, create healthy relationships and improve students’ sense of wellbeing. Dr Stallman (2010), who explored psychological wellbeing in university students, argued that there are several protective factors to alleviate psychological distress. These include high levels of connection and interconnection with friends and peers, living with a partner or family member and experiencing feelings of connection. The study further highlighted the need for universities to promote the wellbeing of students through targeted interventions (Stallman, 2010). Combining the findings from Stallman (2010) and Khalifian et al., (2016), HRS has risen to the challenge. This article will explore the potential of HRS developed and delivered by Diana Earl (author) at UQ in the context of the aforementioned nuances.