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Daniel Kolubinski

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  5. Sustainability & Climate Action Events Series 2020-21
  6. Consumption, Economics, Education and Wellbeing
  7. Part Two Speaker Interviews
  8. Daniel Kolubinski

Interview with Dr Daniel Kolubinski

Dan is a Lecturer in the Division of Psychology in the School of Applied Sciences in LSBU. He specialises in the field of mental health, and his main research focus is on the study of metacognition and self-critical rumination.

Dan’s talk focused on learning to understand our own self-critical thoughts, commonly referred to by using the term “imposter syndrome" and he shared some tools to help us manage our own self-criticism!

Can you start by telling our audience how you came to work in this field?

I have always had an interest in the way that the mind works, and a passion for helping others. Working with clients on a range of depression and anxiety issues, I have found that self-criticism, self-esteem and the fear of being caught out as an imposter is some things that are fundamental to many mood and anxiety disorders.

To some people, there might not be such an obvious link between sustainability and wellbeing. What does this mean to you?

I think wellbeing is largely about shifting the focus away from our sense of worth and on to the tasks at hand that will move us towards our goals.  Sustainability is very much about creating an atmosphere that keeps us on the right track towards fulfilment and contentment.  It is hard to have wellbeing without sustainability and vice versa.

What inspires you most about our students?

Our group of students is one of the most diverse with whom I have worked.  It is great to see people from different ages and backgrounds coming together and celebrating our similarities and differences.

One of the foundations of the conference is myth-busting. Do you have a myth-buster you would like to share in relation to your talk?

That little voice in the back of your head that tells you that you are not good enough is not in charge of your life.

And finally, what advice would you give to our audiences to encourage them to think and act more sustainably?

There is generally a double standard between how critical we are of ourselves and how (outwardly at least) critical we are of other people.  If we treated ourselves the way we treat other people, we could stop having to define self-worth and just get on with our lives in a more sustainable way.

Dan’s talk was titled: “You're Not What You Think: How to manage the internal self-critic"’ and his session was on Friday 6th November 2020, on the day devoted to ‘Wellbeing’. Several of his colleagues from the School of Applied Sciences also made presentations on topics related to sustainable provisions and interventions for mental health and wellbeing.

For more information on this event, visit the event page.

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