Navigating Creativity and Wellbeing – Dr Molly L. Holinger, Ph.D.

Accessible Disruption - Strategy Table

Connect with Dr Holinger today: Molly L. Holinger, Ph.D.
Learn more about Dr Holinger’s Work: Creativity at Buffalo State.

This podcast episode of Accessible Disruption features Dr. Molly Holinger, an Assistant Professor of Creativity and Change Leadership at SUNY Buffalo State. She holds a PhD in educational psychology with an emphasis on giftedness, creativity, and talent development from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Science in Creative Studies from the Center of Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State. Dr. Holinger’s research and teaching focus on the positive outcomes of creativity, such as engagement, meaning, and positive emotions. She also worked as a consultant for the Creativity and Emotions Lab at the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence.

Dr. Holinger discusses how creativity and well-being can be applied to handle disruption. She highlights cognitive reappraisal as a tool to reframe challenges, citing the example of being late to a party and instead of focusing on the negative, reframing it as an opportunity to avoid small talk. She connects this concept to a creative problem-solving tool called PPCO (Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, and Overcoming concerns), which encourages phrasing challenges as positive questions. The discussion also covers the relationship between emotions and creativity. Dr. Holinger explains that creativity is generally associated with positive emotions, and that high-activation emotions, both positive (like joy) and negative (like anger), can be important for the creative process. She suggests that understanding one’s mood and matching it to the creative task at hand can be beneficial.

The episode also touches on the connection between neurodiversity and creativity, noting a correlation between ADHD and divergent thinking. Ryan Hill, a co-host and former student of Dr. Holinger, describes how the creativity program was “healing” for him, as it allowed him to lean into his neurodivergent traits rather than suppressing them. Dr. Holinger also discusses post-traumatic growth, explaining that while adversity is not something to be invited, it can serve as a catalyst for change, adaptation, and open-mindedness. She concludes by emphasizing the importance of social connection and purpose in navigating hardship. She also stresses the value of collaboration, whether virtual or in-person, highlighting that the core principles of successful collaboration are the same regardless of modality. Finally, she offers a call to action for listeners to embrace an open mindset about science and to have their practices informed by research.