Positive Leisure Science: From Subjective Experience to Social Contexts

Teresa Freire (PhD) is assistant professor at the School of Psychology in the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, and Director of the Psychological Counselling Service (ServPsi) of the School of Psychology.

She teaches in graduation, master and doctoral Psychology courses and supervises several master and PhD research projects, leading the research group for the study of optimal functioning (Grupo de Investigação para o Funcionamento Óptimo – GIFOp) aimed at studying the quality of subjective experience in daily life through the lens of positive psychology, in clinical and social psychological domains.

Based on her research findings, she has developed and supervised individual and group intervention programs, with children and adolescents. Leisure experience, and its implications to positive development of adolescents, has been one of her major research topics.

Teresa Freire also collaborates in international research teams and is author of national and international publications (peer-reviewed journals and books). She belongs to the European Network for Positive Psychology (ENPP), being member of the Management Board Committee and country representative for Portugal. She is the president of the Portuguese Society of Positive Psychology (Sociedade Portuguesa de Psicologia Positiva – SPPP).