Theological Approaches to Wellbeing
August - November 2026
PC136-612 and PC136-812
Explore God’s commitment to human flourishing
That Jesus claims to offer life to the full and also commands that we deny ourselves suggests that there is a distinctly Christian understanding of human wellbeing. Join us to explore historical and contemporary ideas about human flourishing and wellbeing from disciplines such as philosophy and positive psychology. These will be critically assessed from a biblical and theological framework, with a view to application in ministry and professional settings and in your personal life.
How this unit can help your ministry
Find real benefit from understanding biblical and theological principles relating to wellbeing that emerges from the Scriptures and Christian thought.
Be able to critique secular and varied Christian perspectives on human flourishing and wellbeing.
Learn practices that contribute to personal wellbeing and spiritual formation that can be applied in your ministry, professional work, and personal life.
What makes Mary Andrews College different?
We're the only theological college in Australia focused on equipping women.
We specialise in pastoral care and mental health.
Our units are geared to practical theology and ministry that is just as useful for volunteers as those in vocational ministry.
Our students consistently tell us we're a lovely community to be part of.
Our lecturers are world-class, with a wealth of pastoral and teaching experience.
And, you can be confident that everything we offer is firmly grounded in God's word.
In this unit we'll be learning about...
01
Intro to Christian Wellbeing | Key Questions
02
Human flourishing and wellbeing in the Old Testament
03
Human flourishing and wellbeing in the New Testament
04
Human flourishing in the history of ideas and Christian thought
05
Theological reflections upon positive psychology and contemporary understandings of happiness
06
Virtue and its relationship to wellbeing
07
Suffering, resilience and wellbeing
08
Case study: psychological and theological perspectives on hope
09
Practices that contribute to personal wellbeing
10
The contribution of the church to wellbeing
11
Spiritual formation and wellbeing
12
Conclusion and synthesis
The above is indicative: lecture content may vary year to year
What to expect in class
We're a friendly bunch: students have mixed ministry and life experiences
This unit will be delivered as a 3 day intensive with 7 hours of lectures per day plus an additional 15 hours of online learning across the semester. Each lecture day runs from 9am to 5pm and is divided into 7 x 50 minute lectures with a 10 minute break between each session plus a lunch break.
You can attend in person at ADM offices at Town Hall, Sydney or on Zoom
Classes are a mixture of upfront teaching, Q & A and small group work
Meet your lecturer
Amy Yeung
Amy teaches in the areas of mental health and wellbeing. For over 15 years she has been studying these two fields and integrating them through her work with young people in Australia and Canada. Prior to joining the Mental Health and Pastoral Care Institute, she developed The Sanctuary Youth Series, a free youth mental health and faith resource.
What our students say…
“Suffering the loss of someone I loved... was a catalyst for me to grow deeper in my understanding of the Bible and our great God. I wanted to understand more deeply the wonderful God who had remained faithful to me in the hardest periods in my life and I wanted to understand more about what the Bible says about suffering.”
“I loved studying so much so I’m doing a Diploma of Ministry ... to further deepen my knowledge of pastoral care and ministry to the aged.”
Fees
As part of our wider ACT courses
With FEE-HELP* $0
Diploma Level $2940
Graduate Level $3288
*FEE-HELP available for eligible students enrolled in a whole Diploma or Graduate course
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes - 12 credit points - online only
Currently this unit is not offered at the MAC Certificate level
March - June 2026
Audited
$750
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes
No assignments
March - June 2025
How does this unit fit with our course offerings?
This course can be studied at 2 levels:
Diploma and Advanced Diploma level. For those without an undergraduate degree wanting a course with a large breadth of units. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 8 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 11-16 units per course.
Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma level. Higher level assignments than diploma level. Requires a previous bachelors degree. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 2-4 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 4-8 unit per course.
