The Heal4All joint online programme has officially begun with the launch of Module 1: The Existential Compass – Discovering Existential Concepts for a Purposeful Journey. This first module marks the start of the pilot phase of an innovative international learning initiative aimed at strengthening existential wellbeing as a core element of compassionate and holistic care.
Running from October 2025 to January 2026, Module 1 brings together more than 50 students from Croatia, Finland, and Norway, representing a strong interdisciplinary and international learning community.
Exploring Existential Wellbeing in Healthcare
Module 1 introduces students to fundamental existential concepts and invites them to reflect on meaning, purpose, and wellbeing in both personal and professional contexts. The module is grounded in the idea that health goes beyond physical and psychological dimensions and that existential wellbeing is essential for truly holistic care, particularly in work with older adults.
Through a combination of video lectures, academic readings, reflective assignments, and collaborative work, students develop a deeper understanding of existential psychology, existential concerns, and their relevance for healthcare practice and research.
Module Structure and Learning Journey
Week 1: Introducing the Framework
The module begins by laying a strong conceptual foundation. Students are introduced to different forms of wellbeing, including existential wellbeing, and to the origins of existential psychotherapy and psychology. Learning activities include video tutorials, reading materials, and a first written reflection assignment based on contemporary research on the existential dimension of health.
Week 2: Existential Concerns and Meaning in Life
In the second week, students explore key existential concerns such as meaning, loneliness, suffering, coping, and death anxiety. A central learning activity is the start of an existential diary, a reflective and developmental tool that supports students in connecting theoretical concepts with their own lived experiences. This process fosters self-awareness and professional growth as future existentially sensitive caregivers.
Week 3: Introduction to Systematic Reviews
Week three focuses on research methodology. Students learn how systematic reviews are conducted and why they are essential for evidence-based practice. Working in groups, participants begin developing a search strategy for a systematic review addressing existential wellbeing practices for older adults, strengthening both their research skills and collaborative competencies.
Week 4: How to Conduct an Interview
The final week of Module 1 introduces qualitative interviewing methods. Students learn how to conduct interviews with older adults and healthcare professionals about experiences of meaning and meaninglessness. As part of a pilot exercise, they conduct a practice interview and reflect critically on their interviewing skills in preparation for more advanced research activities in later modules.
Following the completion of Module 1: The Existential Compass – Discovering Existential Concepts for a Purposeful Journey, the pilot phase of this innovative international learning initiative continues to gain momentum. The first module brought together more than 45 students from Croatia, Finland, and Norway, creating a strong interdisciplinary and international learning community focused on strengthening existential wellbeing as a core element of compassionate and holistic care.
Building on this solid foundation, Module 2 is now underway, offering participants new opportunities to deepen their knowledge, exchange perspectives, and further develop practical competencies for future healthcare practice.