The Science of Happiness

Dacher Keltner, PhD & Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD
CE Hours: 16

Ordering Info

Home Studies: $199.00
Discover the research-tested keys to happiness—and learn how to apply them to your personal and professional life—by taking this ground-breaking online course from UC Berkeley’s award-winning Greater Good Science Center. Studies suggest that up to 40 percent of happiness depends on our habits and activities. In this course, you will learn about the activities science has identified as most important to happiness, exploring the research behind them, particularly the science of mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, and related topics. You will gain a practical, science-based strategy for nurturing happiness in yourselves and in the lives of your clients, students, and patients. The workshop also offers tools to track your progress over time. A core theme will be how lifelong happiness stems from connections to people and a purpose beyond the self. Video lectures are supplemented by readings, self-tests, online discussions, and real-world exercises.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Discover the research-tested keys to happiness—and learn how to apply them to your personal and professional life—by taking this ground-breaking, 16-hour online course from UC Berkeley’s award-winning Greater Good Science Center (GGSC).
 
Studies suggest that up to 40 percent of happiness depends on our habits and activities. In this course, you will learn about the activities science has identified as most important to happiness, exploring the research behind them, particularly the science of mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, and related topics. Each week will introduce you to a practical, science-based strategy for nurturing happiness in yourselves and in the lives of your clients, students, and patients. The workshop also offers tools to track your progress over time. A core theme will be how lifelong happiness stems from connections to people and a purpose beyond the self. Video lectures are supplemented by readings, self-tests, online discussions, and real-world exercises.
 
The course will be led by two celebrated teachers of the science of happiness: Emiliana Simon Thomas, Ph.D., the GGSC's science director, and Dacher Keltner, who is the GGSC's founder, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, and the author of the best-selling book Born to Be Good. The course also features guest presentations by some of the world’s leading authorities on positive psychology, including Rick Hanson, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and Jon Kabat-Zinn.
 
16 CE CREDIT HOURS AVAILABLE. A shorter version of this course, "Introduction to the Science of Happiness," offers 6 CE credit hours.
 

 

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Identify key psychological, social, and biological factors in personal happiness
  • Explain the relationship between happiness and “pro-social” qualities, such as compassion, altruism, and gratitude
  • Describe the psychological principles behind why certain activities boost happiness
  • Apply lessons from positive psychology to personal and professional lives, enhancing self-understanding
  • Practice research-tested strategies for social and emotional well-being

 

INSTRUCTORS

Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the founding faculty director of the university’s Greater Good Science Center. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford, Keltner has devoted his career to studying the nature of human goodness and happiness, becoming a leading figure in the positive psychology movement. An outstanding speaker who has earned many honors for his teaching, Keltner is the author of the best-selling book Born to Be Good (W.W. Norton, 2009) and a co-editor of the anthology The Compassionate Instinct (W.W. Norton, 2010). 

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. A neuroscientist who earned her doctorate from UC Berkeley, her research has explored the neuro-biological roots of pro-social emotion and behavior, as well as the psychosocial benefits of emotional authenticity and connection. A gifted teacher, Simon-Thomas has presented on the science of happiness and compassion to the Dalai Lama and audiences worldwide.

Guest Lecturers
Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., Kenan Distinguished Professor of Teaching in the department of psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Sonja Lyubomirksy, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Riverside

Paul Ekman, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco

Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Founding Executive Director, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Best-selling author of the books Buddha’s Brain (New Harbinger, 2009) and Hardwiring Happiness (Random House, 2013).

Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis

Fredric Luskin, Ph.D., Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects, Stanford University

 

Continuing Education

Satisfactory Completion
Participants must have paid course fee, completed evaluation, and completed post-test with passing grade of 75% in order to receive a certificate. Failure to complete and submit these materials will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available.

Psychoanalysts
NY:
R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts. #P-0005. (16) clock hours

Social Workers 
NY: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider (#0006) of continuing education for licensed social workers. This program is approved for 16 contact hours self-study.
OH: Provider approved by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for (16) clock hours, #RCST110701.

Counselors/Marriage and Family Therapists 
CA: The BBS has deferred CE course approval for its licensee to APA and ASWB
IL: Illinois Dept of Professional Regulation, Approved Continuing Education Sponsor, #168-000141. (16) hours.
NY-LMHCs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0015. (
16) contact hours.
NY-LMFTs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0011. (
16) contact hours.
OH: Provider approved by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for (16) clock hours, #RCST110701.
TX: Approved CE Sponsor through the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists. 16 credit hours. Provider #151.

Chemical Dependency Counselors 
CA: Provider approved by CCAPP, Provider #4N-00-434-0220 for (16) CEHs. CCAPPis an ICRC member which has reciprocity with most ICRC member states 
TX: Provider approved by the TCBAP Standards Committee, Provider No. 1749-06, (16.) hours general, Expires 3/2019. Complaints about provider or workshop content may be directed to the TCBAP Standards Committee, 1005 Congress Avenue, Ste. 460, Austin, Texas 78701, Fax Number (512) 476-7297.

Nurses 
CA: Provider approved by the CA Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CeP12224, for (16) contact hours.

Teachers/Educators 
TX: R. Cassidy Seminars is an approved provider with the Texas Education Agency CPE# 501456. This course is (16) CE Hours. 

Occupational Therapists
AOTAR. Cassidy Seminars is an AOTA approved provider # 6782. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA. Occupational therapists will receive a certificate of completion for (16) CE hours. 1 CE hour(s) = .1 AOTA CE(s).

Co-sponsored by R. Cassidy Seminars, P.O. Box 14473, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification.
Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.