Discovering Happiness

Most people want to be happy or increase their own level of happiness, be it the patients you treat or yourself in your personal life. Scientific research shows that people can foster happiness by strengthening key skills and prioritizing happiness-promoting behaviors and experiences in day-to-day life. Further, studies implicate specific biological systems in happiness; structures and pathways that change with efforts toward increasing it. Importantly, pursuing happiness involves disentangling it from neighboring states like enjoyment, pleasure, and pride, and accentuating our core human drive to connect, cooperate, and care. In this class you will learn about the specific factors that support genuine, sustained happiness as well as the key skills people can use to foster the mental, social, and behavioral characteristics that buoy happiness.

Published: Jan 2020

Format

Online Course

Credits

6.0

Instructor

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D.

Price

$ 119

Course objectives

Discovering Happiness

  • Describe how scientists define happiness and list two examples of the evidence for why it matters.
  • List two key factors that do vs. do not promote happiness.
  • Describe the main biological systems that drive and reinforce social connection, generosity, and belonging.
  • List three concrete strategies for boosting personal happiness.

Instructor

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D.

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D. is the Science Director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Trained in neuroscience and social psychology, she runs the student research fellowship program, directs key science initiatives, and teaches the The Science of Happiness, a massive open online course on the edX platform that has enrolled over 600,000 people worldwide. She also teaches the Science of Happiness at Work Professional Certificate Series on edX, and serves as an expert voice on the biology and psychology of well-being around the world. Her work highlights the critical roles that pro-social experience and behavior play in happiness, and addresses research-backed approaches to improving happiness - like practicing mindfulness, or strengthening habits of compassion, gratitude, and generosity. Overall, Emiliana's work leverages scientific insights to help people live better lives individually, in relationship with others, within organizations and communities, and society-wide.

Course Lessons

How It Works

  • View the presentation. Classes are broken into small video segments of less than 30 minutes, so you can come and go as you please.
  • Take the quiz. Answer a few questions after each lesson before you move to the next lesson.
  • Complete the course evaluation.
  • Print your certificate and you're done!

We Make It Easy

  • Handouts from the class are available as PDF files to view or print.
  • Once you've purchased a class, you can view it as many times as you like.
  • Login with your email address and password. It takes you to your personal library/dashboard of all classes you have purchased.
  • Over 90% of professionals report being absolutely satisfied with their online experience!

Levels of Classes

All of our classes are offered at the intermediate level unless otherwise indicated. All classes are designed for experienced mental health professionals.

Test Policy

You need a score of 75% or higher in each lesson/module to move to the next lesson/module. Most people pass on their first attempt. You have up to 3 attempts to pass each module. After 3 failed attempts, you need to contact our office and we will reset the quiz for one more attempt. 

Refund Policy

We offer a no-risk guarantee for our online courses. You can view any class for three days, and if not satisfied, contact PPS and we will refund your money in full. This refund offer does not apply if you have completed the class and passed all of the lesson/module quizzes.

Technical Support For On-Demand Courses

Please call 877-777-0668, Monday-Friday from 10 am - 4 pm Pacific Time or email info@psychsem.com.

Questions, Special Needs & Grievances

If you would like additional information, require special accommodations, or have a grievance, please contact Professional Psych Seminars at: toll-free phone: 877-777-0668, phone: 805-371-9443, fax: (805) 371-7443 or email us: info@psychsem.com.

On Demand Course FAQs

How long to I have to complete this class?

There is no time limit. You can take as long as you'd like to complete the class.

Can I sign-up for a class now, even though I don't want to take it for some time in the future?

Yes. Customers often do this when we are running a special, offering you a discounted price.

I lost my certificate. What do I do?

Log in to your account, navigate to the course, and view/print your Certificate.

Do I have to take the entire class at one time or can I stop and come back another time?

You can sign in and out anytime, from any computer, to continue the class. We break our classes into segments of 20 to 30 minutes. You can watch one segment and then come back later. You can even fast forward within a segment.

I am concerned about having to remember everything to take the test. Will this be a problem?

No. We ask you 2 to 3 questions after each 20 to 30 minute video lesson. Answer the questions after each lesson and save your answers. You can come back later and watch another video lesson when you have time. You don't have to remember more than one video lesson at a time. Also, most of our questions are very straight forward. You should have no problem answering them if you've watched the video lesson.

Can you print out the handouts for my on-demand class and send them to me?

No. You can view them online or print them out yourself.

My certificate won’t print. Can you help me?

Hold down the keys Ctrl + P at the same time to access the print screen on your computer.