This program does not give a license to practice. It does, however, give professionals such as those in a coaching, therapy, or consulting practice a set of positive psychology tools to apply in their area of expertise.
The field of positive psychology is relatively new, and as such, there is no "positive psychology" licensing requirements. There is no official designation, and even those who have a master's degree in positive psychology use the general term of "positive psychology practitioner." Those with PhDs can use the term "positive psychologist," for example.
Previous students have taken a coaching certification course alongside CiPP so they can apply the positive psychology tools in coaching.
There are four main differences. First, the CiPP course uses a whole-person approach, following the SPIRE methodology. This is a new concept, which was not developed when Tal taught the Positive Psychology course at Harvard. Students learn/experience a systems-thinking approach to well-being that includes mindfulness interventions (yoga, meditation, etc).
Second, the CiPP course is made up of many working professionals, rather than in an undergraduate course, giving students the option to focus on developing the information within a specific field. Because it's almost a year long and students work in small groups, there's the invitation to apply it within your own life and then serve it forward in your work. The final project helps solidify this as many choose to build it around what they will use professionally. There's a strong focus on application—personally and professionally.
Next, CiPP is a blended learning program, giving people the chance to learn, apply, and transform over a long period of time with both an onsite and an online component. Change happens best this way. The Harvard course was an onsite semester long course, so CiPP is longer, has more content, and combines online and onsite work.
Lastly, updated research is included. This is a fast-moving field, with new science coming out all the time. New content is reflected in this CiPP course that's new since Tal taught at Harvard.
The course consists of nine modules, two onsite and seven online. The onsite immersions are five days and the online modules are four to five weeks. During the first immersion, students self-select small groups of six people to work with over the following online modules. These groups typically meet virtually once or twice during each module. These small groups are overseen by teaching assistants who support the learning process. Within each online module, two video webinars are scheduled. On one of the webinars, students can connect directly with the core faculty and one includes an interview with a guest speaker. These speakers are positive psychology practitioners, helping students understand how the material can be applied in work or personal relationships. The course culminates in another five-day immersion, marking the end of the program where students present their final project.
The Certificate in Whole-Person Positive Psychology offers a proven set of tools and principles useful in any profession or leadership role—managers, leaders, social workers, psychologists, coaches, allied health professionals, yoga teachers, and school teachers—anyone who influences how people think, act, and live, will benefit from this program.
How do I know what the course materials are for the course and where can I find them?
The materials are listed in the syllabus found on the course overview page as well as in the virtual classroom. Articles assigned during the course will be linked for students in the weekly lesson. Books must be acquired by the student. We suggest Amazon, ebooks, and your local library as resources.
How does the Certificate in Positive Psychology (CiPP) differ from the Certificate in Positive Education (CiPE) offered at Melbourne University?
The first and major difference is that CiPP was created by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar as an in-depth exploration of the science of Positive Psychology for application across broad disciplines. For example, some students take CiPP for personal reasons while others take it to apply in diverse professional settings from coaching and consulting to leadership and teaching. This broad application gives students a larger perspective and a flexible understanding of how the subject can be viewed through a variety of lens to make an impact. In contrast, the positive education certificate, CiPE, is solely focused on implementing the tools within an educational setting. Therefore, the subject matter included in both courses will be different. Please see the syllabus for a more detailed description of the course content.
Other differences include: University of Melboure certificate has four significant graded assessment pieces to be completed, whereas the Wholebeing Institute has ongoing reflections, small group work, and a final project; University of Melboure course is six contact days spread over four months and the Wholebeing Institute course has ten contact days, another eight online modules and is spread over one year.
The two courses are very different, and both are complementary to each other.
Students who complete our Positive Psychology Coaching course receive a Certificate of Completion from Wholebeing Institute. The course does provide ICF CCE units for those who register for the credits.
This program does not give a license to practice. It does, however, give professionals such as those in a coaching, therapy, or consulting practice a set of positive psychology tools to apply in their area of expertise.
The field of positive psychology is relatively new, and as such, there is no "positive psychology" licensing requirements. There is no official designation, and even those who have a master's degree in positive psychology use the general term of "positive psychology practitioner." Those with PhDs can use the term "positive psychologist," for example.
Previous students have taken a coaching certification course alongside CiPP so they can apply the positive psychology tools in coaching.
There are four main differences. First, the CiPP course uses a whole-person approach, following the SPIRE methodology. This is a new concept, which was not developed when Tal taught the Positive Psychology course at Harvard. Students learn/experience a systems-thinking approach to well-being that includes mindfulness interventions (yoga, meditation, etc).
Second, the CiPP course is made up of many working professionals, rather than in an undergraduate course, giving students the option to focus on developing the information within a specific field. Because it's almost a year long and students work in small groups, there's the invitation to apply it within your own life and then serve it forward in your work. The final project helps solidify this as many choose to build it around what they will use professionally. There's a strong focus on application—personally and professionally.
Next, CiPP is a blended learning program, giving people the chance to learn, apply, and transform over a long period of time with both an onsite and an online component. Change happens best this way. The Harvard course was an onsite semester long course, so CiPP is longer, has more content, and combines online and onsite work.
Lastly, updated research is included. This is a fast-moving field, with new science coming out all the time. New content is reflected in this CiPP course that's new since Tal taught at Harvard.
The course consists of nine modules, two onsite and seven online. The onsite immersions are five days and the online modules are four to five weeks. During the first immersion, students self-select small groups of six people to work with over the following online modules. These groups typically meet virtually once or twice during each module. These small groups are overseen by teaching assistants who support the learning process. Within each online module, two video webinars are scheduled. On one of the webinars, students can connect directly with the core faculty and one includes an interview with a guest speaker. These speakers are positive psychology practitioners, helping students understand how the material can be applied in work or personal relationships. The course culminates in another five-day immersion, marking the end of the program where students present their final project.
The Certificate in Whole-Person Positive Psychology offers a proven set of tools and principles useful in any profession or leadership role—managers, leaders, social workers, psychologists, coaches, allied health professionals, yoga teachers, and school teachers—anyone who influences how people think, act, and live, will benefit from this program.
How do I know what the course materials are for the course and where can I find them?
The materials are listed in the syllabus found on the course overview page as well as in the virtual classroom. Articles assigned during the course will be linked for students in the weekly lesson. Books must be acquired by the student. We suggest Amazon, ebooks, and your local library as resources.
How does the Certificate in Positive Psychology (CiPP) differ from the Certificate in Positive Education (CiPE) offered at Melbourne University?
The first and major difference is that CiPP was created by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar as an in-depth exploration of the science of Positive Psychology for application across broad disciplines. For example, some students take CiPP for personal reasons while others take it to apply in diverse professional settings from coaching and consulting to leadership and teaching. This broad application gives students a larger perspective and a flexible understanding of how the subject can be viewed through a variety of lens to make an impact. In contrast, the positive education certificate, CiPE, is solely focused on implementing the tools within an educational setting. Therefore, the subject matter included in both courses will be different. Please see the syllabus for a more detailed description of the course content.
Other differences include: University of Melboure certificate has four significant graded assessment pieces to be completed, whereas the Wholebeing Institute has ongoing reflections, small group work, and a final project; University of Melboure course is six contact days spread over four months and the Wholebeing Institute course has ten contact days, another eight online modules and is spread over one year.
The two courses are very different, and both are complementary to each other.
Students who complete our Positive Psychology Coaching course receive a Certificate of Completion from Wholebeing Institute. The course does provide ICF CCE units for those who register for the credits.
