This course is part of the Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

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Karen Reivich, Ph.D.

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Foundations of Positive Psychology SpecializationUniversity of Pennsylvania

About this Course

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Learn how to incorporate resilience interventions into your personal and professional life with Dr. Karen Reivich. In this course, you are exposed to the foundational research in resilience, including protective factors such as mental agility and optimism. Several types of resilience interventions are explored including cognitive strategies; strategies to manage anxiety and increase positive emotions such as gratitude; and a critical relationship enhancement skill. Throughout the course, you will hear examples of individuals using resilience skills in their personal and professional lives.  Suggested prerequisites: Positive Psychology: Martin E. P. Seligman’s Visionary Science, Positive Psychology: Applications and Interventions and Positive Psychology: Character, Grit & Research Methods.

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Course 4 of 5 in the

Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

Understand the protective factors that make one resilient
Describe thinking traps and how they undercut resilience
Make use of non-cognitive strategies that decrease anxiety
Create a buffer of positivity that boosts resilience in stressful situations

Skills you will gain

Gratitude
Plan
Positive Psychology
Communication
Mindfulness

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 4 of 5 in the

Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.93/5 (330 Ratings)

Karen Reivich, Ph.D.

Director of Resilience Training Services

Positive Psychology Center

109,214 Learners

2 Courses

Offered by

University of Pennsylvania

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(11,741 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

5 hours to complete

Resilience and Optimism

In this module, you will learn the definition of resilience and understand the protective factors that make one resilient. You will differentiate between helplessness and mastery orientations, and understand the thinking styles underlying each. You will summarize major outcomes of optimism, and the mediators of those outcomes, as well as assess your own levels of optimism, using a questionnaire. Finally, you will hear about personal and organizational outcomes of optimism, and will be able to apply these concepts to your own life.

5 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 103 min), 6 readings, 2 quizzes

13 videos

1.1 Welcome and Overview of the Course4m1.2 Definition of Resilience and Foundational Research4m1.3 Variables that Contribute to Resilience13m1.4 Barbara Bradley Hagerty on Resilience in Midlife7m1.5 Jennifer Loredo and Resilience Stories12m1.6 Introduction to Optimism and Optimism Definitions7m1.7 Benefits of Optimism13m1.8 What Optimists Do Differently12m1.9 Optimism Activity: Pursuit of Happyness Video13m1.10 Organizational Highlight: Sam Presti on Optimism2m1.11 Organizational Highlight: Maureen Rush2m1.12 Personal Highlight: Lucy Hone7m1.13 Summary of Week 1 and Preview of Week 22m

6 readings

Biography of Karen Reivich, Ph.D.1mAssignments, Grading and your Resilience Journal1mOptional Reading: The Resilience Factor30mModule 1 Lesson 1 - Optional Readings20mOptimism Questionnaire5mModule 1 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings40m

1 practice exercise

Module 1 Quiz30m

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Cognitive Approaches to Resilience: Strategies to Increase Optimism and Resilient Thinking

In this module, you will learn about thinking traps and how they undercut resilience. You will learn about five common thinking traps and identify which you are prone to, in addition to the effects of those styles of thinking. You will practice Real-Time Resilience, a strategy to challenge non-resilient thinking. Finally, you will hear about personal and organizational outcomes of optimism, and plan how to apply these concepts to your own life.

2 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 61 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

8 videos

2.1 Thinking Traps Introduction7m2.2 Definition and Demonstration of Thinking Traps20m2.3 Detecting Patterns in Yourself, Activity: Trying Thinking Traps on for Size2m2.4 Personal Examples of Thinking Traps: Why We Need a Skill to Address Them3m2.5 Changing non-resilient thinking: Real-time Resilience14m2.6 Real-time resilience Activity7m2.7 Organizational Highlights: Emma Judge & Maureen Rush2m2.8 Summary of Module 2 and Introduction to Module 31m

2 readings

Module 2 Lesson 1 - Optional Reading15mModule 2 Lesson 2 - Optional Reading30m

1 practice exercise

Module 2 Quiz15m

Week3

Week 3

5 hours to complete

Managing Anxiety and Increasing Positive Emotions Like Gratitude

In this module, you will learn the definition of catastrophic thinking and identify the effects it has on physiology, attention and contingency planning. You will experiment with several non-cognitive strategies to decrease anxiety, including Deliberate Breathing. You will be introduced to the Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions, and will be able to describe the effects of positive emotions on resilience. Finally, you will relate research and examples of gratitude to your own life and develop a plan for a gratitude practice.

5 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 115 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes

14 videos

3.1 Introduction: Catastrophizing and the Relationship of Anxiety to Resilience6m3.2 Dr. Baime: Effects of Anxiety on Our Bodies4m3.3 Demonstrations of Several Styles of Catastrophizing9m3.4 Triggers of Catastrophizing7m3.5 Introduction to three Different Ways to Manage Anxiety12m3.6 Dr. Park: Deliberate Breathing to Manage Anxiety5m3.7 Dr. Baime: A Mindfulness Approach to Anxiety7m3.8 Positive Emotions Broaden8m3.9 Positive Emotions Build Resources7m3.10 Gratitude Research14m3.11 Gratitude Skill: HTGS6m3.12 Designing a Gratitude Practice: Team Collage9m3.13 Organizational Highlights: Sam Presti, Maureen Rush & Carolyn McIntyre11m3.14 Summary of Module 3 and Preview of Module 42m

4 readings

Module 3 Lesson 1 - Optional Reading10mActivity: Challenging Catastrophic Thinking Part 115mActivity: Challenging Catastrophic Thinking Part 215mModule 3 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings30m

1 practice exercise

Module 3 Quiz30m

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Leveraging Character Strengths and Strengthening Relationships

In this module, you will identify your own character strengths using a well-validated questionnaire. Next, you will describe how to use your character strengths in stressful situations to increase resilience by creating a buffer of positive emotion. Additionally, you will learn the research on active constructive responding, and identify their predominant responding style with important people in their lives. Finally, you will hear examples of inculcating resilience into organizations, and plan how to incorporate resilience strategies into your personal and professional lives.

4 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 95 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

9 videos

4.1 Background and Definition of Signature Strengths15m4.2 Activities: Developing Character Strengths and VIA Conversation4m4.3 Using Character Strengths to Navigate an Upcoming Challenge16m4.4 Shadow Side of Character Strengths10m4.5 Introduction to ACR7m4.6 ACR Role Plays16m4.7 Activity: ACR Patterns14m4.8 Inculcating Resilience in an Organization: Emma Judge and Sam Presti7m4.9 Course Summary2m

3 readings

Values in Action (VIA) Survey10mActivity: Response Style Patterns10mModule 4 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings40m

1 practice exercise

Module 4 Quiz30m

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TOP REVIEWS FROM POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: RESILIENCE SKILLS

by RPDec 23, 2017

The content is a refresher of everything you need to hear to be a good, high-functioning human! I loved it, but just spent the course wanting the pace to pick up. Good material does that.

by JCSep 18, 2017

Dr. Reivich is a terrific presenter. She provides frequent and useful summaries, is clearly passionate about the subject, and has organized the content in a very logical, easy-to-follow manner.

by BTJun 19, 2018

I'd highly you do this course and its companion course Positive Psychology: Martin E. P. Seligman’s Visionary Science. I started them three weeks ago and the changes have been dramatic :)

by APNov 10, 2022

Good information, but very high level. Basically, we learn what exists but not how to implement it. For instance, we learn that mindfulness is a good resilience skill and why but not how to implement.

View all reviews

About the Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

The University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman welcome you to Foundations of Positive Psychology. Our five-course specialization provides you with the key theories and research in the field of positive psychology as well as opportunities for application.

Course topics include • Positive Psychology: Martin E.P. Seligman’s Visionary Science with Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman • Positive Psychology: Applications and Interventions with Dr. James Pawelski • Positive Psychology: Character, Grit and Research Methods with Dr. Angela Duckworth & Dr. Claire Robertson-Kraft • Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills with Dr. Karen Reivich • Positive Psychology Specialization Project with Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills

About this Course

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