“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream. ” ~Martin Luther King Jr
 
Scientists, writers, healers, politicians, religious leaders and activists have spoken about hope, but it is only within the last 20 years that researchers, therapists, and business leaders have joined the search for practical uses and a deeper understanding of hope and hopefulness.  Uniquely different from optimism, intention, and faith, hope offers a transformational opportunity.  As the only positive emotion that requires negativity or uncertainty to be activated, hope provides the capacity to change our struggles into opportunities—and tragedies into triumphs. This presentation will look at the research and application of hope and the ways it is being applied in business, education, therapy, medicine, recovery, and spirituality.
Dan Tomasulo

Dan Tomasulo

Daniel J. Tomasulo, Ph.D., TEP, MFA, MAPP is the Academic Director and core faculty at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI), Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology, MFA in writing, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Review Editor for Frontiers in Psychology special  section Positive Psychology. Sharecare honors Dr. Tomasulo as one of the top ten online influencers on the issue of depression. His award-winning memoir, American Snake Pit  (2018) tells of the first experimental group home releasing inmates from America’s most notorious asylum, Willowbrook. His most recent book, Learned Hopefulness, The Power of Positivity To Overcome Depression, is hailed as: “…the perfect recipe for fulfillment, joy, peace, and expansion of awareness.”  by Deepak Chopra, MD: Author of Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential. Martin Seligman, Ph.D., author of Flourish, adds: “This is the best go-to book on how to use hope to relieve your depression.”