Course Dates: To Be Determined
✓ Learn essential concepts from positive psychology, neurobiology, and the behavioral sciences, grounded in the SPIRE model of well-being
✓ Receive professional, client-ready handouts to use directly in your coaching sessions, helping your clients apply and sustain the lessons learned
✓ Guide your clients through exercises that deepen the impact of your coaching, driving them toward lasting positive change and greater well-being
ICF CE Units Available!
8 Core Competencies
2 Resource Development
You’ll receive beautifully designed handouts for each lesson, allowing your clients to reflect, take action, and continue their growth between sessions. These handouts help:
✓ Extend the value of each session by providing exercises clients can do on their own.
✓ Support your brand with professionally crafted material that reinforces the core concepts of happiness and well-being.
✓ Streamline your coaching with structured, evidence-based tools that add depth and clarity to your conversations.
How You’ll Experience and Empower Your Clients:
You’ll immerse yourself in the online videos, gaining a personal understanding of SPIRE—a comprehensive, research-based model for human flourishing developed by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, Dr. Maria Sirois, and Wholebeing Institute Founder Megan McDonough.
Through this deep exploration, you will not only expand your own well-being, but also gain practical tools to guide your clients on their journey toward greater fulfillment and resilience. Each concept you learn becomes a resource for helping your clients thrive, transforming knowledge into actionable steps for lasting well-being.
✓ Best Possible Self: A powerful visualization exercise to help clients set a positive, goal-oriented mindset
✓ Positive Focus and Appreciation: Techniques to help clients recognize the good and foster gratitude
✓ Five Perspectives of Well-Being: The SPIRE model, and how you can use it to guide clients toward a holistic sense of thriving
✓ Character Strengths Engagement: Tools to help clients uncover their strengths and harness them for personal and professional growth
Course Flow
- ✓ Self-directed learning: You’ll watch pre-recorded lessons, reflect through journaling, and complete worksheets to deepen your understanding of the material.
- ✓ Live coaching sessions: Join weekly webinars to learn how to incorporate the client handouts into your coaching sessions. These live interactions will give you practical examples and peer-to-peer practice on using the material effectively.
1. Watch two pre-recorded video lessons.
2. Attend a live webinar demonstrating how to use the client handouts effectively in your coaching.
3. Practice using the materials with your peers during in-class interactions.
4. Guide your clients with handouts and exercises to foster ongoing growth and well-being.
Who This Course Is For
If you have taken the original Introduction to Wholebeing Happiness course, you are eligible for a discount on this coaching-specific edition. Email [email protected] for more information.
Megan McDonough, Founder of Wholebeing Institute, is the lead faculty in the course, presenting the prerecorded video lessons each week. As a CEO, teacher, and mom, Megan uses divergent thinking and creative perspectives to lead, harnessing the best in people for the greatest good. She is the award-winning author of four books on mindfulness, and has been teaching well-being for more than two decades.
Sandy Campbell is the co-lead for this course, facilitating the live webinars each week. After spending 10 years at a major pharmaceutical company, she decided to stop working in the corporate world and start improving it instead. As a Positive Psychology Coach, Sandy is passionate about helping clients achieve their full potential by making small but highly impactful shifts. She holds an MS in Counseling from Villanova University, as well as certifications in Positive Psychology (from Wholebeing Institute), Integrative Nutrition, and Mindful Yoga.
Perspectives
Students are exposed to various voices from the field through interviews and videos integrated into the lessons. Featured experts include the following:
Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, is among the most highly cited scholars in psychology. She’s the Director at the PEP lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focusing on the study of positive emotions.
Sara Algoe, PhD, researches social interactions. She’s assistant professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, & the director of the Emotions & Social Interactions in Relationships Lab.
Patty Van Cappellen, PhD, is an experimental social psychologist interested in the psychology of religion, spirituality, health, and morality. Patty is the associate director of the Interdisciplinary and Behavioral Research Center at Duke University.
Kristen Lindquist, PhD, studies the nature of emotion.She’s an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and director of the Carolina Affective Science Lab.
Megha Nancy Buttenheim, MA, E-RYT 1000, is CEO and founding director of Let Your Yoga Dance® LLC, and author of Expanding Joy: Let Your Yoga Dance, Embodying Positive Psychology. A lifelong singer, dancer, and actor, Megha is a longtime teacher-trainer at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and director of movement and meditation for Wholebeing Institute.
Maria Sirois, PsyD, is the course director for WBI’s yearlong certificate course. She’s an inspirational speaker, seminar leader, and author who has worked at the intersections of wellness, psychology, and spirituality for nearly 20 years. She’s the author of Every Day Counts: Lessons in Love, Faith, and Resilience from Children Facing Illness and A Short Course in Happiness After Loss.
Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD, is co-founder of Wholebeing Institute. Tal taught one of Harvard’s most popular–and life-changing–courses on positive psychology, and is the author of five books, including the best-sellers Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. He holds a doctorate in organizational behavior and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology from Harvard.
Technology
Your course material is housed in the virtual classroom, a password-protected area where students watch the videos, join the live webinars, connect on the forum, and get information on all course-related material.
Questions?
Need help navigating the online educational experience?
Our Student Support and technology team are here to assist you. Contact us at [email protected]
Registration Information
The next session is scheduled for Fall 2025
Tuition for this course is $495. USD
Exclusive Offer for Returning Students
If you’ve previously taken the online course Introduction for Wholebeing Happiness—whether as a standalone course or part of the Certificate in Wholebeing Positive Psychology—you’re eligible for a special returning student discount. To request your discount, simply email us at [email protected], and we’ll provide you with the details.
