Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills

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Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills

This course is part of Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

Instructor: Karen Reivich, Ph.D.

99,599 already enrolled

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

2,336 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

2,336 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll 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'll gain

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Assessments

4 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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This course is part of the Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

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There are 4 modules in this course

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.

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.

What's included

13 videos6 readings1 assignment1 peer review1 discussion prompt

13 videosTotal 103 minutes

1.1 Welcome and Overview of the Course4 minutes
1.2 Definition of Resilience and Foundational Research5 minutes
1.3 Variables that Contribute to Resilience13 minutes
1.4 Barbara Bradley Hagerty on Resilience in Midlife7 minutes
1.5 Jennifer Loredo and Resilience Stories12 minutes
1.6 Introduction to Optimism and Optimism Definitions8 minutes
1.7 Benefits of Optimism13 minutes
1.8 What Optimists Do Differently13 minutes
1.9 Optimism Activity: Pursuit of Happyness Video13 minutes
1.10 Organizational Highlight: Sam Presti on Optimism2 minutes
1.11 Organizational Highlight: Maureen Rush2 minutes
1.12 Personal Highlight: Lucy Hone7 minutes
1.13 Summary of Week 1 and Preview of Week 22 minutes

6 readingsTotal 97 minutes

Biography of Karen Reivich, Ph.D.1 minute
Assignments, Grading and your Resilience Journal1 minute
Optional Reading: The Resilience Factor30 minutes
Module 1 Lesson 1 - Optional Readings20 minutes
Optimism Questionnaire5 minutes
Module 1 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings40 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 1 Quiz30 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 60 minutes

Pursuit of Happyness: Optimism in Action60 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Optimism Activity10 minutes

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.

What's included

8 videos2 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

8 videosTotal 61 minutes

2.1 Thinking Traps Introduction7 minutes
2.2 Definition and Demonstration of Thinking Traps20 minutes
2.3 Detecting Patterns in Yourself, Activity: Trying Thinking Traps on for Size3 minutes
2.4 Personal Examples of Thinking Traps: Why We Need a Skill to Address Them4 minutes
2.5 Changing non-resilient thinking: Real-time Resilience14 minutes
2.6 Real-time resilience Activity8 minutes
2.7 Organizational Highlights: Emma Judge & Maureen Rush2 minutes
2.8 Summary of Module 2 and Introduction to Module 32 minutes

2 readingsTotal 45 minutes

Module 2 Lesson 1 - Optional Reading15 minutes
Module 2 Lesson 2 - Optional Reading30 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 15 minutes

Module 2 Quiz15 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 25 minutes

Thinking Traps Scenarios15 minutes
Real Time Resilience Activity10 minutes

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.

What's included

14 videos4 readings1 assignment1 peer review2 discussion prompts

14 videosTotal 115 minutes

3.1 Introduction: Catastrophizing and the Relationship of Anxiety to Resilience7 minutes
3.2 Dr. Baime: Effects of Anxiety on Our Bodies5 minutes
3.3 Demonstrations of Several Styles of Catastrophizing10 minutes
3.4 Triggers of Catastrophizing7 minutes
3.5 Introduction to three Different Ways to Manage Anxiety13 minutes
3.6 Dr. Park: Deliberate Breathing to Manage Anxiety6 minutes
3.7 Dr. Baime: A Mindfulness Approach to Anxiety7 minutes
3.8 Positive Emotions Broaden9 minutes
3.9 Positive Emotions Build Resources7 minutes
3.10 Gratitude Research15 minutes
3.11 Gratitude Skill: HTGS6 minutes
3.12 Designing a Gratitude Practice: Team Collage10 minutes
3.13 Organizational Highlights: Sam Presti, Maureen Rush & Carolyn McIntyre11 minutes
3.14 Summary of Module 3 and Preview of Module 42 minutes

4 readingsTotal 70 minutes

Module 3 Lesson 1 - Optional Reading10 minutes
Activity: Challenging Catastrophic Thinking Part 115 minutes
Activity: Challenging Catastrophic Thinking Part 215 minutes
Module 3 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings30 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 3 Quiz30 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 60 minutes

Design a Gratitude Practice60 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Positive Emotion Photos10 minutes
Hunt the Good Stuff10 minutes

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.

What's included

9 videos3 readings1 assignment3 discussion prompts

9 videosTotal 95 minutes

4.1 Background and Definition of Signature Strengths15 minutes
4.2 Activities: Developing Character Strengths and VIA Conversation5 minutes
4.3 Using Character Strengths to Navigate an Upcoming Challenge16 minutes
4.4 Shadow Side of Character Strengths10 minutes
4.5 Introduction to ACR7 minutes
4.6 ACR Role Plays16 minutes
4.7 Activity: ACR Patterns15 minutes
4.8 Inculcating Resilience in an Organization: Emma Judge and Sam Presti8 minutes
4.9 Course Summary2 minutes

3 readingsTotal 60 minutes

Values in Action (VIA) Survey10 minutes
Activity: Response Style Patterns10 minutes
Module 4 Lesson 2 - Optional Readings40 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 4 Quiz30 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 30 minutes

VIA10 minutes
Using Character Strengths to Navigate an Upcoming Challenge10 minutes
Applying Resilience to Your Life10 minutes

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Instructor

Instructor ratings

(457 ratings)

Karen Reivich, Ph.D.

University of Pennsylvania

2 Courses140,365 learners

Offered by

University of Pennsylvania

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Reviewed on Aug 3, 2017

Thank you for such an informative class! I have learned some life skills that I will definitely be using in my life. I have already shared some of your wisdom with my daughter and my friends.

Reviewed on May 16, 2022

This course is more than extraordinary wisdom. I am just in love with Karen's method of teaching . Sh has become my role model . I am really grateful to her for such an impactful teaching.

Reviewed on Aug 3, 2022

I thought this course was excellent. So interesting, well set out and practical exercises to apply to life. Well done Karen. Great job and thank you for creating and sharing this with us.

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To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. 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.

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.

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.