Ready to make a positive impact on the world? It starts by positively impacting yourself and those around you. There may not be a better, more impactful starting point than the science and practice of character strengths. These are defined as positive personality traits that reflect our core identity, produce positive outcomes, and contribute to the greater good (Niemiec, 2018).

Character strengths captivate the trifecta of core audiences. In positive psychology (and in “psychology” at large), not many topics are of high interest and benefit to these three audiences. We think of this as the trifecta of benefit:

· Practitioners: Tens of thousands of practitioners across the globe work with character strengths to positively impact their clients. The impact is seen in practitioners in business, education, higher education, disability, healthcare/medicine, psychotherapy/counselling, sport, activism, and parenting, to name a few. The integration of character strengths can be brought to ANY approach/orientation from solution-focused to cognitive-behavior to managerial to humanistic to psychodynamic to educational

· Scientists: Over 800 studies have been published on the VIA Classification/VIA Survey in the last 10 years. Hundreds of scientists (from distinguished scholars to students) freely use the VIA measures (there are over 20 validated free measures relating to character strengths) in their studies every year.

· Consumers: A person takes the VIA Survey every 10 seconds of every minute. With findings ranging from benefits across the areas of boosting well-being and managing life adversities, the number of ways to incorporate character strengths to improve the lives of others is virtually endless.

Dr. Ryan Niemiec will share what you need to know about “the backbone” of positive psychology. You’ll become familiar with the what, the why, and the how of character strengths. You’ll learn practical interventions and experience visceral activities designed to help you deepen your awareness, your exploration, and your application of character strengths. Said another way, there will be small group discussions, lecture, experiential activities, and sharing of resources so multiple modes of learning will be tapped.

In addition to practical strategies you can immediately use, you’ll learn some of the latest exciting findings in the field. In the last 1.5 years, Ryan has initiated 30 studies amounting to over 550,000 subjects, collaborating with 20 research groups. Several examples of these brand new, large-scale studies on character strengths include connections with mental health, the three types of meaning in life, health habits and lifestyle, nature/environment connection, inner peace, negative peace, relational peace, disability perceptions, PERMA-9, positive solitude, elevation, gentleness, and interbeing (to name about half of the studies). While every study cannot be delved into, those that are discussed will have a practical intervention offered.

As a bonus, you’ll hear from two special guests and new leaders at the VIA Institute. You’ll hear from Kelly Cummings on character strengths infused in positive leadership approaches. Every person, regardless of their role, can learn to be a “situational leader” with their character strengths. And, you’ll hear from Dr. Jeff Levy, who helped Dr. Marty Seligman 20 years ago to run the first-ever, online positive intervention studies. Jeff will speak to forward-thinking, big-picture perspectives and plans for character strengths and the larger field of positive psychology.

If you are in doubt, attend this one-time workshop!