Part II: Positive Psychology Coaching · 40 hours
Coach the Science of Flourishing
Learn to help people build lives that are not just functional, but genuinely well. Evidence-based positive psychology and its second wave, translated into method you can put to work with your next client.
The Sailboat
Every Client Is the Captain of a Sailboat
Below the waterline sits the hull: the worries, old habits, and history that can drag a person down. Above it rises the sail: strengths, meaning, relationships, and positive emotion that catch the wind.
Most coaching only trims the sail. Positive Psychology Coaching teaches you to tend the whole boat, so a person does not just feel briefly better. They move.
You will learn to map the boat, then help a client sail it.
What You Will Learn
Forty hours of the science of flourishing — and its second wave — built for the coaching room and unified by the Sailboat as your map.
Framework
PERMA and the Domains of Wellbeing
The building blocks of flourishing: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment, plus the wider domains that hold a life together.
Strengths
Strengths, Used Well
How to spot, name, and put character strengths to work, without slipping into empty praise or toxic positivity.
Motivation
Self-Determination Theory
Autonomy, competence, and relatedness: why some goals endure and others collapse, and how to coach for the kind that last.
Resilience
Resilience and Positive Emotion
Practical ways to help clients broaden, recover, and grow through difficulty, grounded in the research rather than slogans.
Meaning
Meaning and Second-Wave Positive Psychology
The depth side of the field, built on the work of Dr. Paul Wong: holding difficulty and meaning together, not just chasing the positive.
Method
The Sailboat Assessment
A structured way to map a client across the eight elements of the boat, then design a session around what you find.
The Eight Elements of the Sailboat
A whole-life map you can run with any client.
WaterLife domains
CompassFeelings and emotions
Steering wheelValues
LeakWeaknesses
SailsStrengths
WeatherEvents
Other boatsSocial relationships
DestinationThe goal
Inside the Course: Ten Modules
Forty hours across ten modules, each exploring a core domain of positive psychology, unified by the Sailboat Metaphor and carried into its second wave, translated into method you can run with a client.
01
An Introduction to Positive Psychology
The field, the science of wellbeing and its second wave, unified by the Sailboat Metaphor.
02
Balancing Life Domains
Attention, values, and psychological need fulfillment, and how to help clients balance the areas of a life.
03
Emotional Intelligence
Working with feelings and emotions as information, and building emotional skill with clients.
04
Meaning and Valued Living
Purpose, values, and the meaning side of flourishing, and how to coach toward what truly matters.
05
The Science of Self-Acceptance
Self-compassion and acceptance as a foundation for lasting change, within coaching scope.
06
Maximizing Strengths
Identify and apply signature strengths so clients build on what is already strong in them.
07
Realizing Resilience
The skills that help clients recover, adapt, and grow through difficulty rather than just past it.
08
Positive Relationships
Connection, support, and the relationships that sustain wellbeing.
09
Motivation and Goal Achievement
Autonomy, motivation, and goal design that actually moves a client forward.
10
Putting It All Together
Integrating the toolkit into one coherent, ethical, meaning-centered coaching practice.
What You Will Be Able to Do
- Map any client across the eight elements of the Sailboat, then design a session around what you find.
- Spot and apply character strengths without sliding into empty praise or toxic positivity.
- Coach for motivation that lasts, working from autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
- Help a client broaden, recover, and grow through difficulty, grounded in the research rather than slogans.
- Hold meaning and difficulty together, instead of chasing the positive alone.
Who It Is For
- Coaches who want evidence-based tools for wellbeing, not affirmations.
- Helping professionals adding a positive psychology lens to existing work.
- Anyone pursuing the Board Certified Coach credential who needs advanced, recognized hours.
- Practitioners who want a method they can use in the next session, not just a certificate.
Your Enrollment Includes the AI Daimon
An expert coaching mentor trained on the founder’s own body of knowledge, on call through your studies. Ask it anything, from a framework question to how to structure a session. Your enrollment also includes Paycheck to Profits, the Coach’s Blueprint for a Profitable Practice, never sold separately.
The AI Daimon is offered to support your learning and is not a substitute for professional or clinical advice. Fair-use limits apply.
Part of something larger
Stands Alone, or Completes the Whole
Positive Psychology Coaching is advanced continuing education in its own right, suitable for your BCC continuing-education requirements, and soon carrying forty ICF Continuing Coach Education hours. It is also Part Two of the Whole Person Coaching Certification, the 140-hour pathway toward the Board Certified Coach credential. Every hour you complete here counts toward it.
Coaches Rate Our Training Excellent
Real, verified five-star reviews from graduates of our coaching programs, independently posted and unedited.
★★★★★
“The program is a gift that keeps on giving. It helped me move past hesitation, deepen my understanding, and become more capable of coaching and leading others.”
Noé Arroyo-Williams, US
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★★★★★
“This program added real value to my existing coaching practice. It gave me more precision, more depth, more impact, and more clarity.”
Jean Hendry, US
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★★★★★
“The program was practical, well thought out, and immediately applicable. I was able to use what I learned throughout the course.”
Jay Gundotra, US
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★★★★★
“This course exceeded my expectations. I came away with a significantly larger toolkit and a much clearer sense of direction.”
Anissa Hartman, US
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★★★★★
“This program was life-changing. It significantly improved how I engage with people and facilitate meaningful, lasting change.”
Jeanne Foot, CA
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★★★★★
“My coaching toolkit greatly expanded as a result of this certificate program.”
Beth Dorman, US
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Compare Your Paths
Take one course, or the full certification. Here is what each includes, and who it suits.
| Foundations$1,495 | Positive Psychology$1,995 | Depth Psychology$1,995 | Full Certification$3,995 · best value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course hours | 60 | 40 | 40 | 140 |
| The craft of coaching (Foundations) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Positive psychology and the Sailboat | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Depth psychology and the Oak | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI Daimon, through your studies | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paycheck to Profits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| BCC Exam Prep Course | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AI for Coaching, 12-month program | add $995 | add $995 | add $995 | ✓ |
| Integration capstone and full BCC pathway | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ideal for | New to coaching | Adding the science of flourishing | Experienced coaches going deeper | Anyone serious about the BCC credential |
Enroll in Positive Psychology Coaching
Regular price $2,495
$1,995
Introductory price · one-time · lifetime access to your enrollment
Enroll Now
Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee. A monthly payment plan is available at checkout.
Questions, Answered
Do I need to be an experienced coach?
No. The course teaches the science of flourishing from the ground up and translates it into practical method. It suits new coaches and seasoned practitioners adding a positive psychology lens.
Is this live or on-demand?
Fully on-demand and self-paced. You move through video lessons, reading guides, and instructor-reviewed reflections on your own schedule.
What will I actually learn?
You learn the Sailboat model, a whole-life map across eight elements: life domains, emotions, values, weaknesses, strengths, events, relationships, and the goal. You also learn the evidence base behind flourishing, including PERMA, strengths, meaning, and mattering, and how to translate it into a structured assessment and a session you can run with any client. You also learn the second wave of the field: holding meaning and difficulty together rather than chasing the positive alone.
How is this different from a general positive psychology course?
Most positive psychology content explains the science and stops there. This course is built to put it to work inside a coaching conversation: a repeatable method, a whole-life assessment, and clear ethical scope, so you can coach flourishing rather than just describe it.
How long does it take, and what is the weekly time commitment?
The course is 40 hours, structured in ten modules of about four hours each. Most learners finish in a few weeks at a couple of hours a week, and you set the pace.
What is included with enrollment?
Video lessons, reading guides, workbooks, and instructor-reviewed reflections, with lifetime access to your enrolled materials. Every enrollment also includes the AI Daimon, the always-on reflective mentor, for the duration of your studies.
Does it carry continuing-education hours?
Positive Psychology Coaching is advanced continuing education suitable for BCC continuing-education requirements today, and it is slated to carry 40 ICF Continuing Coach Education hours, with ICF accreditation in progress.
Can I use this with my current clients or inside my organization?
Yes. The Sailboat method and the wellbeing tools are designed to adapt to real clients and teams, used ethically and within coaching scope.
Is there a payment plan?
Yes. A monthly payment plan is offered in addition to the one-time tuition. You will see the options at checkout.
How does this relate to the BCC?
It stands alone as advanced continuing education suitable for BCC continuing-education requirements, and it is Part Two of the Whole Person Coaching Certification, the complete 140-hour training pathway toward the credential. The only degree the BCC requires is a bachelor’s, set by the credentialing body, not by us. If you already hold a master’s in a related field, including an MBA, the BCC asks for fewer training hours, so Foundations of Coaching alone may qualify you. It also requires coach-specific training, documented experience, and passing the BCC examination; review the official BCC requirements.
Our 100% guaranteed refund policy
Your enrollment is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee. If the course is not the right fit, contact us within your first week and we will refund you in full. See our Refund & Cancellation Policies.
Positive Psychology Coaching is an independent program of the Positive Psychology Institute, a division of Unbound Education, Inc. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) or the International Coaching Federation (ICF). BCC credentialing is available only to those who hold at least a bachelor’s degree and additionally requires coach-specific training, documented coaching experience, and passing the BCC examination; review the official BCC requirements. This is a coaching education program, not therapy or clinical training. This program is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee within a 7-day window from the date of purchase; after that, enrollment is final. See our Refund & Cancellation Policies. Introductory pricing is available for a limited time and may change without notice. Meet the faculty →