Heidi Zetzer

Heidi Zetzer, Director of the Carol Ackerman Positive Psychology Clinic in the Department of Counseling, Clinical & School Psychology, will give the Zoom lecture “The Psychology of Flourishing” on Tuesday, February 2 from 12 – 1:30 pm. The webinar is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine Department as part of its Psychiatric Grand Rounds. Registration is required. Please register online.

Flourishing and experiencing life’s difficulties are not mutually exclusive. The circumstances of our lives bring a mixture of experiences and reactions to those experiences. Cultivating the dimensions of flourishing can help you and your clients “cope ahead,” and be more fully resourced.

The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the audience to the concept of flourishing and to define and describe Seligman’s PERMA model of flourishing. Research will also be presented that supports Seligman’s primary hypothesis that cultivating PERMA promotes human flourishing in psychotherapy and everyday life. The presentation includes a cultural critique of the literature which, though international, displays an implicit bias towards a focus on populations from highly westernized countries.

This course meets the qualifications for one hour of continuing education (CE) credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. There is no charge to Cottage Health employees. There is a $15 fee to non-Cottage attendees who wish to receive continuing education credit.

Dr. Heidi A. Zetzer is a Teaching Professor and the Director of the Carol Ackerman Positive Psychology Clinic in the Department of Counseling, Clinical & School Psychology at UCSB’s Gevirtz School. Zetzer teaches Positive Psychology Across the Lifespan, Basic Practicum, Theories of Supervision & Consultation, and Supervision Practicum. She also directs the department’s counseling and clinical externships. She is a licensed psychologist and former president of the Santa Barbara County Psychological Association.