All posts by johnsommersflanagan

Happiness, Personal Reflections, Writing

One Word to Describe Two Days at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (AMBFF) Home Office

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Shortly after Beth Brown, Managing Director of Mental Health and Well Being at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (https://blankfoundation.org/) called the meeting to order, she asked us to introduce ourselves and share one word to represent how we were feeling in that moment. 

Having taught my fair share of group counseling and psychotherapy courses at the University of Montana, I immediately recognized Ms. Brown’s icebreaking trickery. The trickery is, while ostensibly asking about the emotional tone of participants, the “one word” question simultaneously evaluates participants’ ability and willingness to comply with group leader requests.

It was a raucous group. People immediately began bending, breaking, and straying from Ms. Brown’s one-word rule. Some participants took 30 words to introduce themselves; others took 50 words to frame the rationale for their one-word choice. One participant (who spoke second, and may or may not have been me), immediately displayed annoying attention-seeking behavior by interjecting an anecdote about the worst icebreaker activity ever in the history of time.

Had Sigmund Freud been a Mental Health and Wellness grantee (and therefore invited to the two-day event), he might have used the word delighted. Not only was the one-word activity intrinsically projective, Freud also once famously quipped,

Words were originally magic, and . . . retain much magical power, even today. With words people can make others blessed, or drive them to despair; by words the teacher transfers . . . knowledge to the pupil; by words the speaker sweeps away the audience and determines its judgments and decisions. Words call forth affects and are the universal means of influencing human beings [n.b., this is not a perfect quote because I engaged in minor editing to make Freud more quippy and less sexist].

I have some magic words to describe the participants. They were smart, fun, funny, dedicated, committed, clever, brilliant, generous, compassionate, empathic, connected, passionate, and cool. During Lyft rides, some of them even engaged with each other as if they were live podcasters. My particular program officer is so kind and generous that I now just think of her as Saint Natalie.

Words were the theme and the tool. On the afternoon of Day One Michael Susong, PR Lead at Intrepid, taught us how to use asset-based, instead of deficit-based words on our websites. His presentation was complemented by a gallery-walk through an adjacent room where life-sized word cloud posters of the words in our websites were set up and numbered; we perused the clouds, absorbing the language and seeking to discern which cloud belonged to which organization. I, of course, quickly found the Montana Happiness Project (MHP) word cloud, primarily because the biggest word was SUICIDE, which may or may not have implied that we (the MHP) have a bit of work to do on using more asset-based language on our website. I also felt jealousy because other organizations had way cooler words, like “Nintendo” and “LBGTQ+” and “Youth of color” and “Belonging.” 

At the close of Day 1, the prevailing descriptive words were “Tired” and “Exhausted” not principally, but partly because this was a group of people who had likely added this retreat into their already too busy lives and consequently were emailing and doing business-related calls during breaks and lunch and on the airplane the day before and possibly into the night.

Looking back at the previous paragraph, I notice I used the word “business” which connotes a particular entrepreneurial feel, which requires a particular explanation. All of the organizations and people in attendance had a shared passion for the business of helping others achieve greater well-being, mental health, and happiness. IMHO, that’s good business. . . which leads me to sharing a few words about the man behind the curtain.

We all convened at the Arthur M. Blank Foundation headquarters for two days because of one man’s business. That man is Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta United professional soccer club, and PGA Superstores. But along with his businesses, Arthur Blank has expanded his service mentality into the business of philanthropy. On the evening of the first day, Arthur Blank joined us as we listened to renowned Harvard researcher Robert Waldinger talk about the world’s longest study of Happiness [n.b., in his usual buoyantly optimistic style, Freud once noted that a main goal of psychotherapy is to move patients from neurotic misery, to common unhappiness].

Although I didn’t get a chance to meet Mr. Blank and impress him with my witty repartee, knowledge of icebreakers, or arcane Freudian quotes (I wish I could have told him, “Where id was, there shall ego be!), I did hear him speak. In one long, hyphenated word, I’d describe his message as gracious-supportive-humble-encouraging-empowering. Had Freud been there, he might have just said, “Arthur Blank’s words were magic.”

The Arthur Blank Foundation has given well over $500 million to philanthropic causes. None of this is required. Arthur Blank could take his money and keep it to himself and his family. Instead, he has embraced philanthropy. Arthur Blank also has a book titled “Good Company.” In a word (or maybe 20 words), if I were offering a New York Times Book Review (which will never happen because the NYT always rejects my editorial pieces, and yes, I’m clearly hanging on too tightly to my resentment toward the NYT), I’d describe his book as: A rather surprising treatise on companies doing values-based good work in the world as a part of a larger philosophy/vision of service-oriented capitalism paradoxically infused with egalitarianism in the workplace. In other (or additional) words, I enjoyed, appreciated, and valued the book and its philosophy WAY more than I expected. Now I want to become as wealthy as Arthur Blank so I can join him in contributing to the culture and welfare of places like West Atlanta, South Chicago, North Philly, Livingston Montana, and East Missoula.

In the end, Beth Brown asked us for a final, departing single word. I cleverly used my hyphenated last name as an excuse to say “overwhelmed-hopeful” but I might have just as easily used “connected-inspired” or “challenged-to-do-more-good” or “I’m-on-a-rocket-ship-headed-to-a-city-called-mental-health-and-wellbeing” or, given the fire of inspiration lit under my feet, I could have decided to demonstrate the worst icebreaker of all time, and just spell out my name and feelings with my hip movements.

Thank you, Arthur Blank, thank you to the AMBFF team, and thank you to the grantees. I am humbled by your generosity and vision of greater mental health and wellbeing for all.

Clinical Interviewing, Personal Reflections, Writing

One Resource and One Request

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John Wiley and Sons recently informed me of the excellent and exciting news that the 7th edition of Clinical Interviewing (CI7) has gone to press and will drop in the U.S. on or before September 30. Our wish for this edition is the same as previous editions: To provide research-based, theoretically supported, clinically insightful, and culturally informed education and training on how to conduct basic and advanced clinical interviews.

The Resource

Part of CI7 includes video updates. Most of the updates offer greater representation of culturally diverse counselors and psychotherapists. For example, the video link below features Dr. Devika “Dibya” Choudhuri describing a “grounding” technique that she uses when conducting tele-mental health (aka virtual) clinical interviews, the topic of Chapter 14.

Although you may have your own approaches to facilitating grounding during tele-mental health sessions, I believe Dr. Choudhuri’s idea is innovative and may be a resource that you can add to your toolkit.

Stay tuned, because over the next several weeks I’ll be posting additional fresh new text and video content from CI7.

The Request

Traditionally, publishers ask authors to gather promotional endorsements for new books. This time around, maybe because it’s the 7th edition, neither Wiley nor the absent-minded authors of CI7 thought about gathering endorsements. In the past, we’ve had Derald Wing Sue, John Norcross, Victor Yalom, Pamela Hays, Barbara Herlihy, Allen Ivey, David Jobes, and Marianne and Jerry Corey write short blurbs. Here’s what Derald Wing Sue said about the 6th edition:

The most recent edition of Clinical Interviewing is simply outstanding.  It not only provides a complete skeletal outline of the interview process in sequential fashion, but fleshes out numerous suggestions, examples, and guidelines in conducting successful and therapeutic interviews.  Well-grounded in the theory, research and practice of clinical relationships, John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan bring to life for readers the real clinical challenges confronting beginning mental health trainees and professionals.  Not only do the authors provide a clear and conceptual description of the interview process from beginning to end, but they identify important areas of required mastery (suicide assessment, mental status exams, diagnosis and treatment electronic interviewing, and work with special populations).  Especially impressive is the authors’ ability to integrate cultural competence and cultural humility in the interview process.  Few texts on interview skills cover so thoroughly the need to attend to cultural dimensions of work with diverse clients.  This is an awesome book written in an engaging and interesting manner.  I plan to use this text in my own course on advanced professional issues.  Kudos to the authors for producing such a valuable text.

―Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

This time around, we’re less than two weeks from publishing and are without formal endorsements. As a consequence, I’m asking: “Is there ANYBODY out there who has read a portion of the CI7 manuscript or used a previous edition, who would like to share their thoughts about how the book influenced you or how the videos helped with your training?

[I know this last paragraph sounds pathetic. However, if you know me, you probably know my sense of humor, and the “Is there anybody out there?” call is BOTH a sincere request for your input AND me mocking myself for making this request.]

To be completely serious: If you want to share something positive about your experience—from any point in time—with the Clinical Interviewing text, I hope you’ll write a sentence or two or three (you don’t have to write half a page, like Derald Wing Sue) on the particular ways in which you found the book and/or videos meaningful to you.

To share your thoughts on any edition of the text, please post them here on this blog, or send them to me at john.sf@mso.umt.edu.

Thanks very much for considering this request. Please, please, I hope someone “out there” is listening!

Happiness, Personal Reflections, Writing

Thoughts on Forgiveness from My Friend, Dr. Bossypants

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I’m taking the opportunity this fine Sunday afternoon to post a blog piece that Rita wrote earlier this week. Oddly, or perhaps not that oddly for those who know her, Rita has an alter-identity that she refers to as “Dr. Bossypants.” In this alternate voice, Rita refers to herself in third person and lets herself be a bit more pedantic than she is in real life.

In this blog post, Dr. Bossypants jumps into the domain of forgiveness and offers up ideas that I found exquisitely interesting and very helpful.

Without further ado, I’d like you to meet, my friend, Dr. Bossypants.

An Eye for an Eye Keeps the Body Shops in Business
Happiness, Personal Reflections

The Happiness Challenge is Coming Soon

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Turns out, yesterday was Tuesday, not Friday. I got so disoriented yesterday that by the day’s end, I was emailing people and telling them to have a great Labor Day weekend. My excuse is that I got 17 new stitches in my forehead during a 4.5 hour marathon Mohs surgery on Monday. Sheesh. Now I’m a poster-boy for sun block. See the photo at the bottom of this post for the evidence.

I’m posting today (Wednesday, not Saturday!) to let you know about a unique opportunity, and to ask for your support.

Beginning this September (National Suicide Prevention Month), the Montana Happiness Project, L.L.C., in collaboration with Families First Learning Lab, is launching a 20-week Happiness Activity Challenge. Using various social media platforms, this campaign guides participants through 20 distinct evidence-based positive psychology interventions designed to increase personal happiness and life meaning.

This Campaign will be available for free, online, through social media. Because we’re offering it for free, we’re looking for two levels of support.

  • Collaborator: Being a collaborator costs you nothing. All it means is that you’re publicly saying that you support our efforts at spreading evidence-based happiness and will share our happiness activities with colleagues, friends, and perhaps formally engage your organization to participate. If you’re a collaborator, we’ll put your name or organization name and logo on our website.
  • Sponsor: We’re asking specific organizations to partner with us to sponsor each week. To sponsor a week, we ask for a $500 contribution. In return, we’ll include your Logo and our Thanks in our social media posts for the week. This will include posts on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, WordPress, and on our Squarespace Montana Happiness Project website. If you’re a sponsor, we’d love for you to encourage your staff to participate in this happiness promotion activity, talk about it with each other, and post about it on social media.

You may wonder, if we can be collaborators and my staff and colleagues can participate for free, why be a sponsor? That’s a great question. We’re doing our Happiness Challenge as an act of kindness for the people of Montana and beyond and acts of kindness are evidence-based happiness strategies. We hope you’ll join us, perform an act of kindness, and sponsor at least one homework week.

Whether you’re a collaborator, sponsor, or evesdropper, we hope you’ll engage with our happiness challenge to see if participation in some or all of our 20-day happiness project helps you (and your staff, friends, family, etc.) feel happier.

Below, I’ve answered a few questions:

Who can participate? – Anyone. Our primary focus is Montana, but our goal is to reach out and promote positivity and happiness to anyone and everyone who is interested.

How much does it cost? – Nothing. Nada. Nil. This is free because we believe life is hard and people need support, skills, and to have hope for greater happiness.

Do I have to commit to all 20 homework assignments? – Nope. We’re doing this on social media. You can participate as much or as little as possible. You can be explicitly active by posting and sharing about your experiences, but you can also keep your experiences to yourselves.

Are the homework assignments really evidence-based? – Yes. Nearly all of the assignments have direct scientific support as “interventions” that increase happiness and decrease depression. That doesn’t mean increased happiness and decreased depression are guaranteed, because even “effective” interventions don’t work for everyone. . . but they’re worth a try. A few of the assignments don’t have direct experimental support, but they’re based on concepts shown to increase happiness and meaningfulness.

What’s the catch? – No catch. We’re offering this experience as an act of kindness because we think it’s a good thing. We also recognize that positive psychology or evidence-based happiness interventions are not a great fit for everyone. Just do what you can when you can if you can.

How can I contribute to the idea of sharing evidence-based happiness knowledge and skills? – We hope you will do this activity with co-workers, friend, and/or family. We hope you’ll share it on social media, or talk with your children about your experiences over dinner. If you’re especially inspired by our 20-week Happiness Challenge, you’re welcome to donate (not required, but appreciated) to Families First Learning Lab. Just let the good people at Families First know that your donation is to support the FFLL Happiness Project.

If you have questions and/or want to become a collaborator or sponsor, please let John (john.sf@mso.umt.edu), Jeanice Robins info@montanahappinessproject.org, or Dylan Wright dylan@familiesfirstmt.org know and we’ll set you up!

I’d end with “Mark your calendars!” but given that I’m still not certain that I’m fully oriented to time, I’ll just say, thanks for reading all this and considering full engagement with our Happiness Challenge.

Sincerely,

John SF

Cool Counseling, Tough Kids Cool Counseling

The So-Called “Tough Kids, Cool Counseling” Workshop: PPTs and Handouts for TODAY!

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I’ll be online in about 75 minutes to present a workshop for the TexChip folks from TAMU-CC. The title of the workshop is: “Tough Kids, Cool Counseling: Strategies for Engaging and Influencing Youth.”

Here’s the link to the workshop . . . where the CEUs are free!:

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://tamucc.zoom.us/j/96049300393?pwd=V1VDSlVmY1c1RFVFTEhJN3ZFODJKQT09

Meeting ID: 960 4930 0393 

Passcode: 625101 

You may be aware of the irony in the workshop title. . . which is the fact that very soon into the workshop I tell everyone that we should never even “think” the words “Tough kids.” The reason we drop the terminology “Tough kids” is because it blames and labels the young people with whom we’re working, and they may sense that. Instead, all we have are “Kids in tough situations” and one of the tough situations is being in counseling or therapy.

Whether I’ll see you in 75 minutes or not, here are the ppts:

texas-ibh-2023Download

And here is the supplementary handout:

tough-kids-for-texchip-2023-supplementary-handoutDownload
Cool Counseling, Therapy with Adolescents, Tough Kids, Tough Kids Cool Counseling

News Flash: Four FREE CEUs Coming Up This Saturday, August 26

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As a part of a virtual symposium offered by Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, this coming Saturday, August 26, I’m doing a 2-hour free continuing education workshop from 12-2pm Mountain time (2pm-4pm Eastern). The cool thing is that the CEUs for this workshop are FREE. The less cool thing is that the workshop is on a Saturday.

My talk is: Tough Kids, Cool Counseling: Strategies for Engaging and Influencing Youth. Even better, I’ll be preceded by Dr. Russ Curtis and Dr. Katie Goetz (9am-11am Mountain time), who are presenting a 2-hour workshop on The Mindset and Clinical Skills Needed to Thrive in Integrated Care. . . and that’s 2 more FREE CEUs.

Below, I’ve pasted the blurbs and Zoom information for these online workshops.

You are invited to join Tex-Chip Virtual Symposium on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at 10am – 3pm (CST). 

Dr. Russ Curtis & Dr. Katie Goetz is scheduled to present from 10am – 12pm CST on “The Mindset and Clinical Skills Needed to Thrive in Integrated Care.” In this interactive presentation, participants will learn how to integrate clinical skills with enlightening philosophical premises to expand their understanding of providing inclusive whole-person care. Attendees will develop their clinical voice through lecture, case examples, and discussions to begin asking the right questions about how to provide next-generation integrated care.

Dr. Sommers-Flanagan is scheduled to present from 1pm – 3pm CST on “Tough Kids, Cool Counseling: Strategies for Engaging and Influencing Youth.” Engaging “tough kids” in behavioral health can be immensely frustrating or splendidly gratifying. The truth of this statement is so obvious that the supportive reference, at least according to many teenagers is “Duh!” In this 2-hour workshop, participants will learn, experience, and practice several strategies for engaging and influencing youth. Several cognitive, emotional, and constructive brief counseling techniques will be described and demonstrated. Examples include acknowledging reality, positive questioning, wishes and goals, the affect bridge, the three-step emotional change trick, what’s good about you?/asset flooding, and more. Essential counseling principles, countertransference, and cultural issues will be included. 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://tamucc.zoom.us/j/96049300393?pwd=V1VDSlVmY1c1RFVFTEhJN3ZFODJKQT09

Meeting ID: 960 4930 0393

Passcode: 625101

For more information, please contact Ada at auzondu@islander.tamucc.edu   

Happiness, Personal Reflections, Suicide Assessment and Intervention

Perfectly Hidden Depression and Viewing Suicidality through a Strengths-Based Lens

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Last week I did a little cliff-jumping into the Stillwater River with my twin 13-year-old grandchildren. It was only about 20 feet, but high enough to feel the terror and exhilaration of a brief free-fall.

This week I’m having a different kind of buzz. Dr. Margaret Rutherford reached out to me with a link to her TEDx Boca Raton talk. Previously I was a guest on her video podcast show (here’s the link to her podcast page: https://drmargaretrutherford.com/podcast-2-2/, and a link to her website and book, “Perfectly Hidden Depression” https://drmargaretrutherford.com/perfectlyhiddendepressionbook/). We’ve stayed in touch via email. Along with her link, she apologetically noted that she “barely” got a plug in for my work on strengths-based suicide assessment. I thought it was incredibly nice for her to give a nod, even a brief one, to my work. But then I watched and discovered that she had only mentioned three professionals: Edwin Shneidman (the “Father of Suicidology), Sidney Blatt (a renowned suicide and depression researcher from Yale), and some obscure guy from the University of Montana (that would be me).

Aside from feeling honored, humbled, and flattered to even get a mention, Dr. Margaret’s talk is fantastic. She makes the point–with a couple of articulate cases–for moving away from a strictly medical model perspective and toward working with people who may be suicidal through a lens of no judgment and acceptance. Here’s the link to her talk, which is well-worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXZ5Bo5lafA

There are other signs that how professionals (and hopefully the public) view suicidal ideation and behavior may be shifting toward greater acceptance. I’ll go into these other signs in a future post, but right now I want to emphasize that the point is not to replace the medical model, but to move the needle toward less pathologizing and more acceptance of the fact that having suicidal thoughts is often a normal part of life. To the extent that we can approach people who are thinking about suicide with, as Dr. Margaret said, “non-judgment and acceptance,” the more likely they are to be open with us about their pain. . . and . . . when people are open about their pain and suffering, then we have a chance to listen with empathy and a greater opportunity to be of help. . . which, I think, is the main point.

Personal Reflections, Writing

Rita’s Other Co-Author

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Earlier this summer, as I sifted through page-proofs for the 7th edition of our Clinical Interviewing textbook, my wife and co-author thinned carrots in the garden. Later, while I responded to queries from a Wiley copyeditor in India, she worked on rock art near the river in the July sunshine.

As many of you know, Rita and I have been co-authors for decades. Our first co-written publication appeared as a commentary in the 1986 American Psychologist (volume 41), titled “Ethical considerations for the peace activist psychotherapist.” Cool stuff.

Over the past few years, Rita’s interest in academic writing has waned some, but she’s still helpful, so I don’t mind. I like fresh carrots. The problem is that she’s started a project with a new and far more demanding coauthor. Given the identity of her coauthor, it doesn’t work for me to be jealous. Eight years ago, she started publishing these co-authored works as blogs, posted every Sunday at 9am. When she’s in a good mood, she refers to them as prose poems, prayers, or parables. I won’t mention what she calls them when she’s in a bad mood.

When she and her other co-author are busily writing, I’ve learned it’s best to not interrupt. I’ve also learned—from reading these blogs and listening to her read them to me—about a big omnipresent challenging and empathic entity that changes identities from Black women to dust mites, clouds to cracks in the earth, and flocks of birds to herds of sheep in much less time than the colloquial blink-of-an-eye.

If you’re interested in exploring Rita’s version of The Big Omnipresence, the first volume of Godblogs is now available (speaking of omnipresence) on Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/GODBLOGS-Vernacular-written-Mother-Tongue/dp/B0C9KCGSN9

Many of her readers have noted that these meditative word-art pieces are best taken in small doses. David James Duncan, author of The Brother’s K, the River Why, the forthcoming Sun House, and other amazing novels, wrote a blurb about Rita’s work, featured on the back cover:

From paragraph to paragraph, or sometimes sentence to sentence, or even phrase to phrase, Rita Sommers-Flanagan’s visitations leap—with tireless wit and a welcome downpour of surprises—from trenchant, to despairing, to startlingly funny, to furious, to honest to God divine comforts that just carried me to page 90 when I needed to get to work! As you read, you’ll also ride two pendulums I love, from reverence to irreverence back to reverence, and from deep grief to genuine joy back to grief. Most of all I want to say this: No matter what guise Original Source uses for any particular visit, I believe in Rita’s God. I truly do.

As I mentioned on FB, Rita getting a blurb from DJD makes me flat-out jealous. I still remember reading The Brother’s K on an airplane, and having the flight attendant check on me because I was intermittently laughing and crying. . . which speaks to DJD’s immense writing talents. On the other hand, rather than a bitter jealousy, I can bask in Rita’s reflected glory, right? I mean, after all, I’m her other coauthor.

I hope you’ll check out Rita’s book. I AM one of her biggest fans and one of her biggest coauthors: I’m just not the only one.

Clinical Interviewing, Suicide Assessment and Intervention

Strengths-Based Suicide, with a Little Stuff on Men, for the North Dakota Counseling Association

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I just finished a nice session on the strengths-based approach to suicide with the NDCA. They asked for a little extra info/emphasis on working with men, because men are particularly vulnerable to suicide, and so I wove in some of the content from my ACA presentation with Matt Englar-Carlson and Dan Salois (thanks Matt and Dan!).

The ppt below is a big one because it includes an embedded video featuring a young man who articulates a number of potential suicide related drivers, including trauma (be forewarned: the content is intense and potentially triggering).

A big thanks to the NDCA organizers and to the attendees who were very impressive.

Have a great evening!

ndca-suicide-summer-2023Download
Happiness

Attention Montana Educators — Check out this low-cost opportunity to earn 3 graduate credits while studying happiness!

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I’ve got great news for Montana educators.

Thanks to the support of the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we (the Montana Safe Schools Center and the Montana Happiness Project) have funding to support a very low cost 3-credit online graduate course titled, “Evidence-Based Happiness for Educators.”

This course is available very soon – the first class “meeting” is on July 5, from 9:30am-11:30am. I have “meeting” in quotes here because the course can be taken asynchronously, although we recommend synchronous “live” attendance on specific dates. The details follow:

When: The course begins on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. The course consists of 20, 2-hour sessions. The final meeting is on Tuesday, August 1. Live (synchronous) class meetings will be held from 9:30am to 11:30am on the following dates:

Wednesday, July 5

Monday, July 10

Monday, July 17

Monday, July 24

Monday, July 31

Where: Online. After you register, as soon as we have the final course details taken care of, you’ll receive a Zoom link for attending sessions, and accessing course videos and materials.

What: The course, COUN 595 (Evidence-Based Happiness for Educators) is an academic review and experiential practice of evidence-based happiness strategies. Participants will have daily reading/podcast/video assignments, along with experiential practice assignments. The primary purpose of the course is for teachers to learn to apply evidence-based happiness strategies (e.g., gratitude, savoring, etc.) to themselves. The secondary purpose of the course is for teachers to make plans for how they can integrate evidence-based happiness principles and activities into their classrooms. You will not be required to implement these ideas in your classrooms, but we will encourage you to experiment with the ideas on yourself and, to the extent that you desire, to share them with students.

Who can enroll: All Montana teachers are eligible to enroll. There is a class cap at 40.

Who will teach the course: Lillian Martz, M.A., a doctoral student in the Department of Counseling at the University of Montana will be the lead instructor. John Sommers-Flanagan, a professor in the Department of Counseling will be the secondary instructor.  

The cost: Due to a generous grant from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we can offer this course at approximately 20% of a usual University of Montana summer course. Instead of over $1,000, the course is $175.00 for 3 graduate credits. You can also take the noncredit version of the course (and qualify for 40 OPI hours), for $75.00.

What else:  Because this course is underwritten by the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we will ask participants to complete questionnaires before and after the course. You will not be required to complete the questionnaires, but if you do, that will help us to better understand the usefulness of this course content for Montana educators . . . and we would greatly appreciate your participation.

To enroll in COUN 595 – Evidence-Based Happiness for Educators – for 3 graduate credits from the University of Montana, click here: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=712&pc=13&mc=&sc=

To enroll in COUN 595 for non-credit (you can receive OPI hours), click here: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=711&pc=13&mc=&sc=

If you have questions, email: john.sf@mso.umt.edu