Become a Certified
Happiness Scale® Practitioner
This is the first program trained to teach the science behind The Happiness Scale®. Over two days of live, virtually facilitated training with Arthur’s core research team, you will master a unique, structured method for discussing happiness that no other credential offers. You’ll gain the tools to lead transformational conversations—one-on-one or in groups—and help others build lives of deep meaning.
In response to overwhelming demand, we have added a second Founders Cohort—only 30 seats available.
Created by Arthur C. Brooks, professor, bestselling author, and the lead researcher behind The Happiness Scale®.
For decades, Arthur has studied happiness as a science, and until now, the only way to learn his method was to study with him directly.
But the goal was always to start a happiness movement. Millions want to live happier lives, and there are not nearly enough people trained to help them do it well.
The Happiness Scale® Certification equips you to lead structured, research-backed conversations using the exact same diagnostic frameworks and tools Arthur uses in his work. This is your exclusive path to teaching this material with official permission and proven authority.
Three Core Frameworks
The Macronutrients of Happiness—The core building blocks of a fulfilling life: Enjoyment, Satisfaction, and Meaning.
The Four Affect Profiles—Emotional mapping that reveals how we experience feelings: Cheerleader, Judge, Poet, and Mad Scientist.
The Happiness Scale® Report—The powerful, measurable assessment instrument that brings these frameworks into a single, actionable conversation.
A NOTE FROM ARTHUR C. Brooks
Help me lead a happiness movement
For two decades, I have studied happiness as a science. The certification is the first program that trains others to use this work. The certified practitioner is trained to lead a structured conversation about happiness, using The Happiness Scale® as your framework.
My handpicked facilitators have years of experience and will guide you through two phases: flexible, self-paced prep work and deep-dive live virtual workshops.
Phase 1: Exclusive Self-Paced Foundations
Self-Paced Training— Pre-recorded exclusive training from me covering the Macronutrients of Happiness
Self-Paced Training— Pre-recorded exclusive training from my covering the Four Emotional Affect Profiles
Phase 2: Live-Facilitated Interactive Sessions
Day One: Understand the Report—Join a live, virtual cohort of your peers. Learn how to interpret The Happiness Scale® report with high precision and identify exactly what a client's results point to.
Day Two: Lead the Conversation—Practice live facilitation. Learn how to guide individuals or teams through their results and help them design concrete next steps.
Ongoing: Turn Insight into Action— Gain access to a robust library of practical tools, planning templates, and self-study resources to help those you guide turn their insights into lasting lifestyle changes.
Our master facilitators equip you to:
Interpret The Happiness Scale® Report in depth, and explain what it means in language anyone can act on
Recognize each of the Four Affect Profiles and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and how to structure one’s personal and professional life on the basis of those characteristics
Help those you serve build a practical plan of action, grounded in the person’s own Happiness Scale® results
Facilitate transformational conversations about happiness with individuals, small groups, and teams
You can use this in one-on-one meetings, in small groups, and in private setting in your own practice, company, organization, or community.
STAND OUT IN THE CROWD
Coaches
Whether your coaching niche is executives, life, performance, or wellness, you have built a practice on helping people grow. The certification gives you a research-backed framework and a measurable instrument to bring into your client work.
A COMPLEMENTARY TOOL
Therapists
As a licensed therapist or clinician, you already have the credential that took years to earn. The Happiness Scale® certification empowers you to do meaningful adjacent work on the sub-clinical level that will complement your clinical scope.
For Resilient Teams
Business Leaders
In the busy space of engagement surveys and wellbeing programs, this is a research-backed, measurable framework that you can confidently deploy across a global Fortune 500 or a family-run operation (or something in between).
Walk With Them
Faith Leaders
Pastors, chaplains, and clergy accompany people through the most searching seasons of life. Here’s a way to open a structured, research-backed conversation about building a happier life. It’s a proven tool to complement the deeper work of faith you already do.
SUSTAIN YOUR MISSION
Nonprofit Leaders
You need to build high-functioning teams to take on important work with limited resources. Here’s a way yo have conversations with your team about how get happier and understand each other well enough to do your best work together.
SHAPE HOW WE LEARN & LIVE
Education & Teachers
The Happiness Scale® gives you a way to open a conversation with your students and your colleagues about how to build a better life, alongside everything else you teach them.
For Happiness Champions
You’re ready to teach
You’ve already been using these ideas in your life and with people close to you. The certification is a structured path to do it for others, with a credential that says you are doing it seriously and with the right training.
Meet the experts
leading your training
Bryce Fuemmeler
Bryce Fuemmeler is a Senior Researcher at Vanderbilt University, where he studies human flourishing and directs Arthur Brooks’ research portfolio. He is a Fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute, where he acts as the Managing Editor for Seeking the Good, a journal on culture. Additionally, he is the Director of Research for ACB Ideas, leading all of Dr. Brooks' research and creative endeavors beyond the university. Previously, Bryce spent four years at Harvard, where he led the research team for the Leadership & Happiness Laboratory. Along with Dr. Brooks, Bryce led the creation and statistical validation of The Happiness Scale®.
Across these roles, he researches and writes on the science of well-being for students, scholars, and public-facing leaders. He speaks frequently to the university community and the wider world about topics related to the good life. His writing has appeared in National Affairs, Profectus Magazine, and in Seeking the Good, and his forthcoming work will appear in outlets such Aeon and Cambridge University Press. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and History from the University of Missouri, and an MSc in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford. He lives with his wife in Virginia.
Julie Simmons
Julie Simmons, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is the Founder of Human Capital Strategic Consulting (HCSC), a woman-owned firm dedicated to providing sophisticated management and leadership solutions. With three decades of experience, Julie is an expert in steering organizations through complex change management, strategic planning, and executive coaching. Her work spans the professional services, technology, and non-profit sectors, where she is known for bridging the gap between technical HR excellence and high-level business goals to cultivate dynamic, forward-thinking leaders.
Deeply passionate about growth, Julie leverages her expertise to design transformative training programs that elevate team performance and workplace well-being. She integrates impactful leadership models into her learning and development initiatives to empower organizations to build resilient, high-performing cultures. Julie holds a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Marymount University and a Bachelor of Science in Management from George Mason University. She resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and is a committed local volunteer alongside her teenaged twins, which includes serving on the Board of Directors for a food insecurity-focused non-profit.