After the training days I felt a wonderful combination of mental stimulation and physical exhaustion...in a good way! I signed up months ago not sure exactly what this would be and I can honestly say I am delighted to be part of this project. Thank you so much!
Become a Certified
Happiness Scale® Practitioner
Join the first science-backed training to learn exactly what's driving — and limiting — someone's happiness and emotional wellbeing, so you can move them forward with greater precision.
Get certified in two days of live facilitated virtual training with Arthur's core research team, and use it one-to-one with clients, or in groups and teams.
Only 30 seats available per session
Created by Arthur C. Brooks: Professor, bestselling author, and lead researcher of The Happiness Scale®
WHY THIS PROGRAM EXISTS
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.
WHAT YOU’LL MASTER
Three Core Frameworks
The curriculum centers on three foundational, research-backed pillars that translate the complex science of well-being into practical, life-changing action:
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.
Understanding these lets you lead a structured, research-backed conversation about how a person builds a happier life.
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 me 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.
WHAT A CERTIFIED PRACTITIONER DOES
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.
Who THIS IS FOR
Lead structured conversations
backed by real science
1
Coaches
Stand Out In The Crowd
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.
2
Therapists
A Complimentary Tool
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.
3
Business Leaders
For Resilient Teams
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).
4
Faith Leaders
Walk With Them
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.
5
Nonprofit Leaders
Sustain Your Mission
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.
6
Education & Teachers
Shape How We Learn & Live
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.
7
You’re ready to teach
For Happiness Champions
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.
30 Seats available per session
Join the happiness movement
Learn with a Community of Peers
Join a group of coaches, clinicians, and leaders who are learning this method right beside you, all working toward the same thing.
Ready-to-Use
Tools
Get the practical tools, templates, and conversation guides that help you bring this work into your practice with confidence.
A Recognized Credential
Receive an exclusive Happiness Scale® Practitioner badge you can display to show you're trained to lead science-backed conversations about happiness and meaning.
Annual Meaning Membership
Receive a one-year membership to Arthur Brooks’ monthly live Meaning Membership. As a certified Happiness Scale® practitioner, you’ll be featured in the community and invited to help moderate it.
20 Credits for
The Happiness Scale®
Receive 20 credits to deploy The Happiness Scale® ($375 value).You will also receive an ongoing 20% discount on The Happiness Scale® with your clients over the coming year.
Real Coaching, Not Just Training
You won't just watch, you'll practice with a small group and get direct, personal feedback on how you facilitate.
Choose Your Date and Enroll Today
The Happiness Scale® Founder title and digital badge*
Ongoing 20% discount on The Happiness Scale® to use with your community
20 credits for The Happiness Scale® ($300 value)
Complimentary one-year Meaning Membership subscription ($349 value)
Risk-free enrollment: 100% refund available up to 14 days before the live training begins
*The knowledge is yours for life. To stay Happiness Scale® Certified, recertification is $500/year
and includes a year of Meaning Membership ($349 value).
Have a question?
Here are some frequently asked ones.
Who will teach the certification?
Arthur will teach you through recorded materials that cover the core teaching for the self-paced part of the program, walking you through the science, the Macronutrients of Happiness, and the Four Affect Profiles in his own words. That material was made for this certification and isn't available anywhere else. The live training is led by master facilitators Arthur trusts to teach this framework. They know the Happiness Scale® the way Arthur does, because he and his team trained them directly.
Is this a coaching or therapy certification?
The certification equips you to lead structured, meaningful conversations about happiness using The Happiness Scale®, the method built on Arthur's research. You're not diagnosing or treating anyone. You're giving people a clear, science-backed way to understand their own happiness and take real steps toward more of it. That makes it a powerful complement to almost any role. Whether you're a coach, a clinician, a leader, or simply the person others turn to, you'll have a proven framework for guiding these conversations at the everyday, sub-clinical level.
Do I need an existing credential to enroll?
Not at all! By design, program is built to train facilitators from a wide range of starting points, whether you arrive with years of professional experience or a genuine passion for this work and the drive to do it well. What matters is your commitment to learn the method and hold it to a high standard. No prior license, credential, or degree required.
What can I call myself once certified?
A Happiness Scale® Certified Practitioner. The credential is anchored to The Happiness Scale®, Arthur's most widely used science-backed assessment, which means you're certified in a specific, respected method with real science behind it. That specificity is what gives the title its weight and tells people exactly what you're trained to do. You'll also receive a digital badge and certificate to mark the credential, so you can share it with clients, add it to your profiles, and show the world you're trained to guide this work. You have the right to use the title and logo for 12 months. The knowledge you gain is yours to keep for life. To keep calling yourself Happiness Scale® Certified and displaying the badge, recertification is $500 a year. It includes an annual subscription to Arthur's monthly live Meaning Membership ($349 value), and it keeps your title, your logo, and your standing current.
Where can I use it?
Just about anywhere you already do your work. You can lead these conversations one-on-one, in small groups, and in private settings, inside your own practice, your company, or your organization. You're also free to reference the work in your talks and on social media, so the ideas can reach well beyond the room. The credential travels with you into whatever you already do and gives you a trusted method to bring wherever people are searching for a happier, more meaningful life.
How much time does it take?
We've structured the program to fit around a full professional schedule. You'll start with the self-paced foundations modules, about two hours of teaching you can complete whenever it suits you. From there, the heart of the program is two 4-hour live virtual training days, 10 am to 2 pm ET on September 14 and September 16. As an added bonus, Founders have an additional Q&A session: 11am to 12pm ET of September 15.