How do we build more positive communities?
That’s a question Dr. Scott Glassman has been working to address through an innovative group wellness program, a self-help book that guides readers through a skills development process for positive habits, and now through a new psychology program at PCOM.
Glassman is the author of “A Happier You,” a book based on the seven-week program he developed for PCOM Healthcare Centers which helps participants transform negative thinking into positivity and resilience. The program was designed to help patients develop skills to feel more happiness, joy and meaning in their everyday lives.
The program, Glassman explained, involves thinking about happiness not only as a skill but also as something that spans multiple areas of wellness—social, physical, emotional and spiritual. Developing these skills helps participants feel more fulfilled in their lives and increases their sense of control. The group program also helps participants connect in positive ways with each other.
“We help people focus on how they can be more mindful of the good things that are happening to them each day,” Glassman said.
Those good things, he explained, might be as small as enjoying a warm cup of tea, receiving a compliment or being shown an act of kindness by a stranger.
“Being able to take those moments out of the stream of daily experience and bring them closer is really essential to building that habit of well-being that A Happier You focuses on,” Glassman added.
Glassman said he has always been interested in health behavior change and motivation, and how we can live healthier lives.
“We know that emotional well-being and physical well-being are interconnected," he explained. Glassman emphasizes that we may not realize how our small daily choices affect our happiness across many areas of life, but that this “spread effect” is critical to life enhancement.
Now Glassman, as the director of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, has integrated A Happier You into an immersive graduate program that helps develop wellness leaders of the future.
Through the MAPP program, students will learn how to translate research in positive psychology into practice, becoming catalysts for positive change at individual, group and community levels. According to Glassman, the program embodies the osteopathic values of wellness, preventive health and flourishing. This holistic health focus—wellness in body and mind—is designed to reduce strain on our healthcare system, decrease division, strengthen resilience, and improve emotional well-being within our communities.
“I’ve worked with psychology and medical students, as well as staff and faculty, here at the college for a number of years in helping promote wellness, on a personal self-care level as well in ways that help others, whether that’s through medicine, psychology, or as an organizational leader,” he said. “I believe we’re all leaders poised to grow toward our fullest potential given the right conditions around us. And I’m confident that A Happier You and the MAPP program help create those conditions.”
WHYY-TV recently aired a profile of A Happier You and the Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program at PCOM as part of mental health awareness month. The show is “You Oughta Know” featuring Philadelphia people, places, and events.
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