More than 425 people from around the globe gathered in Ottawa this past July to share leading-edge research and best practices in the application of positive psychology. The Canadian Positive Psychology Association’s (CPPA) second national conference united internationally-renowned researchers, positive psychology practitioners, clinicians, educators and teachers, business consultants, coaches and the general public.

Jamie Gruman, Associate Professor in the Department of Management, is chair of the board of directors, a founding member of the CPPA and was among the more than 100 experts who spoke at the conference. Topics were divided among five main streams including research, coaching, education and schools, counselling and psychotherapy, and best practices for business consultants and HR specialists.

“Positive psychology is about humans flourishing,” says Gruman. “As a business professor I study how positive psychology applies to our working lives.”

Gruman gave two presentations, speaking on using downtime effectively so people return to work refreshed and productive, and on a recent study that found how striving for happiness can make people less happy than others.

“Our second national conference, helped us to further achieve our mandate to educate the Canadian populous about positive psychology and how it can help them flourish,” says Gruman. “Our delegates came away with a better understanding of how to use positive psychology in all spheres of their lives.”

To learn more about CPPA and positive psychology, visit the CPPA website [1].