VIA Intensive: Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When and where are the 2009 Intensives being held?
A. Chicago, IL, on Sept. 24-26
     Washington, DC, on Oct. 22-24
     Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 26-28
     Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 3-5

Q:  What can I expect from the VIA Intensive?
A.  The VIA Intensives will give you all the latest research about each of the VIA character strengths, plus interventions designed to elevate specific strengths, as well as strengths overall.  You will learn many interventions that surprise you; even if you've used the VIA with clients for years, we guarantee the intensive will provide new information and deepen your practice.  The instruction will be intense and engaging. You'll meet other professionals, stay at the Marriott in Chicago or DC, and enjoy an evening reception and breakfasts. Our Melbourne and Sydney intensives will be held at the Cliftons downtown.

Q:  Who is the intended audience?
A.  Students, researchers and non-practitioners are welcome.  However, the following groups will be particularly interested:
۰    Coaches, experienced and new
۰    Psychologists
۰    Psychotherapists and other counselors
۰    Appreciative Inquiry practitioners
۰    Social workers and case managers
۰    Educators
۰    Postgraduate-level students
۰    Researchers
۰    Nurses
۰    Human resource workers

Q.  Why should I attend?
A. The VIA Intensives are for serious practitioners who want to elevate their knowledge and skill through two days of challenging education focused on the VIA.  Positive Psycholgy has generated, for all strengths-based practice, a complete language of universal terms and concepts that are based on science. These thirty concepts define what is best about human beings. Collected in the VIA Classification, and measured by the VIA Survey on Character (now with 1 million users worldwide), they help people identify and live from their core. And practitioners tell us every day that people who live out their core character strengths report living fuller, more meaningful and satisfying lives, despite changes in their work and social circumstances.
 
Are you as adept as you wish to be at spotting, naming and enhancing the character strengths of others?  Are your conversations as effective as you want them to be?  One can imagine the richness of the experience when engaging with a practitioner whose knowledge is rich, and deep, and elaborately scafolded.  Fluency in all aspects of the VIA Classification is what the Intensives are about.   
 
In summary, the VIA Intensives are the “Field Guide” to the Character Strengths and Virtues.

Q. What's included? 
A.  You’ll get:
۰    a take-home manual of user-friendly handouts, including research summaries, Dr. Niemiec's presentation slides and important information on character strengths
۰    free codes for two VIA Expanded Reports, for yourself and a client (an $80 USD value)
۰    latest research
۰    latest, effective interventions for specific character strengths, such as courage, hope, and self-regulation
۰    examples of practices used by some of the best consultants from around the world  
۰    examples of effective strengths-based workshop exercises and protocol
۰    instruction on how to interpret a client's raw scores from the Expanded Reports
۰    clips from Dr. Ryan Niemiec's movie collection (he's co-author of Positive Psychology at the Movies)
۰    exclusive videotaped interviews about the VIA strengths with giants in the field, including Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (Flow), Jonathan Haidt (The Happiness Hypothesis), Tayyab Rashid (co-creator of positive psychotherapy), Barbara Fredrickson (Positivity), Sonja Lyubomirsky (The How of Happiness) and more

Q.  What specifically will I be learning?
A.  You may already know the VIA Character Strengths and use the VIA Survey in your practice with clients.  But, how deep is your knowledge about each one?  Do you know the research thread that backs up the science of each character strength? Do you know how each is related?  Are you adept at discussing the virtue categories? You will learn the latest interventions for each. For example, what is the best strategy for enhancing fairness? Is there a good intervention to impact humility? Where does mindfulness fit in with this strengths-based work?

You also will learn to spot character strengths and how to engage people around their strengths for optimal performance. What happens when certain strengths are over-used? Under-used? What impact does balance have on people’s lives? Is there a protocol for drilling down, past “I see your courage in this”?

Even practitioners who’ve used the VIA with clients for years will come away with practical application ideas for character strengths, new research-based information; new insights into spotting strengths; and protocols for getting the most from clients’ VIA Survey results with the only interpretive report on positive character, VIA’s expanded Personal Character Profile.

Q. More questions? 
Call VIA Executive Director Deb Pinger or Senior Editor Linda Parker at 513-621-7500. We'd love to talk with you.  Or e-mail Deb or Linda.