The Science of a Meaningful Life: The Science of a Great Relationship

A day-long seminar with Christine Carter and Frederic Luskin revealing the research-based secrets to a thriving and sustainable romantic relationship. Will be webcast live!


  • Venue: International House, UC Berkeley Campus
    Or Live Webcast
  • Date: April 29, 2011

This day-long seminar will reveal the research-based secrets to a thriving and sustainable romantic relationship.

It will be led by Christine Carter, a sociologist and happiness expert at the Greater Good Science Center best known for her blog and book Raising Happiness, and psychologist Frederic Luskin, one of the world’s leading experts on the science and practice of forgiveness. Together they will present research-based tips for fostering emotional health in a relationship, improving existing relationships, and for making relationships both more fulfilling and longer-lasting.

Drs. Carter and Luskin will explain how strong relationships foster health and happiness in each partner, and they will highlight what happy couples do to make their relationship so strong. They will also shed light on what most often goes wrong in relationships, elucidating the most common relationship problems—and their solutions. For instance, learning productive ways to fight can reduce conflict in a relationship while strengthening connection.

The seminar will also feature a special segment on forgiveness in relationships, with detailed instructions for how to make an effective apology, how to repair a relationship after a fight, and how to know the difference between chronic problems that are solvable vs. those that will persist without solution.

This event will be webcast live! Attend in-person or online. Click here for more details.

With the webcast, you’ll watch real-time video of the event, including slides, be able to submit questions to the presenter online, and receive CE credits—all from the comfort of your home, office, or anywhere with an Internet connection. You must have a hard-wired connection to the Internet. You will be emailed prior to the event with course materials and a login and password for the webcast.

*Attendees can receive 6 CE credit hours for attending in-person or online.*

Workshop Topics:

  • Strong relationships and happiness are intertwined: strong relationships make people happy and happy people are more likely to form strong relationships.
  • Being in a strong, lasting and committed relationship is good for your health.
  • Effective ways to handle stress and negative emotions individually are crucial to a great relationship.
  • There are practical ways to cope with many everyday relationship problems, and important steps to take if couples find themselves dealing with perpetual problems.
  • Specific techniques can prevent conflict from spiraling out of control and repair relationships after conflict; other ways to respond to conflict can just make matters worse.
  • Effective apologies and forgiveness are essential to effective conflict resolution.
  • There are practical, concrete, research-based strategies for boosting empathy, happiness, and compassion in a relationship, making it healthier in the process.

Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. - Registration and check in
9:00 - 10:30 - Carter and Luskin on why romantic relationships matter: The benefits that come from strong relationships
10:30 - 10:45 - Break
10:45 - 12:00 - Carter on the differences between happy and unhappy couples: How to tell the difference
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch (on your own)
1:00 - 2:45 - Carter and Luskin on how to fight and how to forgive
2:45 - 3:00 - Break
3:00 - 4:30 - Carter and Luskin on practical prescriptions for a happy, healthy relationship

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the physical and mental health benefits that come from a strong relationship.
  • Recognize the difference between the signs of a happy and unhappy relationship.
  • Practice and demonstrate effective strategies for reducing conflict in a relationship, including through apology and forgiveness.
  • Identify the key practices that foster happiness and commitment in a relationship.
  • Presented by the Greater Good Science Center.

Continuing Education:
Course approval for Psychologists, Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors and Nurses.
This seminar is approved for 6 CE hours. 
Continuing Education is co-sponsored by R. Cassidy Seminars.

The Science of a Meaningful Life seminar series is made possible through a generous grant from the Quality of Life Foundation.