Acacia Parks-Sheiner, Ph.D.
Life Coach, Tutor (Critical Writing)
A research-based approach to becoming a happier you.
Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology
My top strength: Perspective
Location of practice: Philadelphia, PA, USA (also work online and by phone)
Practice Description:
Research is the backbone of my practice; I am a trained research psychologist, and one of my primary goals is to bring techniques that are based in research to the general public. At the same time, I have several personal experiences – namely, my work as a teacher at Penn, and as a graduate student – that also inform my practice.
I offer two distinct types of coaching. The first is perhaps the more standard approach – you tell me what you want to accomplish (see below for my areas of competence), and through a combination of in-person, phone, and/or email correspondences, I help you accomplish it. The second is a bit more unconventional – I offer a fixed coaching “package” in which, over the course of 8 weeks, I teach you a series of “foundation” techniques for increasing pleasure, engagement, and meaning that I have tested in my own research. In addition to trying a new exercise for each of the 8 weeks, we will talk about ways to customize the exercises for your life.
If there is enough interest, I may run a monthly group (online or in person) for clients who have completed the 8-week series of foundation exercises in which we will help each other use the foundation exercises in novel ways and try out new exercises.
Experience:
I have a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where I worked with Martin Seligman to develop brief and simple techniques for increasing happiness in the general population. As part of my research, I ran positive psychotherapy groups in which I taught people various techniques for increasing pleasure, engagement, and meaning and helped to troubleshoot their application of these techniques to their everyday lives. I also completed three years of training as a psychotherapist in Penn’s clinical psychology program (first, in psychological assessment; then, in cognitive therapy for depression; then in mindfulness-based behavior therapy for anxiety) before realizing that I wanted to focus on work in normative populations and respecializing as a positive psychologist.
In addition to my research and applied work with happiness-increasing exercises, I have 5 years of experience teaching undergraduate courses at Penn in positive psychology, social psychology, abnormal psychology, and critical writing. I have worked as a critical writing tutor at Penn’s writing center, helping undergraduates with class papers and graduate students with masters theses and dissertations. And, of course, I have completed both a masters thesis and a dissertation of my own, so I have plenty of experience with the emotional and motivational issues that go along with completing a large research project.
Seeking Clients:
I feel qualified to work with clients in three domains: 1) people looking to increase pleasure, engagement, and meaning in their lives using science-based behavioral techniques, 2) people looking to master ADHD or other attentional/self-control issues using a science-based mindfulness approach, and 3) masters or doctoral students struggling with the various logistical, tactical, and emotional challenges that go along with being in graduate student, including writing.
Online resources:
Read my blog posts for blog.happier.com
acaciaparkssheiner@gmail.com
267-879-8387
