Kelly Gilrain

“Positive psychology is an area that's really close to my heart,” says Dr. Kelly Gilrain (Certificate in Positive Psychology ’24). As the chief psychologist at a teaching and research hospital, Kelly works with hospital patients who are experiencing acute or chronic medical issues and also supports the hospital’s psychologists and mental health workers. “My clinical work is very focused on the here and now, and practice from a cognitive behavioral perspective, and positive psychology folds very nicely into that,” she explains. Although Kelly first encountered positive psychology during her graduate studies, the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology gave her the opportunity to explore recent literature and update her knowledge of empirical research and in the field.

“The idea of positive psychology is that we really look at positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning making, and accomplishment,” says Kelly, “and I can bring those sort of ideas and interventions bedside when patients are really struggling.” Her patients may include people who are facing a cancer diagnosis or recovering from a serious accident or medical procedure; often, they are dealing with the uncertainty of awaiting a prognosis or next steps. When she visits these patients, she might talk to them about meaningful relationships in their lives; if they don’t have as many familial or social connections, she might work with them to identify their own signature character strengths, which are qualities or virtues that they already possess and might leverage in difficult times. Signature strengths, such as a natural gift for humor or faith, and high quality connections can offer valuable support as they cope with trauma or pain. “Since completing the program, I definitely talk a lot more about positive psychology and the different aspects about it, particularly with my trainees,” she says, referring to the interns and fellows of Cooper University Health Care’s psychology training program. “We will talk about how we might somehow bring in positive psychology principles to the conceptualization or interventions that might be most helpful.”

Kelly completed the four-course certificate without interrupting her professional responsibilities or her home life with teenage kids. The flexibility of an online schedule appealed to her busy schedule, but she worried that the virtual classroom would be more isolating and less immersive than an in-person class. To her surprise, there was a great deal of interaction with small groups, commenting on one another’s presentations. “You actually make friends from across the entire world,” she notes. “The faculty were wonderful throughout the entirety of the program…. They were really receptive and there was always opportunity to email them with questions, if you had any.” In addition, the online course format made it easy for her to stay organized and find her own rhythm with weekly assignments. “I was able to do it after work. I was able to do it on weekends. I was really able to create my own schedule to get the work done on a time frame that worked for me,” she recalls.

While it is satisfying to have completed the certificate credential, says Kelly, the real pleasure is in exploring an interesting topic at depth. “I'm pretty passionate about the area of positive psychology, and I was able to really engage more and learn more about it,” she says. “The four courses that I was able to explore and complete really showed me how much empirical evidence there is out there to support all of the principles related to positive psychology.”

“Since having completed this certificate, I'm a lot more mindful of how I engage in relationships with others, how important relationships are with others,” reflects Kelly. “I think that we all are searching for meaning, so I think it's really important that all of these things tie into not just my clinical role, but also my interactions with others in my world.”