The Science of Happiness | Dr. Acacia Parks, Chief Science Officer at Happify

The Delivering Happiness Podcast

Pre-order the follow-up book to Delivering Happiness by DH Co-Founder/CEO Jenn Lim!
Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact
..................................

In this episode we talk with Dr. Acacia Parks who's the Chief Science Officer at Happify Health which is a digital therapeutics company that brings the cutting edge in research based behavior change strategies to businesses, health plans, and consumers.
Dr. Parks talks about beginning her pursuit of happiness by first being concerned about unhappiness & focusing on the prevention of depression. She also provides us with a scientific definition of happiness and ways we can we learn to deliberately promote positive emotional states because the brain remembers the negative parts of our day 2-5x more than the positive! Dr. Parks also shares a six part framework of happiness habits based on the common themes & research from positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness.
As Chief Scientist at Happify Health, Dr. Park’s research focuses on digital methods for managing and treating depression and anxiety, as well as chronic health conditions.Her passion lies at the intersection of research and regulatory strategy for digital therapeutics. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Reed College, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where her graduate research helped build the foundation for research on bringing mental health interventions to the general public. Prior to joining Happify Health, Acacia was an Associate Professor of Psychology at Hiram College. Dr. Parks was also instrumental in launching Happify Health's newest Rx digital therapeutic product for depression & anxiety called Ensemble.