Building Personal Resilience:
Managing Anxiety and Mental Health
Course Syllabus
Table of Contents
Course Overview
How do you build mental strength? Turns out, it’s not so different from building physical strength.
We have all experienced times in our lives when our heads start to spin and we feel powerless. Maybe we panic and make a hasty decision. Maybe we freeze. Maybe we find endless ways to procrastinate and avoid tasks. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just as with physical exercise we build our body’s strength, resilience, and flexibility, so with mental exercise we do the same for our brain.
This is a course that will build your mental strength so that you can be prepared for those moments when life’s challenges feel overwhelming. It introduces you to a toolbox of science-based skills that help you exercise your brain to build the cognitive flexibility and strength that are the foundations of resilience.
Led by Harvard Medical School professor, author, and clinical psychologist Dr. Luana Marques, this course will draw on the techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy to help learners identify and explore patterns in their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and teach them to identify and implement strategies that can break those unproductive or harmful patterns. But while the skills you will develop in this course may be rooted in therapy, they are designed for everyday life and they can make a huge difference in your day-to-day activities.
Resilience can improve our happiness and help us to overcome obstacles. And anyone can build resilience with practice. This course is intended to be a starting point, teaching you skills and routines that, if practiced regularly, can make a lasting difference in your quality of life and help you build the mental strength to respond to life’s challenges.
Start your brain’s exercise program today with Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Explain how the Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors (TEB) skills build cognitive flexibility and mental strength using basic scientific principles.
- Describe how patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors affect us.
- Use observations of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to determine the appropriate TEB skill or skills to manage a stressful situation.
- Apply core TEB skills when needed to manage an emotionally stressful situation, including developing, implementing, and adapting plans as necessary.
Disclaimer
The course content provided in this course is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice. These modules are not, and should not, be relied upon as medical advice, and shall not be used to make a clinical diagnosis, to provide treatment, or to replace or overrule a licensed health care provider's judgment.
Course Sections
Building Personal Resilience has seven modules, with Modules 2-6 designed to help you build the five foundational TEB skills.
- Module 1: Introduction
- Module 2: Charge Up
- Module 3: Face Fears
- Module 4: Observe the Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors (TEB) cycle
- Module 5: Solve Problems
- Module 6: Explore thoughts
- Module 7: Conclusion
Grading & Certification
| Type | Description | Required/Optional | Grading Method | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thoughts, Emotions, Behaviors Worksheets | Worksheets that let you practice the core skills in each module | Required | Automatically graded or self-assessed | 70 |
| Concepts Checks, Short Written Responses, and Surveys | Short-form free response and multiple choice and true/false questions | Required | Automatically graded or peer reviewed | 30 |
| Discussion | Short-form free response posted to the discussion boards | Optional | Not graded | N/A |
Passing the course, and certification
The passing grade for this course is 50% (using the weights above).
If you register for a Verified Certificate, and your score is 50% or above, you will receive a certificate in electronic form. They are not mailed to you. Instead, you can generate them on your Progress page.
Our Discussion Forum Guidelines
These forums are intended for you to share your work and actively build community with other learners/participants in this course. We encourage you to share materials and ideas with other participants to solicit feedback, and foster a diverse network of learners interested in this topic.
In the spirit of creating an inclusive and engaged community, we offer the following recommendations about interacting with others in discussion forums:
Be open to new ideas. Discussion is about hearing what others have to say and working to shape and reshape your own thoughts and perspectives. Different perspectives can further everyone’s understanding of the issue or concept being discussed—they represent opportunities for learning.
Work to create group cohesion. Discussions are about group learning. When you function well as a group, you will be more open to all the benefits that this type of learning can offer. Give positive feedback to one another, use light humor, and avoid comments that could be taken as insulting.
Enjoy yourself. The online environment comes with many benefits, including learning from your peers in addition to the course team. Take advantage of the opportunity offered by discussion forums to build networks with other learners and hone your skills and ideas.
This course focuses on managing mental health and anxiety. In the course of discussion, learners are encouraged to share their fears and vulnerabilities around personal and sensitive topics. Creating and maintaining a safe learning environment for all is therefore especially important. Respond respectfully and carefully, just as you would wish others to respond to you. Remember:
- Personal attacks are never acceptable.
- Avoid discriminatory or insulting language.
- Assume best intentions on the part of your fellow learners, but always be aware of the impact that your words can have.
- Respect the privacy of others: do not push fellow learners to share information if they are uncomfortable doing so, and do not share information about your fellow learners outside the course.
- Remember: the purpose of discussions is to learn from one another. When you respond to the ideas of your fellow learners, try to be constructive. Try to either connect to their ideas (add further evidence or connections you see), extend them (take their ideas or questions a step further), or challenge them (suggest alternative perspectives, provide a counter-argument)
Discussion FAQ
What is the purpose of the discussion boards?
The discussion boards are an opportunity for you to engage in conversation about what you are learning in this course. They provide you with a chance to express your own questions and comments about the course content and also to learn from your peers.
What should I write about in my discussion board posts?
Any questions, comments, or criticisms that arise directly from the course content are proper subjects for discussion in the forum. Feel free to ask about or comment on anything you think is important or interesting in the course.
Who can participate in the discussion forum?
Anyone who is registered for the course can participate in the discussion forums.
When should I participate in the forums? When can I post comments and questions?
You can post to the forums at whatever time you wish during the course.
How frequently should I post to the forums?
You can post as frequently or infrequently as you like. Try not to monopolize the discussion forum, but strive to spark new discussions and contribute to existing discussions.
Tag your posts. If there is an issue that absolutely needs staff attention, put the word [STAFF] in brackets in your subject line. Course staff will be in the forums every day, but sometimes it may take up to two days to get a response, especially around holidays!
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
VPAL is committed to convening and nurturing a diverse community dedicated to promoting inclusive excellence and leadership in teaching and learning. We celebrate, welcome, and honor all backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values. We strive to ensure that all feel included in our mission, our work, and our learning inside and outside our organization. We affirm that inclusivity and belonging are the foundations of excellence.
Honor code statement
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Research Statement
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