9 Hours / 9 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Cultivating Emotional Balance is presented by Paul Ekman, PhD, Eve Ekman, MSW, PhD, and Ryan Redman, MA.

Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) is an educational training committed to utilizing the experience of emotion as a path for supporting a constructive emotional life and cultivating genuine happiness. By integrating the wisdom traditions of modern psychology, current emotion research, and contemplative practices, CEB provides a secular platform for transformation. This program implements guided meditation instruction, emotion mapping, group activities, partner reflections, and an in-depth investigation of universal emotions.

In this program, participants develop attention, restore motivation, identify the root causes of enduring happiness, discuss burnout, explore contempt and shame, investigate different pathways of empathy, practice self-compassion, and build connections through vulnerability and trust. Ultimately, with the tools of CEB, we can draw upon our human capacity to wisely and compassionately actualize individual and collective well-being and establish a wholesome relationship with the planet.

 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe emotional and conative intelligence through group discussions and introspective practices
  • 2 Describe cutting edge research from Neuroscience and Affective Psychology on emotion, empathy, burnout, and compassion
  • 3 Describe a cause/effect model of personal and professional burnout and apply the model to life at work, home and with colleagues
  • 4 Describe and investigate sources of enduring happiness, purpose, and meaning
  • 5 Describe mindfulness skills for working with emotion at work and throughout the day
  • 6 Describe contempt, disgust, shame and guilt and learn remedies for working with these difficult emotions
  • 7 Describe communication skills for establishing trust, vulnerability, compassionate listening, and emotional resilience
  • 8 Describe relationship skills for avoiding empathic distress

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for mental health and allied professionals who want to enhance their skills in cultivating emotional balance and well-being through evidence-based practices such as emotion regulation, mindfulness, and self-compassion.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Clinical psychologists
    • Counselors and therapists
    • Social workers
    • Marriage and family therapists
    • School psychologists and counselors
    • Allied professionals in mental health and wellness

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at varying levels of experience with emotion-focused and contemplative practices.

    • Beginner: Participants new to emotion-focused interventions or contemplative practices who seek foundational knowledge and practical skills for integrating emotional balance and mindfulness into their professional and personal lives.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in emotion regulation, mindfulness, or related interventions who wish to deepen their understanding of current research, refine their skills in addressing complex emotions, and enhance their application of CEB tools in diverse settings.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals apply these skills in clinical, educational, and community care environments that provide individual and group services, supervision, and program development. They collaborate within multidisciplinary teams, offering in-person and virtual care that integrates evidence-based emotion regulation, mindfulness, and self-compassion to support client and provider well-being.

    Examples of Practice Settings:

    • Outpatient mental health clinics and private practices
    • Hospital behavioral health and integrated primary care
    • School-based services and university counseling centers
    • Community mental health agencies and nonprofits
    • Telehealth platforms and digital mental wellness programs
    • Employee assistance programs and workplace wellness
    • Residential and intensive treatment programs

Training Instructors:

Eve Ekman, MSW, PhD

Eve Ekman, MSW, PhD

Eve Ekman is a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Greater Good Science Center, Director of the Cultivating Emotional Balance Training Program, and volunteer clinical faculty at the UCSF Department of Pediatrics. Ekman draws from an interdisciplinary set of skills and knowledge from her professional work and personal practice in clinical social work, integrative medicine, emotional awareness, contemplative science, and meditation

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Ryan Redman, MA

Ryan Redman, MA

Ryan Redman has been teaching meditation for the past 20 years. Ryan is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the Flourish Foundation, a social-profit dedicated to inspiring systemic change through heartmind cultivation promoting personal well-being, benevolent social action, and environmental stewardship. Ryan has created and facilitated a number of workshops and retreats for healthcare providers, educators, and mental health professionals domestically and abroad.

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Paul Ekman, PhD

Paul Ekman, PhD

Paul Ekman, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus in Psychology at UCSF, is the world’s foremost expert in facial expressions and a professor emeritus at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. He is the author of 16 books, including Emotions Revealed and Telling Lies, and, most recently, Emotional Awareness, a conversation between himself and the Dalai Lama.

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Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Introduction to Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB), history, lineage, and group guidelines

  • Exploring happiness and the purpose of human life, along with practices like Harvesting Joy and the 4 Balances

  • Identifying emotional imbalances: Hyper (fear, anger), Hypo (callousness, depersonalization), and Dysfunctional (boundary loss)

  • Personal examples of emotional imbalances across conative, attention, and cognitive areas

  • Restoring conative balance through practices like Journaling, Dyads, and Reflection

  • Understanding universal emotions, display rules, and the three-phase timeline of emotions

  • Mindfulness techniques: Present-centered, retrospective, and prospective mindfulness to cultivate attention and steady the mind

  • The process of developing attention with practices like counting, labeling, and meditation reflection

  • Group activity on contempt and disgust triggers, practicing empathetic joy as an antidote

  • Exploring shame, guilt, and the neuro-scientific pathways of empathy, self-compassion, and compassion practices

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).


Sponsorship Approval Statements 

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Palo Alto University maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073.