6 Hours / 6 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Zimbardo Systemic Engagement is presented by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.

This program exposes participants to cutting-edge, evidence-based perspectives on well-being, diversity and inclusion, systemic engagement, social justice heroism, resilience, prejudice, the power of unjust situational forces and how to resist them, values congruence, growth mindset orientation, and socio-centrism. The program builds on a rich fund of literature, primarily social psychology perspectives reliant on Professor Philip Zimbardo’s life work, as well as many other lines of research. These perspectives have been adapted to a friendly psycho-educational format in order to facilitate new insights about well-being, our shared sense of humanity, and the nature of systemic engagement. This is not a clinical program, and it is not psychotherapy. Rather, lessons in this program are presented in the format of psycho-educational lessons to increase intellectual understanding of topic matters, as well as one’s sense of resilience, self, and social awareness, care for yourself and for those around you, and recognition and acceptance of our shared humanity. This program strives to facilitate further exploration of opportunities to connect more deeply and more effectively with various people in your personal and professional social spheres.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe empathic listening into systemic engagement
  • 2 Describe fixed, static mindsets versus dynamic growth mindsets, with your goal of cultivating a growth mindset
  • 3 Describe our environment and how situational forces can power over us, so the key is learning to hold our ground
  • 4 Describe social conformity by delving more deeply into group conformity, ways to avoid submission to unjust authority, and cultivation of heroic agency
  • 5 Describe the merit of bystandership, the importance of bringing it into our lives, and the ways to do it wisely and effectively
  • 6 Describe bias, its impact, and how to address it in order to reverse it into understanding and acceptance
  • 7 Describe how we fall into seeing ourselves in negative fashions and how to respond effectively
  • 8 Describe what have we taken from this program, how have we grown, and how it will impact our life

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for mental health and allied professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of social psychology, resilience, and diversity-related concepts. It is suitable for those specializing in psychology, social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, and related fields, as well as individuals and organizations interested in promoting well-being, social awareness, and systemic engagement.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Psychologists
    • Social Workers
    • Counselors
    • Marriage and Family Therapists
    • Allied Mental Health Professionals
    • Individuals and organizations interested in resilience, diversity, and inclusion

  • Experience Level

    This program is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience, offering psycho-educational content to enhance understanding of well-being, systemic engagement, and social psychology.

    • Beginner: Participants new to these concepts will gain foundational knowledge of evidence-based perspectives on well-being, diversity, and systemic engagement, and learn to apply basic psycho-educational strategies in their personal and professional lives.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience will deepen their understanding of social psychology principles, enhance their skills in recognizing and addressing situational forces, bias, and group conformity, and integrate growth mindset and resilience strategies into their practice.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive experience will critically evaluate and synthesize advanced concepts in social justice heroism, values congruence, and socio-centrism, and explore innovative approaches to fostering systemic engagement and transformative change within diverse communities.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals use these psycho-educational, social-psychology–informed skills within clinical, community, educational, and organizational environments that are culturally responsive, equity-focused, and interdisciplinary. Work often blends prevention and early intervention, direct support, training and consultation, supervision, and program or policy development delivered in both in-person and virtual formats.

    Examples of Practice Settings:

    • Private and group practices
    • Community mental health centers and outpatient clinics
    • Hospitals, integrated care, and primary care systems
    • Schools, colleges, and university counseling/education programs
    • Nonprofits and community-based organizations
    • Government agencies and public health departments
    • Corporate wellness, DEI initiatives, and EAPs
    • Correctional, court, and forensic services
    • Military and veterans services
    • Telehealth platforms and hybrid service models
Presented By

Philip Zimbardo, PhD

Dr. Philip Zimbardo is internationally recognized as the “voice and face of contemporary American psychology” through his widely seen PBS-TV series, Discovering Psychology, his classic research, The Stanford Prison Experiment, authoring the oldest current textbook in psychology, “Psychology and Life”, in its 18th Edition, and his popular trade books on shyness. He is also the past president of the American Psychological Association, the Western Psychological Association and served as the Chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) representing 63 scientific, math and technical associations (with 1.5 million members).

Zimbardo is currently an Emeritus Professor at Palo Alto University. He is also Emeritus Professor at Stanford University (professor since 1968) and taught previously at Yale, NYU, Columbia University, and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.


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Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Program introduction and empathic listening

  • Learning about fixed and growth mind

  • Situational awareness

  • Social conformity

  • Bystander

  • Prejudice and discrimination

  • Misattributions and stereotype threat

  • Consolidation

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.