Research Associate, Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania
Karen Reivich, PhD is Co-Director of the Penn Resiliency Project at the Positive Psychology Center and a Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Reivich is also an instructor in the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program in which she teaches Positive Psychology and Interpersonal Relationships. She is a leader in the fields of depression prevention, optimism, resilience and positive psychology interventions.
Dr. Reivich completed her BA and her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Reivich’s work focuses on helping parents and educators to promote well-being in children and adolescents. She is a lead author of the Penn Resiliency Program for Adolescence (PRP) and a parallel program for parents. During the past 25 years, she has been a Co-Principal Investigator of studies of PRP funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. She is also a co-author of a high school positive psychology curriculum and a Co-Principal Investigator on a Department of Education-funded study of that program.
Dr. Reivich works with the US Army, as part of Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, an initiative to develop a resilience program for soldiers, families and DA civilians. Dr. Reivich and her team have trained more than 40,000 soldiers to be Master Resilience Trainers for the US Army.
Dr. Reivich conducts workshops and trainings for parents, educators, clinicians and corporations throughout the US and internationally. She lectures extensively on the topics of resilience, optimism and positive psychology. In addition, Dr. Reivich has a coaching practice and provides consultation to organizations around the themes of optimism, resilience and strength development.
Dr. Reivich’s scholarly publications have appeared in academic journals including Psychological Science, Journal of Early Adolescence, School Psychology Quarterly, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. She is a co-author of the books The Optimistic Child and The Resilience Factor.
Dr. Reivich and her work has been featured in a variety of news and media outlets including Oprah, Prime Time Live, The Early Show, ABC Nightly News, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Parenting Magazine, The New York Times, US News and World Report, Better Homes and Gardens, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, US Today and The Orlando Sentinel.
Dr. Reivich is the mother of four children.
