World Happiness Academy
Luis Gallardo's coaching school offering ICF Level 1, 2, and 3 accreditation through the Transpersonal Coaching Program, an 83-week, 515-hour ACC-to-MCC pathway co-certified with UPEACE; rooted in happiness science.
- Type
- Coach Training Organization
- Founded
- 2019
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
About
The World Happiness Academy is the professional education arm of the World Happiness Foundation, established by Luis Miguel Gallardo (Luis Miguel Gallardo Yogananda) as the training expression of a global movement devoted to human flourishing through happiness science and conscious leadership. Its flagship program, the Transpersonal Coaching Program, holds ICF accreditation at Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 simultaneously, making it one of the few coaching schools in the world to offer a complete path from first credential to master coach within a single integrated curriculum.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Happiness Academy operates as part of an ecosystem that includes the World Happiness Foundation, the World Happiness Fest, and the Gross Global Happiness Program at UPEACE (the United Nations University for Peace). That institutional context gives graduates standing in two professional worlds: the ICF coaching profession and the international wellbeing and impact leadership space.
History and mission
The World Happiness Foundation was established by Luis Gallardo as a platform for what he describes as the science and movement of happiness: the idea that wellbeing, flourishing, and conscious human development are not secondary concerns but the organizing purpose of effective institutions and societies. The World Happiness Academy emerged as the educational expression of that mission, translating the science of happiness into professional coaching and leadership programs accessible to practitioners globally.
Luis Gallardo's own profile spans ICF professional coaching, organizational consulting, clinical hypnotherapy, NLP, and systems-based approaches. He holds an ICF PCC credential and directs the Gross Global Happiness program at UPEACE. He has worked across all continents with corporate, public, and non-profit organizations. María Marshall-Clarke leads the Spanish-language program, bringing a background in human development, wellbeing strategy, and social impact leadership.
Programs and offerings
The Transpersonal Coaching Program — the Academy's flagship ICF-accredited program, developed in partnership with the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy (IIH). It runs across three sequential levels covering the full ICF credentialing arc: Level 1 (ACC pathway, 17 weeks, 102 contact hours), Level 2 (PCC pathway, 30 weeks, 165 contact hours), and Level 3 (MCC pathway, 36 weeks, 248 contact hours), totaling 83 weeks and 515 contact hours across approximately 24 months of part-time study. Each level includes three immersive bookends (an opening orientation, a mid-program integration day, and a closing retreat) delivered in residence or fully online. The program integrates four traditions of practice: ICF coaching, clinical hypnotherapy, NLP, and the transpersonal contemplative tradition.
Five original frameworks anchor the program across all three levels: the ROUSER Coaching Model (Relations, Openness, Understanding, Self-Awareness, Empowerment, Reflection), the Integrative Transformation Model (ITM), the Integrated Consciousness Evolution Framework (ICEF), the Emotional Alchemy Mandala, and the Meta Pets Method, a card-based symbolic coaching tool developed from Jungian depth psychology, non-dual wisdom, and neuroscience.
Chief Well-Being Officer (CWBO) Program — A specialist certification for professionals entering or evolving in organizational wellbeing leadership roles. Covers wellbeing strategy, wellbeing-at-work frameworks, and organizational systems design.
Global Well-Being and Impact Leadership Certification (GWILC) — An advanced leadership program co-certified by UPEACE and the World Happiness Academy, designed for leaders, policymakers, and social innovators seeking systemic impact.
World Happiness Fest — Annual experiential gathering connecting coaches, thought leaders, and practitioners with the happiness science and consciousness community. Past participants have come from organizations including SAP, DHL, the World Food Programme, and the US Public Health Service.
What makes the World Happiness Academy distinctive
Three things set the Academy apart from most ICF-accredited programs. First, the depth of the credential arc: holding simultaneous ICF accreditation at Levels 1, 2, and 3 means graduates can progress from first credential to master coach within a single coherent curriculum, something very few programs offer. Second, the methodology integration: the five original frameworks (ROUSER, ICEF, ITM, the Emotional Alchemy Mandala, and the Meta Pets Method) were developed within the Academy's own research lineage rather than adapted from other schools, creating a distinctive coaching identity that carries across all three levels. Third, the institutional ecosystem: connection to the World Happiness Foundation's global network, the Happiness Fest, UPEACE co-certifications, and an active international community gives graduates context and reach that standalone certification programs don't provide.
What This Means for You
Coaching through the World Happiness Academy is explicitly wellbeing-oriented and transpersonal in scope. The program works with the full human being: behavior and mindset, but also inner architecture, emotional integration, and the relationship between personal flourishing and broader systemic change. It attracts practitioners who want a full developmental arc alongside their coaching credentials.
The ICF accreditation at all three levels means a coach who completed the full program has met internationally recognized training standards through MCC depth. The UPEACE co-certification on selected programs adds standing in impact leadership and international development contexts. As with all coaching programs, the credential confirms training completion and hours. It doesn't guarantee coaching quality or personal fit for any specific client.
For clients working on wellbeing, life satisfaction, values alignment, or conscious leadership, a World Happiness Academy-trained coach brings a differentiated framework grounded in happiness science. For clients with clinical needs, therapy or licensed clinical support remains the appropriate referral.
Happiness is the capacity to flourish through problems, and that capacity can be learned, taught, and coached.
1 World Happiness Academy training programs
Challenges our World Happiness Academy coaches help clients through
Questions about World Happiness Academy
Q.01What is the World Happiness Academy?
What is the World Happiness Academy?
The World Happiness Academy is the educational arm of the World Happiness Foundation, delivering ICF-accredited coaching and leadership programs grounded in positive psychology, happiness science, and wellbeing frameworks. Its flagship offering is the Transpersonal Coaching Program, an ICF Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 accredited path covering 515 total contact hours across 83 weeks, from ACC through PCC to MCC.
Q.02Are the programs ICF accredited?
Are the programs ICF accredited?
Yes. The Transpersonal Coaching Program holds ICF accreditation at Level 1 (ACC pathway, 102 hours), Level 2 (PCC pathway, 165 hours), and Level 3 (MCC pathway, 248 hours). Holding accreditation at all three levels in one integrated curriculum is unusual in the coaching industry and means graduates can pursue each successive ICF credential within the same program lineage.
Q.03What is the ROUSER Coaching Model?
What is the ROUSER Coaching Model?
ROUSER stands for Relations, Openness, Understanding, Self-Awareness, Empowerment, and Reflection. It is one of five original frameworks developed at the Academy and serves as the anchor instrument across all three program levels, used as both a self-assessment tool and a coaching compass. The full assessment covers six pillars, 42 questions, and 12 archetypes, taken at entry, mid-program, and closing of each level to track development across the full 83-week program.
Q.04What is the Transpersonal Coaching Program?
What is the Transpersonal Coaching Program?
The Transpersonal Coaching Program is the World Happiness Academy's flagship ICF-accredited program, developed in partnership with the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy (IIH). It spans three sequential levels. Level 1 covers 17 weeks and 102 hours (ACC pathway), Level 2 covers 30 weeks and 165 hours (PCC pathway), and Level 3 covers 36 weeks and 248 hours (MCC pathway), for a total of 83 weeks and 515 contact hours. The program integrates four traditions: ICF coaching, clinical hypnotherapy, NLP, and the transpersonal contemplative tradition.
Q.05What credential do I receive?
What credential do I receive?
Completing Level 1 satisfies the training requirements for the ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential. Completing Level 2 satisfies requirements for the ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential. Completing Level 3 satisfies requirements for the ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential pathway. Each level also grants a Global Certificate as Professional Coach from the World Happiness Foundation and the World Happiness Academy, based on ICF standards.
Q.06Who leads the programs?
Who leads the programs?
Luis Miguel Gallardo leads the English program. He is the Founder of the World Happiness Foundation, an ICF PCC-credentialed coach, Master NLP practitioner, clinical hypnotherapist, and Director of the Gross Global Happiness program at the UN University for Peace. María Marshall-Clarke leads the Spanish program, with a background in human development, wellbeing strategy, and social impact leadership across international organizations.
Q.07What is the UPEACE partnership?
What is the UPEACE partnership?
UPEACE is the United Nations University for Peace, based in Costa Rica and Geneva. The World Happiness Academy co-certifies selected programs with UPEACE, giving those credentials dual standing in the professional coaching field and in the international development and leadership space. The Gross Global Happiness Program at UPEACE is directed by Luis Gallardo.
Q.08What are the five original frameworks taught in the program?
What are the five original frameworks taught in the program?
The program teaches five original frameworks developed within the Academy's research lineage: ROUSER (the six-pillar coaching model), ICEF (Integrated Consciousness Evolution Framework), ITM (Integrative Transformation Model, grounded in Jungian individuation and the Shadow-Gift-Essence arc), the Emotional Alchemy Mandala (mapping eleven emotion families and their transformation trajectories), and the Meta Pets Method (a card-based symbolic coaching system of 64 cosmic creatures for working with shadow, gift, and essence).
Q.09What does an ICF credential from the World Happiness Academy tell me about a coach?
What does an ICF credential from the World Happiness Academy tell me about a coach?
A coach who completed the Transpersonal Coaching Program at Level 1 has 102 hours of ICF-approved training meeting ACC-level requirements. Level 2 completion means 165 additional hours at PCC depth. Level 3 completion means 248 hours at MCC depth. The program's specific focus on happiness science, the transpersonal tradition, and the five original frameworks means their coaching approach is explicitly wellbeing-oriented and integrates clinical hypnotherapy and NLP alongside ICF competencies. The credential confirms training completion, not clinical licensure, and coaching from this program is not a substitute for therapy.
Q.10What should I ask a World Happiness Academy-trained coach before hiring them?
What should I ask a World Happiness Academy-trained coach before hiring them?
Ask which program level they completed, Level 1 (ACC), Level 2 (PCC), or Level 3 (MCC), since each represents a meaningfully different depth of training. Ask what ICF credential they currently hold and how many client hours they have logged since training. Ask how the ROUSER framework and the happiness science approach show up concretely in their sessions. A specific answer will tell you whether the methodology is active in their practice. If your interest is wellbeing, flourishing, or consciousness work, ask how they define meaningful progress for clients and what the first few sessions look like. Clarify that this coaching approach does not replace clinical or therapeutic support if that is part of your needs.