Question 1

What is the World Happiness Academy?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

Are the programs ICF accredited?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

What is the ROUSER Coaching Model?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 4

What is the Transpersonal Coaching Program?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 5

What credential do I receive?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 6

Who leads the programs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 7

What is the UPEACE partnership?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 8

What are the five original frameworks taught in the program?

Accepted Answer

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).

Question 9

What does an ICF credential from the World Happiness Academy tell me about a coach?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 10

What should I ask a World Happiness Academy-trained coach before hiring them?

Accepted Answer

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.

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