Nurses and Healthcare Professionals
For those working in demanding care environments who want practical approaches to sustain well-being, reconnect with purpose, and cultivate resilience in their work.
For Healthcare Professionals
Research‑Supported Mindfulness & Character Strengths Framework
Healthcare Shouldn’t Cost You Your Well-Being
Supporting nurses, coaches, and healthcare professionals seeking a more human, strengths-based path to sustainable well-being, meaning, and resilience in their work.
Through Connect Wellness™, Chad Sanders offers strengths-based coaching, mindfulness-informed well-being education, and embodied practices that help healthcare professionals reconnect with purpose, inner resources, and long-term flourishing.
A more human way to flourish in the age of AI — grounded in healthcare experience, mindful strengths practice, and real-world coaching.
The review is the primary entry point for MBSP updates, EMBSD-IHC™ content, new resources, and future program invitations.
SeenFor healthcare professionals carrying pressure, fatigue, and responsibility.
SupportedPractical pathways for self-compassion, resilience, and meaning.
StrengthenedTools that help you reconnect with what is best within you.
Board-CertifiedNurse Coach
MBSPCertified Facilitator
Evidence-InformedStrengths & Mindfulness
Designed ForHealthcare Professionals
Who This Is For
Programs and resources designed for professionals working in healthcare
Connect Wellness™ supports individuals and organizations seeking sustainable approaches to well-being, resilience, and human flourishing in healthcare.
Health Coaches and Helping Professionals
For coaches and professionals who want to deepen their practice through strengths-based approaches, mindfulness, and reflective professional development.
Healthcare Organizations and Teams
For healthcare organizations seeking evidence-informed programs that support workforce well-being, strengthen human-centered care, and foster healthier professional cultures.
Ways to Work Together
Support for individuals, teams, and future programs
Connect Wellness™ offers strengths-based pathways for personal growth, professional development, and healthcare well-being initiatives.
Individual Coaching
Strengths-based health coaching and reflective professional development for nurses, healthcare professionals, and helping professionals seeking greater well-being, clarity, and purpose in their work.
Workshops & Professional Development
Educational sessions introducing mindfulness-informed strengths practices and evidence-informed approaches to well-being and resilience in healthcare.
Organizational Programs
Programs designed for healthcare teams and organizations seeking to support workforce well-being, strengthen human-centered care, and cultivate healthier professional cultures.
Hi, I’m Chad Sanders.
I’m a Board‑Certified Nurse Coach who integrates positive psychology, character strengths, and mindfulness practices, and I understand firsthand the pressures healthcare professionals face.
My Story
I’ve lived the system, too
After experiencing the challenges of traditional healthcare roles, I discovered something powerful: when mindfulness, character strengths, and embodied practices come together, healthcare professionals can reconnect with their purpose, resilience, and humanity.
Today, I help nurses and healthcare professionals cultivate well-being, meaning, and strength — so they can thrive in their work and lives.
Nurse Coach Board Certified
Positive Psychology–Informed Coaching
Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice
Human-Centered Wellbeing
MBSP Certified Facilitator
Mindfulness‑Based Strengths Practice is supported by multiple studies showing improvements in well‑being, relationships, and stress resilience.
Well‑Being & Possibility
What Becomes Possible
Through evidence-informed coaching and mindfulness-based strengths practices, healthcare professionals can build a more sustainable relationship with their work and well-being.
Reduce stress
Support for emotional exhaustion, chronic pressure, and the wear-and-tear of healthcare work.
Reconnect with meaning
Return to purpose, values, and what matters most in your work and life.
Strengthen resilience
Develop self-compassion, inner steadiness, and sustainable wellbeing practices.
Use your strengths
Integrate character strengths more intentionally into daily life, work, and relationships.
Build healthier habits
Create practical ways of caring for yourself without losing your humanity.
Move toward flourishing
Shift from survival mode toward greater vitality, alignment, and long-term sustainability.
The Connect Wellness Approach
A Different Approach to Healthcare Well-Being
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Mindfulness
Develop present-moment awareness and compassionate self-reflection.
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Character Strengths
Identify and apply what is best within you.
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Embodied Practices
Reconnect with your body through movement, rhythm, and expression.
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Integrative Coaching
Transform insight into meaningful behavior change.
Discover Your Strengths
Take the VIA Character Strengths Survey
One helpful starting point for strengths-based well-being is understanding your own character strengths profile.
Discover the character strengths that support resilience, meaning, and flourishing in both healthcare work and everyday life.
The VIA Character Strengths Survey is a widely used, research-based assessment that helps individuals identify their unique pattern of 24 character strengths. After completing the survey, participants receive an immediate rank‑ordered profile showing which strengths tend to be most natural for them.
More than 17 million people worldwide have taken the VIA Survey, and it continues to be used globally in education, coaching, leadership development, and well-being programs. The survey focuses on relative strengths within the individual, helping people better understand how their strengths show up in everyday life.
The VIA Survey for adults takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.
Healthcare organizations, nursing teams, or coaching programs interested in workshops, education sessions, or strengths‑based well‑being programs are welcome to reach out by email to explore possibilities.
Free survey • Research-based • Used by millions worldwide
The VIA Survey is provided by the VIA Institute on Character. Connect Wellness™ does not own or administer the survey but frequently integrates character strengths awareness into strengths‑based coaching and well-being education.
Programs & Services
Ways to work together
Connect Wellness™ centers the review as the primary point of entry for both group programs and 1:1 coaching, with additional educational offerings and resources in development.
MBSP · Group Cohort Offerings
Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice
Developed by Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D., at the VIA Institute on Character.
Research‑Backed Program
MBSP research shows stronger well‑being outcomes than traditional mindfulness programs when character strengths are integrated.
Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP) is a structured program developed through the work of Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D., Chief Science & Education Officer of the renowned VIA Institute on Character, a nonprofit organization leading the global advancement of the science of character strengths. At Connect Wellness™, MBSP is presented with direct attribution and respect for its original framework.
Research studies show MBSP outperforms MBSR on multiple wellbeing outcomes, highlighting the added value of integrating character strengths with mindfulness.
- Mindfulness and character strengths integration
- Group cohort offerings and future guided experiences
- Appropriate for personal growth and professional wellbeing development
Important: Connect Wellness™ does not claim ownership of MBSP and does not represent the VIA Institute on Character as endorsing this website or business.
EMBSD-IHC™
Embodied Mindfulness-Based Strengths Dancing – Integrative Health Coaching
An original Connect Wellness™ methodology created and developed by Chad Sanders that integrates embodied awareness, movement, strengths reflection, and coaching-oriented meaning-making.
- Embodied reflection and movement-based practices
- Character strengths awareness in action
- Designed for human expression, self-connection, and sustainable wellbeing
EMBSD-IHC™ is currently in development and will be introduced gradually through future programs, educational content, and guided experiences. Availability updates, future offerings, and early access announcements are shared first through the review.
Group Cohort & 1:1 Coaching
Strengths-Based Coaching & Wellbeing Support
Support for nurses, health coaches, and healthcare teams seeking strengths-based wellbeing education and coaching-focused development.
- Group cohort offerings for shared learning and reflection
- 1:1 Strengths-Based Coaching — personalized coaching support
- Future webinars, PDFs, and educational tools
- Healthcare wellbeing programs designed for sustainable practice
Availability updates, future offerings, and early access announcements are shared first through the review.
Research & Credibility
MBSP
Mindfulness‑Based Strengths Practice (MBSP) Certified Facilitator through the VIA Institute on Character.
Professional grounding without losing the human tone
Credentials and scholarly work matter here — but they support the mission rather than overshadow it.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
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Wellbeing and Nursing Burnout
Peer-reviewed research examining the relationship between nurse wellbeing and burnout through a positive psychology lens.
Read the full article -
Substance Use Disorders Education in Pharmacy Curriculum
Peer-reviewed educational research examining approaches to teaching substance use disorder content and interprofessional competencies to healthcare professional students.
Read the full article -
Interprofessional Psychiatry Education
Peer-reviewed research examining interprofessional education related to substance use disorder training among healthcare professional students.
Read the full article
Awards & Recognitions
National Recognition
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American College of Psychiatrists — Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education
Received as part of the Duke University interprofessional education team recognized nationally for the innovative course An Interprofessional Substance Use Disorders Course. The program focused on improving substance use disorder education and interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professional students.
Learn more about the education award
Clinical & Professional Background
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Hospital-based Stress Management Consult Service
Experience connected to Duke University Hospital stress management support.
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Childhood obesity clinic and interdisciplinary motivational interviewing work
Experience at Duke Healthy Lifestyles using team-based, behavior change-oriented approaches.
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Veterans Health Administration Clinical Nurse Health Coach
1:1 and group clinical and Whole Health-informed coaching within veteran-centered care, supporting behavior change, wellbeing, and whole-person health.
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Nurse residency and fellowship group facilitation
Facilitation experience supporting new graduate nurses and professional development in healthcare settings.
Professional Foundations
NC‑BC
Nurse Coach Board Certified (NC‑BC) credential through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC).
MBSP
Mindfulness‑Based Strengths Practice (MBSP) Certified Facilitator through the VIA Institute on Character.
Healthcare
Experience across mental health nursing, childhood obesity programs, clinical and wellness nurse coaching, inpatient stress management coaching, tobacco treatment education, and interprofessional wellbeing education.
Original Method
Creator and developer of EMBSD‑IHC™ (Embodied Mindfulness‑Based Strengths Dancing – Integrative Health Coaching), an emerging Connect Wellness™ methodology.
INCA
Integrative Nurse Coach training through the International Nurse Coach Association (INCA).
MSc
MSc in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology from the University of East London.
BSN
BSN in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Duke
Integrative Health Coach trained by Duke Health & Well‑Being (formerly Duke Integrative Medicine).
Evidence & Foundations
Professional grounding rooted in evidence-informed fields
The work of Connect Wellness integrates insights from multiple evidence-informed disciplines that support sustainable well-being, resilience, and human flourishing in healthcare.
Mindfulness research
Character strengths
Positive psychology
MBSP
Health coaching
Behavior change science
Human flourishing
Well-being science
These foundations inform approaches designed to help healthcare professionals cultivate resilience, reconnect with meaning in their work, and support sustainable well-being.
In Development
What is coming next
Connect Wellness™ is growing intentionally. Future offerings are being built with care so they remain aligned with scope, quality, and human-centered integrity.
EMBSD-IHC™ programs
Original embodied, strengths-based educational and coaching-focused experiences.
MBSP cohorts
Future group-based strengths and mindfulness programming with appropriate attribution.
Webinars & courses
Educational offerings for healthcare professionals seeking sustainable wellbeing practices.
PDFs & digital resources
Guides, reflections, tools, and future written resources from Connect Wellness™.