hsp

Sensitive Men Rising is HERE! 🌟

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

Our labor of love – Sensitive Men Rising – is finally available for all to view for free!! Donations are highly encouraged to support the work of the Foundation for the Study of Highly Sensitive Persons and recoup the costs of creating this timeless film for the world.

Will Harper, myself, and all of the production team would like to express our thanks for all of your kind support since we started this project in 2019!! We know that SMR will now be out in the world communicating a very different message about what men can be and what the world needs from us – to be whole human beings FREE to live in our fullness, to love from our hearts, and to realize our potential to lead, inspire, and lift each other up!!

Sensitive Men Rising is our gift to you!

Dr. Tracy Cooper, Ph.D.

Message from SMR director Will Harper:

For too long, sensitive men have been told to toughen up, to stay quiet, to disappear into the background. But in Sensitive Men Rising, they rise—with science, with soul, and with unapologetic truth.

Three compelling episodes

Grounded in research, story, and heart

Offered freely to the global community

Are we finally ready to hear what sensitive men have to say?

Episode 1: The Call to Rise

How does sensitivity redefine strength in men—and why does it matter now more than ever?

Hosted by acclaimed narrator and HSP advocate Peter Coyote, this powerful opening episode sets the stage for a new conversation about masculinity, sensitivity, and transformation. With deeply personal insights from Alanis Morissette, a mother raising two highly sensitive sons, we witness how this often-misunderstood trait touches every part of life—from parenting to purpose.

Through science-backed commentary, poetic storytelling, and raw reflections from everyday men, scholars, therapists, and teachers, Sensitive Men Rising begins its journey. Together, they ask the questions that matter:

Can sensitive men lead? Can they thrive?

And more importantly—can we finally hear them?

This is the moment sensitivity rises from the shadows.

It’s not weakness. It’s awareness. It’s compassion.

And it may just be the antidote our chaotic world is searching for.

Episode 2: The Science of Sensitivity

What if sensitivity in boys and men wasn’t a weakness… but a hardwired gift?

In this revelatory second episode, we step into the heart of the science. Dr. Elaine Aron, pioneer of the Sensory Processing Sensitivity trait, joins fellow researchers to explore what makes sensitive boys and men biologically distinct—and emotionally powerful.

The episode features Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, the world’s most celebrated psychology podcaster and a return guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. A leading voice on self-actualization, Scott shares how his own sensitivity made him a deep processor of thought, feeling, and meaning—a trait he now champions as essential to growth, creativity, and human connection.

We also meet the young highly sensitive prodigy, Soborno Isaac Bari who expounds on empathy and social responsibility, along with mothers, teachers, therapist, and sensitive men whose short, moving stories reveal what it’s really like to grow up with a highly attuned nervous system in a noisy, demanding world.

And in a closing moment that’s both vulnerable and powerful, Alanis Morissette opens up about the challenges of raising sensitive boys—and the resilience it takes to protect their emotional truth.

Episode 3: The Future of Sensitivity

What happens when sensitive men are no longer silenced—but step forward to lead?

The final episode of Sensitive Men Rising weaves everything together—science, soul, and social responsibility—to reveal a new model of leadership grounded in emotional intelligence, perceptiveness, and care.

From boardrooms to classrooms, the film explores how sensitivity may be the most overlooked asset in business, education, and global culture. With insights from Dr. Tracy Cooper, Ph.D., experts in psychology and leadership discuss why highly sensitive men may be especially suited to guide the next generation—not in spite of their deep awareness, but because of it.

As the world searches for more mindful leaders, better fathers, and emotionally present men, this episode asks a final, urgent question:

What kind of world could we build… if we finally made space for the sensitive ones?

Let love Rule,

Will

Links to view each episode!!

Episode #1 https://vimeo.com/973949385

Episode #2 https://vimeo.com/974093290

Episode #3 https://vimeo.com/1033358744

Please share to all of the highly sensitive men and women in your life!!

The Sensation-Seeking Highly Sensitive Person: Thriving in the Chaos

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

A 7-Week Online Professional course designed to increase awareness of the 50% of HSPs who are also high in sensation seeking.

Are you, or someone you work with, a Highly Sensitive Person and a Sensation Seeker? If so, you’re not alone –  and you’re not a contradiction. In fact, 50% of Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) are also high in Sensation Seeking (HSS) – a unique combination that can be as challenging as it is exhilarating.

Join Dr. Tracy Cooper, international consultant, author, and professor, for a 7-week online professional course beginning September 1st, 2025 and explore how to thrive, not just survive, with these dynamic traits.

The Sensation-Seeking Highly Sensitive Person: Thriving in the Chaos Starts: September 1, 2025 with Live webinars every Thursday | 2-3 pm CST / 8-9pm BST

A one-of-a-kind course tailored for personal and professional development. Whether you support HSP/HSS individuals or are one yourself, this course blends science, lived experience, and practical application to help you thrive in an often overwhelming world.  

What You’ll Learn:
Understand the conflict between deep sensitivity and thrill-seeking
Explore cutting-edge neuroscience behind HSP/HSS traits
Learn practical strategies to manage overstimulation and understimulation Navigate relationships, career choices, and identity challenges
Build sustainable self-care routines and a long-term thriving mindset
Apply the Cooper HSS-HSP Conflict Matrix© to real-life scenarios  

Meet Your Instructor: Dr. Tracy Cooper
Dr. Tracy Cooper is a leading voice for high sensation seeking highly sensitive people (HSS-HSPs), highly sensitive people (HSPs), highly sensitive men, and with a mission to educate, mentor, and facilitate transformations in the lives of those seeking a conscious path to self-actualization and a creative realization of what it means to be human and alive at this moment.  Dr. Cooper is the co-producer of the documentary film Sensitive Men Rising, the first film for highly sensitive men that seeks to open doorways to understanding and acceptance of this beautiful temperament trait in 30% of the world’s population.
An author of three publications, including Thrive: The Highly Sensitive Person and Career; Thrill: The High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person; and Empowering the Sensitive Male Soul, Dr. Cooper advocates for self-authorship, a conscious and creative leadership forging transformational reVisioning of self where we become creators of culture rather than mere consumers, curators of diverse narratives from across the globe, and mentors for those so desperately in need of guidance, encouragement, and healing.  Dr. Cooper has had work published in the journal Current Research in the Behavioral Sciences, The New York Times, Psychology Today, and numerous podcasts and articles. 

Enroll before June 30th and receive 20% off the full course fee using code EARLYBIRD20

Link to register (click here)

Please share!!

The Mediating Role of Self-Concept Clarity in the Relationship Between Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Student Mental Health

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

Another interesting study examining Sensory Processing Sensitivity (known in popular culture as the highly sensitive person or HSP)! This one was a bachelor’s level thesis from rijkuniversiteit groningen in the Netherlands specifically looking at SPS and student mental health and how self concept clarity may be a mediating factor in this relationship. A total of 317 Dutch university students took an online survey utilizing validated measures of SPS, SCCC, and Student Mental Health.

Results seem to show that the less self concept clarity students have, combined with sensory processing sensitivity, the greater the propensity for mental health concerns among HSP students. The author suggested that interventions in the form of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) or self compassion training may help self concept clarity among HSP students.

Self Concept Clarity basically states that those with high SCC know their strengths and weaknesses, understand the nature of their personalities, and where they stand on important values and attitudes. In short, they know themselves well and feel a healthy sense of self-esteem and are self-efficacious. We know that many HSPs tend to know themselves well only around midlife, which can be highly problematic for HSPs and, say, career choice (see my book Thrive: The Highly Sensitive Person and Career for much more), but also in “adulting” or facing the real world of work and relationships that almost demands of them self concept clarity.

The good news is that HSPs tend to respond more readily to interventions than less sensitive people and will do far better in positive and supportive environments (college being an overall positive and supportive environment). The college experience can also be one of coming to know ourselves through exposure to new and varied people then we may have encountered before. New ideas and concepts may also transform our worldviews and perspectives in support of developing a more clear self concept. Lastly, the growth trajectory typical of many college students can be quite steep with dramatic changes to growth and development that will serve them well throughout life.

You can help encourage the young people in your life (adults too) towards greater self concept clarity through positive associations and interactions with them, supporting their efforts – especially when they entail a stretch into challenging territory, and mentoring those in our orbits of influence if we have been fortunate enough to have developed a health sense of self concept clarity ourselves.

This is a productive study from this student in the Netherlands and it is encouraging to see scholarly work advancing highly sensitive people!

Click here to view abstract of the study.

An evening with dr tracy cooper in greenville, sc!

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

Big thanks to Walt’s Waltz and Susan Crooks for inviting me to speak in Greenville, SC this past Thursday and Friday!! Our discussions around highly sensitive men, HSS/HSPs, and HSPs were made all the more poignant and real by the simple fact of being face to face with other people. This may seem trivial but in our modern world of screens, monitors, and calls it’s sadly becoming increasingly rare to be in the presence of other warm, breathing people alive with curiosity! I thank you for that!

A few reflections in hindsight. One, people are curious and interested in learning more about what it means to be highly sensitive in a literal sense (what is the trait itself and the so-what factor). Both of the wonderful groups I met with, BOLD Leadership Network and our public event at the University Center of Greenville, proved to be receptive and interested audiences whom I felt instantly comfortable sharing everything I have learned about HS men, HSS/HSPs, HSPs, and numerous topical areas of interest to various members of each group.

I realized as well that people are very interested if they happen to have a highly sensitive son and would like to not only know more about high sensitivity but how they might help their hs sons navigate areas like school, athletics, interpersonal dynamics, and self-care. This is an area we need much more on in the way of resources and also outreach! It’s not enough to create books, articles, podcasts, and films/videos. Parents want to speak with other live humans who they can connect with and feel like their concerns are valid and that they aren’t alone in attempting to understand how to best support their highly sensitive sons.

Education and outreach is another prominent topic of great interest, especially for BOLD Leadership Network as they work to provide program offerings supporting academic achievement for African-American students in the Greenville, SC area. They’ve had some encouraging success and props to Edward Anderson and Damon Qualls for creating and carrying out this BOLD initiative to develop leaders and build their community!! It was amazing to meet, connect, and share what I know about highly sensitive men, HSS/HSM, and talk a bit about human motivation, educational persistence to graduation, and see the eyes light up in realization that being highly sensitive is actually empowering in very pragmatic ways!! I look forward to how we might partner again in the future to support highly sensitive students and leaders as the real influence of Sensitive Men Rising begins to to build momentum and impact in the world.

Lastly, I am left with an appreciation of the sheer level of human effort that we HSPs put into bettering our communities, easing suffering, building and nourishing connections, and doing so with warmth (real human warmth), charm, tenacity, creativity, and S.T.Y.L.E. (Men with STYLE Podcast)! In the darkness of our times it’s easy to forget the many people who sustain the light and continue to do our part to bring vision, strength, and shared humanity to the world!

The efforts to have our voices heard, our wisdom listened to, or our visions realized is an ever-ongoing one that is not tied to any movement, not susceptible to the whims of culture, and not based in the profit motive. The leadership and guidance we provide is an ethical and moral one with greater good in mind for all, fuller realizations of our possibilities as human beings, and to go there together shoulder to shoulder and hearts leading the way! ☺🙏

The 2025 High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person’s Workshop!!

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

The 2025 High Sensation Seeking Highly Sensitive Person’s Workshop!! Join me Saturday November 1st from Noon-3pm CST via Zoom for what is shaping up to be a timely, informative (maybe transformative), and connecting experience!!

I’m so excited to announce I will be joined this by the amazing power duo of Randy Grasser and Annet van Duinen of The Living Adventurers!! Annet (a fellow international consultant on high sensitivity and certified ICF life coach) and Randy (a lifelong thrill seeker with a deep heart and passionate commitment to sharing what he’s learned as an adventurer) team up with me to tackle the topic of RESILIENCE and how we might cultivate it, apply it to varying life situations, and, ultimately, come to think of this capacity to weather adversity as a growth mechanism for personality development and enhancement.

Sensitive Sensation Seekers, as I like to shorten the HSS/HSP label, intentionally place ourselves in high growth circumstances lead by our genetic trait known as Sensation Seeking. Couple that copious ‘fodder’ with the well-known deep processing of our highly sensitive sides and you have a powerful combination for both experiencing life in a deeper and richer way, as well as providing expansion for our sensitive sides, which thrive on reflecting and contextualizing our lived experiences!!

I know I am truly looking forward to creating a workshop that tantalizes the sensation seeker, while offering connection and communion with likeminded sensitives!!

Join us Saturday November 1st, 2025 and help us expand the world of Sensitive Sensation Seekers knowing that we are up to 50% of the highly sensitive population!! We need to be talking about Sensitive Sensation Seekers so much more and RESILIENCE is bedrock for enabling us to face adversity with the skills and confidence to transcend our perceived ‘limitations!!’

Registration link: https://HSSHSP2025.eventbrite.com

PLEASE SHARE!!

Tips for parenting sensitive sensation-seeking children | Dr. Tracy Cooper

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

Part 3 of my conversation with MAPA Conscious Parenting – Cyprus. Tips for parenting sensation-seeking sensitive children. If you are the parent of a sensitive sensation-seeking child you likely are aware of the twin nature to seek stimulation, as well as to reflect on those experiences more introspectively. The most important aspect is providing a supportive, encouraging early environment in which your child builds an all-important solid foundation on which to develop throughout life.

Please share!

Social media sites of Dr. Tracy Cooper:

https://drtracycooper.org/

https://sensitivemenrising.org/

LinkedIn: tracycooperphd

Facebook: tracycooperphd

Instagram: tracycooperphd

Tracy also recommends the work of Alane Freund, fellow International Consultant on High Sensitivity. Alane’s website may be found at https://www.areyouhighlysensitive.com/

Books by Dr. Tracy Cooper

Global HSP Summit – Feb. 19 – March 3, 2024

| Tracy Cooper Ph.D.

This is the perfect time to embrace your Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) nature. Your unique skills and gifts are in high demand right now. It’s time for you to shine as your authentic selves. Regardless of your beliefs about sensitivity, did you know that you make up a significant portion – up to 30% – of the world’s population? Your deep processing abilities and profound connection with the world are exactly what our planet needs at this moment.

My particular talk with Jill Marie centers around HSP veterans, which is a topic near and dear to me as a veteran myself. Yes, HSPs and HSS/HSPs can be and are veterans and active-duty service members! Whether you are primarily a highly sensitive person or a high sensation seeking highly sensitive person (now we know are up to 50% of the HSP population) there is much you need to acquaint yourself with around the trait/s. Discussions of HSP veterans are sorely lacking and I am happy to serve my brothers and sisters in arms!

Unlock your true potential as an HSP!

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