Nawic Seminar Sessions:

The science of stress, resilience and mental health

As part of NAWIC’s green month, this year we are turning our focus on Wellbeing with mental health awareness at its heart.

This seminar is designed as an interactive session highlighting the  physiological and psychological links between stress and resilience. Many of us have been to numerous workshops talking about mental health and listening to experiences and strategies to help us cope, but this session will help us embed our knowledge and awareness using a different, dynamic, participative activity.

We will explore what it means to thrive and feel resilient, and the impact this has on our thinking. We will compare this to feeling anxious and frightened and explore our thoughts and behaviour during these times. We will draw on ideas from biology, geography and neuroscience and have some action, fun and insight whilst we learn.

Agenda

6:30 – Registration

7:00 – Seminar Session

8:30 – Networking drinks

9:30 – Departure

The session will be facilitated by Mandy Rutter. 

Mandy Rutter is a psychologist and counsellor, who specialises in improving the mental heath of employees, managers, and Senior Leaders within all areas of the workforce.

Mandy has worked with a wide range of employers including Nationwide Building Society, AXA, British Airways, Network Rail and Skanska. She started her career as a school counsellor and moved into supporting employees through Employee Assistance Programmes. Mandy specialised in workplace trauma and  supported employees affected by 9.11 bombing, and more recently worked in Manchester following the Arena bombing. Mandy’s approach to day to day resilience is taken from the education and empowerment given to people after traumatic events.

Mandy regularly devises and delivers training programmes on specific aspects of mental health including depression, anxiety and suicide. She has written widely in professional journals about the importance of the Line-Manager’s role in managing employees with mental health conditions, and the importance of Senior Leaders in creating a workplace culture that promotes emotional resilience and positive mental health.