The Latest Bulletin

Neil’s highly praised Managing Stress practice manual is now available in an updated and extended second edition. Available via Amazon or from the publishers https://www.criticalpublishing.com/managing-stress. A hugely important resource for dealing with today’s pressures.

I regularly run courses on which, despite having been given handouts with space for notes about each part of the course, a high proportion of the participants will not write down a single word. Perhaps they all have photographic memories or maybe they believe that learning happens by magic – they just have to hear what is being said and don’t need to remember it or apply it in any way; it will just automatically make them better at their jobs without any effort on their part. Similarly, many people have a good idea, don’t write it down and later struggle to remember what their important insight was. I don’t understand why so many people appear to be reluctant to…

People in the UK are living and working longer than ever before. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath have exposed serious physical and mental health issues facing our workforce. Declining population health is a long-term trend that is forecast to get worse in coming years. Over the last century, rights and access to time off work have steadily increased. However, our ageing workforce today has more complex health needs and evolving responsibilities outside of paid work. Currently, 2.83 million people are economically inactive due to long-term health issues, and the Health Foundation predicts a significant rise in working-age adults with major illnesses by 2040. Meanwhile, the International Longevity Centre has warned that the retirement age may rise to 71…

The people most likely to sign up for coaching or additional learning are the folks who are already good at their craft. “I’m terrible at this,” can lead to, “and I don’t want to be reminded of it.” Or perhaps, “I don’t want to waste their time,” or, “I’m never going to get better.” When it’s possible to get better, embracing mediocrity isn’t a useful strategy. I’d rather have a surgeon who regularly attends trainings, wouldn’t you? Read a book, find a coach, organize a group. If you’re serious about getting better, you’ll improve. Click here to read more

Youth-led advocacy is about supporting young people to speak up and helping them actively take part in the decisions that affect them. Our Youth Advocacy Toolkit will give you the skills and information you need to stand up for what is important to you. This toolkit is for any young person who wants to start their own advocacy campaign. If you are a teacher or facilitator, you can also use this toolkit with your group to inspire them to work out which children’s rights issues they care about and how to go about creating the change they want to see. Click here to read more

Connect with Neil online

Neil’s highly praised Managing Stress practice manual is now available in an updated and extended second edition. Available via Amazon or from the publishers https://www.criticalpublishing.com/managing-stress. A hugely important resource for dealing with today’s pressures.  

Routines can be very helpful, as they enable us to deal with straightforward matters quickly, easily and efficiently. However, there are two potential problems with this. One is the danger of ‘routinization’, which is what happens when we overgeneralize and adopt a routine approach to non-routine situations – that is, we fail to distinguish between those situations that are simple enough to be dealt with in a routinized way and those that are not. The other danger is that routines become part of a culture and continue to be used long after the situation that first led to their development has ceased to apply. That is, they have become habits which were useful to begin with but are no longer…

This election is a pivotal moment for mental health. Every year 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem. Nearly 2 million are waiting for NHS mental health services, and since 2017 the number of young people struggling with mental health has doubled. We might talk about mental health even more, but support is out of reach for so many. We’re clear when we say the next UK government must focus on mental health. We’ve set out the steps the next UK government must take towards a future where there’s no mind left behind. Click here to read more

The UK is entering this election year with unacceptably high levels of poverty, appallingly high for some groups. We need a coherent plan with creative policies to end poverty in the UK. This report looks at the current situation across different groups and regions, and the future prospects for poverty in the UK. Click here to read more