You’re holding a lot.
Over the past year, one thing has come up again and again in our conversations with HR and People teams: the sheer weight of what you’re being asked to hold.
Bereavement, suicide, acute mental health struggles, personal trauma. You’re not just managing policy; you’re often holding some of the hardest human moments at work. And that takes a toll. Over 70% of HR professionals report severe stress and emotional burnout linked to managing workplace mental health and critical incidents.
So while you’re holding everyone else, who’s holding you?
You need somewhere to put it too.
This Autumn, we’re inviting HR professionals and People leaders to a free two-part webinar series on holding and responding to crisis at work.
A space to step out of response mode, reflect on what these moments ask of you, and build the confidence and tools to support both yourself and others.
The two sessions are designed to work together – moving from how we care for ourselves as responders to how we recognise and support someone in distress – so we recommend joining us for both.
Part 1: THE HUMAN IN THE HR SEAT
Holding Crisis, Emotional Fallout, and Self Care
When a critical incident happens at work, HR is often the first place people turn. But holding someone else’s crisis can take a toll – especially when you’re carrying your own experiences of stress, grief or loss too. This session looks beyond the professional role and at the human being sitting in the HR seat.
What we’ll cover
– What happens emotionally after a critical or traumatic incident
– The impact of secondary stress and holding other people’s distress
– How our own experiences can shape the way we respond under pressure
– How to recognise when you’re carrying too much
– Practical therapeutic tools for boundaries, self care and emotional decompression
There’ll also be space for open reflection and honest discussion about what it really takes to support others without losing yourself in the process.
Part 2: RECOGNISING AND RESPONDING TO CRISIS
Signs, Symptoms, and Equipping Your Team
Monday 12th October | 12-1pm | Online
Knowing your own capacity matters. So does knowing what to look for in others – and how to respond before things reach breaking point. Building on Part One, this session focuses on recognising distress early, opening up better conversations and making sure your organisation is ready to respond when someone needs support.
What we’ll cover
– The emotional, behavioural and cognitive signs that someone may be struggling
– How to spot changes before they become a crisis
– How to start supportive mental health conversations with confidence
– Where your responsibility begins – and where it ends
– How to make mental health policies actually useful in high-pressure moments
– Practical crisis protocols, escalation pathways and shared support systems
You’ll leave with clearer ways to respond compassionately and practically, while making sure the responsibility for supporting someone never sits with just one person.
Your Facilitators
Nibarna brings extensive clinical and leadership experience in trauma, safeguarding and responding to people in distress. Having worked within specialist NHS sexual violence services, she has supported individuals following rape, sexual assault and acute and complex trauma, alongside leading clinical teams and developing safe, trauma-informed approaches to care.
Her work considers how trauma, culture and identity shape our experiences of distress, combining therapeutic warmth with practical clinical thinking to help people and organisations navigate difficult moments with compassion, clarity and care.
Anna brings deep, grounded clinical expertise to holding space during acute distress. Having served as an internal therapist across two police forces, she has led front line responses to critical incidents and severe trauma. She regularly supports diverse workplaces through both acute crisis response and proactive mental health education.
With over ten years in private clinical practice, much of Anna’s work has centred on supporting individuals, families, and young people navigating profound risk. Her approach combines deep therapeutic warmth with practical, real world insight, helping leaders and teams stay steady when the unexpected happens.
Feel more prepared when the hard stuff lands.
Join us for both sessions and build the clarity, confidence and practical tools to support your people – and yourself – when crisis hits.