Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace. In this episode, Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Herb Kim, founder of the Thinking Digital Conference.

Herb noticed how TED promoted learning and discovery in 2006 and how it was rethinking the traditional corporate structure of conference style talks. Inspired by his first TED experience, Herb then set up Thinking Digital, a conference in the North East that celebrates storytelling. He has also set up the TEDx series in the UK, with key events across the North of England. Herb has coached speakers to tell their most powerful stories to audiences worldwide, noting that sharing vulnerability and emotion rather than just facts, is how to leave an impact. Herb also speaks openly about burnout and how he is prioritising sleep and reducing the factors that disrupt it.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/    

Connect with Jen: 

LinkedIn: Jen Cottam   

Connect with Herb: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbkim/

Thinking Digital:

https://thinkingdigital.co.uk/

TEDx Events:

https://www.ted.com/tedx/events

Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, the first in our bite-sized series on mental health, Dr Jen Cottam explains why we sleep, what happens when we don’t get enough and what we can do to sleep better.

Jen explains how our circadian rhythm and melatonin decide when we feel sleepy, the different stages of sleep and why it is normal to wake briefly between sleep cycles. She explains how being awake for 18 hours can impair us as much as alcohol, what insomnia is and how menopause, sleep apnoea, anxiety and neurodivergence can affect our sleep. She also shares tips from CBT for insomnia, including keeping a sleep diary, the 20-minute rule and articulatory suppression, and explains why she recommends ditching your sleep tracker.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/

Connect with Jen:

LinkedIn: Jen Cottam

Download the Centre for Clinical Interventions sleep diary:

Sleep Diary – Centre for Clinical Interventions

Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Dr Richard Duggins, consultant psychiatrist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and author of Burnout Free Working.

Richard draws on nearly thirty years of working with health and social care staff, including his role leading staff wellbeing support across the North East and North Cumbria. He explains what burnout is, the three signs to watch for and why it is almost always a problem with the system rather than a weakness in the person. He also shares his radiators and drains model and the head, shoulders, knees and toes approach to building a support network. He also describes the five things to prioritise when you notice stress starting to take hold.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/   

Connect with Jen:

LinkedIn: Jen Cottam  

Connect with Richard:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-duggins-dr/

Richard’s Book:

Burnout-Free Working: Your Expert Guide to Thriving in a Stressful Workplace

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burnout-Free-Working-Thriving-Stressful-Workplace/dp/1805012460

Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Rie Pearson, a former police officer, domestic abuse specialist and author of Be Kind, No Excuses.

Rie reflects on her 27 years in policing, specialising in Domestic Violence and Safeguarding. She talks about how control builds gradually, why leaving is far more complex than most people realise, and the red flag behaviours that are a precursor to abuse in intimate relationships.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/  

Connect with Jen:

LinkedIn: Jen Cottam 

Connect with Rie:

Instagram: @bekindnoexcuses_cic

TikTok: @riepearson (me.actually)

Website: riepearson.com

Be Kind, No Excuses (Book):

Available via Amazon

Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Anthony Hutton, winner of Big Brother 2005 and founder of the Never Throw In The Towel Project.

Anthony talks openly about life after sudden fame, the impact it had on his identity, which led to unhealthy habits, including alcohol and drug use. He shares the importance of breathwork, how you sometimes need to disguise mental health for men and why you need to get in the best shape of your life for the sake of your own mental health.

He also shares the power of community and the inspiration behind the Never Throw In The Towel Project.

Visit Talk Works: talk-works.org.uk  

Connect with Jen:  LinkedIn: Jen Cottam 

Connect with Anthony:

LinkedIn: Anthony Hutton

Instagram: @theanthonyhutton

https://www.instagram.com/theanthonyhutton/

Visit Never Throw in the Towel Project:

Website: https://neverthrowinthetowel.website/

LinkedIn: Never Throw In The Towel Project

Instagram: @neverthrowinthetowelproject

Welcome to the Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, host Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Dr Vicky Jervis, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist working full-time in the NHS within a Specialist Adult Autism Team. Alongside her NHS role, Vicky provides supervision and mentoring through ACP-UK and the Royal College of Psychiatry’s national Autism Training Programme.

Vicky shares her experience of spending much of her life undiagnosed before receiving a late autism diagnosis in 2021, and what that was like for her. Jen and Vicky discuss masking at work, what a neuroaffirmative approach looks like in practice, and why identity-affirming support matters. They also explore the role of language and how employers can create environments where autistic and neurodivergent people don’t feel pressure to hide who they are.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/  

 Connect with Jen: LinkedIn: Jen Cottam 

 Connect with Vicky: LinkedIn: Dr Vicky Jervis

Recommended Resources:

The Autistic Anthology: Neuro Narratives of Mental Health Professionals

Welcome to the Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace

In this episode, host Dr Jen Cottam is joined by Jan Garcha, a UKCP-accredited psychotherapist specialising in adult grief and bereavement with experience in both NHS and private mental health services.

Jan shares her personal journey of losing her daughter and how that experience deepened her understanding of grief, shaping the compassionate, relational approach she brings to her clients.

She reflects on the many ways grief can show up and the importance of giving people space to process their emotions, as well as practical ways friends, family, and workplaces can offer support.

Jan also explores therapeutic approaches, including relational therapy, mind-body techniques like grief yoga and Pilates, and the benefits of a grief support group.

Visit Talk Works: https://talk-works.org.uk/

Connect with Jen: LinkedIn: Jen Cottam

Connect with Jan: LinkedIn: Jan Garcha

Recommended Resources and Organisations:

Dr Tonkin’s Model of Grief: The Fried Egg Model

Cruse Bereavement Care: https://www.cruse.org.uk/

Welcome to The Talk Works Podcast, a space where we explore mental health, therapy, practical advice, and the tools needed to support wellbeing in the workplace.

In this episode, host Dr. Jen Cottam is joined by Claire McLean, founder of the award-winning consultancy Realise HR and Chair of Northern Cancer Voices. Claire shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37 while stepping into her first HR Director role, and how that experience shaped her perspective on life, work, and leadership.

She reflects on the challenges of balancing treatment with work and family life, the importance of employer flexibility and compassion, and the small but powerful ways colleagues and managers can make a difference.

She also offers professional insights on how organisations can better support employees affected by cancer, emphasising the need for empathy, reasonable adjustments, and open communication.

Visit Talk Works: talk-works.org.uk

Connect with Jen: LinkedIn: Jen Cottam

Visit Realise HR: https://realisehr.co.uk/

Connect with Claire: LinkedIn: Claire McLean

Recommended Organisations:

Northern Cancer Voices: https://northerncancervoices.co.uk/