Speaking & Masterclasses
Clinical Psychologist, Dr Sam Akbar, is an acclaimed author, speaker and expert in stress, resilience and trauma. Her expertise in treating refugees with PTSD provides a unique insight into resilience. Dr Sam empowers leaders and teams with practical tools to navigate the challenges of the modern workplace, fostering deep engagement and reducing burnout.
Talk Topics:
The Stress Solution: Turning Pressure into Performance. Find out more here
Deep Resilience: The Keys To Unlocking Sustainable Strength. Find out more here
COMING SOON: Everything You Need To Know About Trauma
"Sam boils down her brilliant thinking into actionable ideas that people can apply, and feel the benefits of, right away.
She combines subject matter expertise and lived experiences with an inclusive style and infectious energy; creating a space where people feel safe to share what’s on their mind, and are empowered to experiment with proactive new ways of thinking.”
Nick Defty, Director, You Can Now
Our company was looking for speakers on the subject of stress as part of our Mental Health programme. Sam has such a warm sense of humour and a very engaging way about her. Her style is relaxed and modest which immediately put us all at ease. I highly recommend meeting Sam and having her work with any team looking for ways to reduce stress in the workplace or personal life – Sam and her book break it down into practical tips and ideas that stick in your mind.
Kerry Osborne, Mudabla Capital
Sam did a one-hour session on DEEP RESILIENCE. I loved how she had an off the shelf offer that fitted what we needed exactly. She destigmatised mental health in a lighthearted, compassionate and easy to understand way which gave the team really useful tips to take forward into their personal and professional lives. Her expertise as a doctor and author is very compelling!
Kim Hancock, Senior People and Operations Manager, Hubbub
Our team were looking for really practical takeaways, and Sam gave a whole suite of tools and techniques to manage stress, resilience and imposter syndrome. Fair to say the feedback has been excellent, with most people suggesting she returns for a bigger, longer session in the future. Thank you!
Isabel Wiseman, Ipsos Mori
Sam was a joy to interview for the Bookseller’s Marketing & Publicity conference - warm, wise and down to earth, she brought a brilliant dose of both realism and optimism to the industry's conversation about burnout and mental health. These can be really difficult topics to grapple with, and her unimpeachable knowledge and experience, combined with her wit and compassion, made for a very powerful combination. We got great feedback from the session - and I’ve bought her book for so many friends and family members since.
Molly Flatt, author and comment editor of The Bookseller.
Sam is utterly inspirational. She’s turned years of hard-won wisdom, working with refugees with trauma, into a book that can help us all.
Stressilient is packed with great exercises, not just to beat stress, but to live a more fulfilling life. Activities range from straight, delightful play, to hard, valuable challenge.
Sam is passionate, clear, human, playful and wise. I just loved interviewing her.
Kathy Sykes, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Cheltenham Science Festival
Dr Sam Akbar was an absolute pleasure to interview in front of a live audience.
Right from our pre-arranged phone call, I knew Dr Sam would be a great speaker.
She's that rare combination of knowledgeable, down to earth and equipped with a brilliant sense of humour. She had our audience opening up and laughing at the same time. f you are looking for someone to break down mental health into the tangible and relatable - Dr Sam is your lady.
Sally Land, The Sun's Agony Aunt
Sam was highly engaging in explaining our emotions, values and how we might deal with stress in practical ways, always grounding her advice in the reassuring context of evidence-based science.
When, on stage, she pulled out a post-it note of her anxious thoughts from the morning of the festival, she demonstrated the power of vulnerability – it was a potent lesson for the audience. People were still talking about it and sharing the technique with friends days later.'
Julia Wheeler, Cheltenham Literature and Science Chairperson
I needed an expert speaker for the biggest wellbeing and health event in the rail industry to speak about resilience and mental health. Who could do it better than Dr Sam Akbar? I came across her book ‘Stressilient’ and thought that Sam’s work experience and the way she put across the message in the book on building resilience would land very well with our audience. I wasn’t wrong.
From an event’s organiser's perspective, working with Sam was a joy; she was responsive and interested in the audience’s needs. If I was going to organise the event again I wouldn’t hesitate to invite Sam to be a speaker again - this time for a much longer session!
Marsha Dydo, Conference Producer, Rail Wellbeing Live