Talks & Workshops
I regularly deliver talks and take part in panel discussions around mental health, stress and resilience. I am able to provide engaging and practical talks and workshops tailored to your needs. Don't hesitate to contact me for further details.
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 has led workshops drawing on the ideas in Stressilient for teams throughout our partners’ businesses; boiling down her brilliant thinking into actionable ideas that people can apply, and feel the benefits of, right away. Sam 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
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