“We have the potential to lead stress-free lives. We know that it’s possible because we have evidence and training.”

Professor Jo Clarke is a former Forensic Psychologist and worked in the criminal justice (prison) system for 23 years. She’s the Founder and Director of Petros, a not-for-profit company dedicated to helping people of all ages live more resilient, balanced and productive lives.

In this episode, Jo shares fascinating insights into:

• human behaviour, in both adults and young people;
• ‘resilience’ and defining it in a practical and meaningful way;
• managing challenging situations and emotions, and how to ‘file them away neatly with courage and honesty’;
• what our emotions are  communicating with us and the best ways to respond to them;
• her research (with colleagues at York University) into the one thing that teachers find most stressful;
• how we can thrive in high-risk jobs;
• a wonderful philosophy from Ross Greene that “kids do well if they can, not if they want to”;
• THE fundamental human need we all need to be met, and how to meet it;
• the 4 powerful principles that underpin her training around stress (one of them is “Stress is a choice”!)
• epigenetics, and how to not to be a victim to your genetics;
• and so much more!

“We fall asleep to the pressures that we’re under. Be awake, not sleepwalk through life.”

You can connect with Jo: 

Via their website for information about their training www.petros.org.uk

Via her PA Laura Laura@petros.org.uk

Also mentioned in this podcast

• The Rudyard Kipling poem, If
  “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
  And treat those two impostors just the same;”
• Ross Greene (website) – Lives in Balance
• Ross Greene (books) Lost at School and The Explosive Child

Connect with Maria

On Twitter @Mariabrosnan

On LinkedIn Maria Brosnan

On Instagram @pursuitwellbeing

Find out more about our 5-step Wellbeing Action Plan for teachers online course.

And Maria’s book, The Pursuit of Sleep for teachers, is available now.