Design Masterclass - Impactful Bite-Sized ACT for Well-Being

Bite-Sized ACT for School Wellbeing Masterclass

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The tools we used, the impact we saw, and how organizations can adapt this model for their own people. It's work I'm hugely proud of and I'm excited to take you through it.

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Before we go on, let's take a quick scoot over to the news desk First something personal. As many of you know, my dear dad died in October and his funeral was on the 20th of November. It was a fitting tribute filled with poetry, music, and the sharing of memories. The day itself was bright with a beautiful layer of snow, and it all came together in a way that felt very him.

Thank you so much to those who've sent kind messages, they've meant a great deal. Next up, I'm delighted to share that we're looking for impact partners. We're on the lookout for organizations, teams, or practitioners who want to join us in extending the reach of acceptance and commitment therapy in the workplace.

Paul Flaxman and me. The aim [: 00:02:00

This is a chance to be part of something measured, meaningful, and growing in reach. If you've already got act based work happening or want to build it, we'd love to explore together. Read more via the link in the show notes or on my website at rossmcintosh.co.uk. And drum roll please. I'm also launching the next cohort of small group supervision for ACT in the Workplace.

It's especially for practitioners who want a supportive space to deepen their skills, share challenges, and explore act based facilitation and organizational impact. Once again, all the details are in the show notes. Finally, I do have space for a couple of coaching clients as we head into the new year.

ing about how to land well in: 2026

Peace supers. By the end of this episode, you'll be thinking, Hmm, I'd like to explore how Ross could bring this to our organization. So get a brew on, get Comfy, and let's dive in.

Picture the scene. It's early: 2021

so I thought, what if we take the Core ACT processes and the training protocol I developed with Paul and break them down into bite-sized sessions, deliver them in one hour webinars. And give people practical tools they can apply immediately. I wanted to reach all adults, working in school environments, making it inclusive and hopefully of interest to secretaries. My mom was a school secretary, caretakers, dinner, ladies, librarians, and anyone who was curious. That's how the six part Wellbeing Series was born. With titles that I hoped might elicit some curiosity and entice people to find out more.

etting perspective, anxiety, [: 00:05:00

and woven through all of the design and the workshops was a set of deceptively. Simple, yet powerful ingredients. Including live polls, which I'll say a bit more about shortly. so let's explore those design principles. Let me take you through the key ingredients that made the program so impactful. Number one, short, practical, bite-sized sessions. These were one hour live sessions delivered after the school day. No cameras, no pressure. Just watching the speaker, me, the slides, and a lively chat.

howing up for you today? How [: 00:06:00

The results would appear instantly on the screen or in our bar chart, and every single time there was this beautiful moment of a collective exhale. People saw that their experience, whether exhaustion, anxiety, numbness, motivation, hope or overwhelm was shared across the whole group.

The polls normalized the full spectrum of human emotion. They created connection and they helped people feel less alone during the incredibly isolating period. Number three, focus on immediately usable skills. Each session included a simple, practical tool. We practiced together with an example from my life.

ould attend as many sessions [: 00:07:00

Number five, connection and community. The chat box became a vibrant space of shared reflection, encouragement, and honesty. Number six, evidence-based content rooted in act. Each session translated act principles and skills into everyday language and practice. Seven tone matters. I tried to build in safety, kindness, and calmness in my facilitation of the delivery of these sessions. So So let's have a quick tour of those six sessions. I'll walk you through each one and the intention behind it. Number one, getting perspective. This was the anchor session. Introducing the life lens. The life lens, or the ACT matrix is a [00:08:00] perspective taking tool that helps people step back from overwhelming thoughts and emotions and identify small steps towards what matters.

The live polar at the Star test, how full people's minds felt. Seeing scores across the board from calm to chaotic helps normalize the whole range. Number two, anxiety relating to anxiety in a different way. Here we validated anxiety as a human experience and briefly explained why the polls highlighted how differently the anxiety showed up for people.

d aspirations. The chat also [: 00:09:00

Number four was rest, disconnecting and recharging. We looked at the psychology of rest and the boundaries. The polls helped people recognize the collective difficulty of switching off and some of the approaches they could try to support their recovery.

Number five was care. Self-compassion for humans doing difficult work. We explored myths about compassion and the science behind it, and the poll responses. Highlight that how often people treated themselves more harshly than they realized And how people generally speak to themselves in a way that's harsher than they would speak to people in their lives that they love.

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so let's take a look at the impact across the six topics. There were 1,258 live attendances. 320 replays. Feedback showed that 90% were likely or very likely to recommend the sessions to a colleague. 89% were likely or very likely to use the tools used in the future.

ents capture exactly what we [: 00:11:00

And these people include Duncan Gillard, Mary Stanley Duke, Tommy Jarvis, Emily Marquez Vega, and Jessica Panek Thomas. Your trust, collaboration, and commitment to supporting school staff wellbeing made all the difference. It was a privilege to work with you and I remain deeply grateful. So folks, what makes this model work?

the polls. safety and human [: 00:12:00

The beauty of this model is its flexibility and its proven impact. The impact was so great for the school staff that I was commissioned to deliver similar sessions for parents.

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Stuff that could be really useful for them. So please do share, subscribe, rate, and review

your support matters. Thanks to Andy Glenn for his spoon magic and Alex Engelberg for his vocals. But most of all, thanks to you dear listener, look after yourselves, peace supers and bye for now.