Ultimate Resilience

Providing mental wellbeing training and coaching to people and organisations within public, private and charitable sectors. Our services aim to help employees at all levels of the organisation to successfully manage the demands and challenges of the modern working environment.

We have been in the workplace wellbeing business since 2013, and have helped people to overcome stress, burnout and depression within the NHS for over 20 years.

Co-Founder

The British Psychological Society

Chartered Coaching Psychologist

Chartered Clinical Psychologist

The University of Sheffield

Honorary Lecturer in Clinical Psychology

Sheffield Health and Social Care / University of Sheffield

Clinical Tutor

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS FT

Clinical Psychologist

Nottinghamshire Healthcare

Multi-Award Winning Clinical Psychologist, Coach, Resilience and Mental Health expert | LinkedIn Top Voice | Banishing burnout and boosting resilience | Coaching | Training | Research | Consultation


Hi, I’m Jo. Clinical psychologist, coach, and co-founder of Ultimate Resilience.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve worked with organisations like Santander, NHS, Age UK, and Taylor Wimpey to transform workplace mental health. Through our innovative programmes, we’ve helped thousands of individuals and teams tackle stress, build resilience, and thrive in challenging environments.

Why should you trust me?

✔ Decades of Expertise
I’ve spent my career designing and delivering mental health services that work—whether that’s supporting individuals in NHS clinics or helping global organisations create healthier, more resilient workplaces.

✔ Proven, Evidence-Based Solutions
As a clinical psychologist and published researcher, my approach is grounded in science and shaped by real-world results. Everything I deliver—whether it’s coaching, training, or resources—has been rigorously tested to ensure it’s effective.

✔ Award-Winning Results
At Ultimate Resilience, we’ve perfected our approach over years of feedback and evaluation. From reducing workplace stress to building sustainable resilience, our gold-standard services consistently deliver measurable outcomes.

What makes us different?

We tackle stress and resilience at the root.
We don’t believe in quick fixes or generic wellbeing advice. Our programmes are designed to address the core causes of stress, equipping individuals and teams with the skills they need to adapt, recover, and thrive in high-pressure environments.

We champion HR professionals.
Our pioneering HR supervision service is the first of its kind, providing dedicated mental health support to the people who support everyone else. By focusing on the wellbeing of HR professionals, we’re leading a movement to prioritise the mental health of those on the front lines.

Let’s make mental health a priority.

If you’re an HR leader, a business ready to invest in resilience, or someone looking for expert guidance, let’s talk. Together, we can create lasting change—for you, your team, and your organisation. 

❤️‍🔥 6 Reasons HR professionals are walking away

42% of HR people are considering leaving the profession.

Nearly half.

Here’s why...

1️⃣  The emotional toll is relentless – HR absorb everyone else’s stress, trauma, and frustration. But who’s supporting them?

2️⃣  Workloads are spiralling – Compliance, recruitment, employee relations, wellbeing, EDI, change management… all without extra hands or budget.

3️⃣  They’re stuck in the middle – Pulled between leadership demands and employee needs, HR are expected to fix impossible contradictions.

4️⃣  Unfairly blamed – When things go wrong, HR are the first target, despite not holding the power to change systemic issues.

5️⃣  Little recognition or reward – HR is the engine that keeps workplaces moving, yet their contribution is often invisible.

6️⃣  Moral distress – Being forced to deliver actions they don’t agree with (like redundancies handled badly) erodes values and wellbeing over time.

💡 The result? 42% are planning their exit. 

And when HR walk away, the ripple effect is felt everywhere: higher attrition, weaker culture, and a collapse in trust.

Want to stop the exodus?
You MUST

✅ Recognise and value the role HR play 
✅ Acknowledge the emotional toll 
✅ Invest in HR wellbeing and support 

Because if your HR team is burning out, your whole organisation is on fire. 🔥

👉 HR professionals — which of these reasons resonates most with you?

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Dr Jo Burrell

HR is not for the faint-hearted 💜 

When people picture HR, they think of handbooks, hiring, or helping with disputes.

But they rarely think about the human pain HR professionals carry.
Often alone 
Often in silence 

In the past year, I’ve heard hundreds of stories. In emails. Supervision sessions. LinkedIn messages sent late at night.

Stories like these:

▶️ A staff member dies by suicide on-site. Mike in HR is the one guiding the emergency response, comforting colleagues, handling next of kin notifications.

▶️ A junior employee turns up at work bruised and scared. Sally in HR is the only person she trusts enough to say, “I don’t feel safe at home.”

▶️ A long-serving team leader breaks down in a return to work meeting, admitting he has a serious alcohol problem.

▶️ A manager quietly asks HR for help — she’s been secretly supporting her child through inpatient mental health care and doesn’t know how much longer she can keep going.

▶️ An employee disappears. Gemma in HR uncovers the reason: they’ve been hospitalised after a serious overdose.

▶️ Another shares that they were assaulted on a business trip. Nazreen in HR navigates trauma support, legal considerations, and safeguarding — all while respecting confidentiality.

▶️ A grieving parent returns to work after losing a child. Esther in HR walks the line between compassion and operational necessity.

None of this is in the job description.

And yet, it is the everyday reality for many HR professionals.

Here’s what few outside the profession understand:
🧠 These experiences don’t just roll off.
💔 They stay with you.
😓 They accumulate.

🔍 Our survey findings show that only 13% of HR professionals feel adequately supported at work.

That’s why I’m fighting for HR to get the support they deserve.
Structured supervision. Psychological safety. Systemic change.

Because HR professionals shouldn’t have to suffer in silence 💜 

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I'm Dr Jo Burrell
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🛑 6 Alarming Facts About The Hidden Weight of Women’s Work 

1️⃣ Women spend almost an hour more each day on unpaid work
In the UK, women average 3 h 37 m a day on unpaid tasks (housework, caring, volunteering) vs 2 h 43 m for men — a 54-minute gap.

2️⃣ Globally, women do three times more unpaid care and domestic work
606 million women perform unpaid care full-time, compared with just 41 million men.

3️⃣ The “mental load” adds another layer
Women are still more likely to manage the planning, worrying, remembering that keep homes and families running — a form of cognitive and emotional labour rarely named, never paid.

4️⃣ Even in paid work, the care continues
Women are over-represented in education, healthcare, social care — and in HR, where emotional intelligence, empathy and “holding others” are part of the job description (even when it isn’t written down).

5️⃣ Emotional labour is draining — and invisible
Managing others’ feelings, mediating conflict, smoothing workplace tension — it all takes energy, and without recognition or support, it fuels exhaustion and burnout.

6️⃣ The result? A triple load
Paid work.
Unpaid domestic work.
Emotional work — at home and at work.

Each vital. Each demanding. Together, unsustainable.

🛑 Why this matters?
Until we count the invisible load, we don’t account for it and we can’t change it.

Real gender equality isn’t only about pay gaps or promotions — it’s about who carries the weight of care, at home and in the workplace.

--------------------------------
🙋‍♀️Give me a shout if this resonates
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Sorry, this might be a silly question but…

That’s how Gemma – a newly appointed CPO – used to start most of her sentences in executive board meetings.

She’d been promoted into the role after years of hard work, but in that room, surrounded by confident senior leaders, her voice kept shrinking.

🙈 She’d apologise before speaking.
🙉 Downplay her ideas.
🙊 Sometimes stay silent altogether.

In HR Supervision, we explored what was happening beneath the surface.

She wasn’t lacking confidence or competence. 
She was navigating that familiar, impossible tightrope many women face:

👉 To be assertive but not “aggressive.”
👉 To speak up but not “dominate.”
👉 To be confident but stay “likeable.”

It’s exhausting. And it chips away at your self-belief.

Together, we worked on recognising her internal dialogue – the “imposter” voice whispering “don’t mess up…” – and reframing it with evidence of her value, expertise, and the respect she’d already earned.

Over time, her language shifted:

❌ “I might be wrong but…”
✅ “Here’s something I’ve been thinking about…”
❌ “Sorry to interrupt…”
✅ “I’d like to add something…”

And something incredible happened!
🌟 People started listening.
Not because she changed who she was but because she stopped apologising for being in the room.

Now, she’s one of the most respected voices at that table.

✨ Sometimes the work of HR Supervision isn’t about fixing weakness – it’s about reclaiming your power.

Are still finding your voice?
Ask yourself:
What would change if you stopped apologising for being in the room?

------------------------------------------
I'm Dr Jo Burrell
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I’ve never met an HR professional who wasn’t holding someone else’s pain.

The quiet knock on the door.
The tearful “Have you got a minute?”
The disclosure that takes your breath away.

I’m not in HR myself — but I’ve sat beside many HR professionals in supervision. And these are the moments that stay with them long after the forms and policies are filed away.

Because in those moments, HR becomes more than a function.
It becomes a lifeline.

People tell HR things they’ve never told anyone else.
Not their manager.
Not their partner.
Sometimes not even themselves.

And I know what that feels like — to hold someone else’s pain in your hands.
To hear stories of abuse, panic, loss and fear — and stay steady enough to help.

It’s brave work. 
Quiet, unseen, and emotionally heavy.

That’s why HR needs safe spaces too — to process, to reflect, to breathe.

Because no one can keep carrying that much, alone.

❓ What moment has stayed with you — long after the conversation ended?

------------------------------------------
I'm Dr Jo Burrell
Click my name + follow + 🔔 
➡ Join my campaign to #MakeHRHappyAgain ⬅ 
Repost this to add value ♻️ 
DM me to learn about our pioneering HR Supervision service 💌

🔥 If you only listen to one podcast this month — make it this one.

This episode of #TheHRIssue with Chris Britton isn’t just another conversation about HR wellbeing.

It’s personal. 
It’s data-driven. 
And it’s honest.

We dive deep into:

🧠 The results of the 2025 HR Mental Wellbeing Report
💔 The unseen emotional toll HR professionals have carried in recent years
🌿 Why this work — and the wellbeing of HR — is so close to my own heart
💡 Real, practical solutions that can actually turn the tide

Chris is an incredible host — curious, compassionate and deeply committed to this topic. He gave me space to reflect on what we’ve learned from thousands of HR voices, and where to go next as a profession.

If you’re in HR, lead HR, or support HR — this one matters ❤️

🔗 Link to watch or listen in the comments

❌ Imagine doctors or social workers without supervision.

The result? 
Burnout. Mistakes. Moral distress.

No one would think that’s acceptable.

And yet — that’s exactly what’s happening in HR.

HR professionals carry similar levels of responsibility and emotional load:

⚖️ High-stakes decisions about people’s careers and livelihoods
💬 Constant exposure to conflict, distress, and ethical dilemmas
❤️ Supporting everyone else, often at the expense of their own wellbeing

But unlike other professions, HR professionals are expected to do it all without structured support.

🌟 That’s why we launched HR Supervision.

It’s not “just” wellbeing support.
It’s also about:

✅ Improved judgement and confidence
✅ Strengthening professional skills
✅ Making better, safer decisions
✅ Protecting the people who hold everything together

Supervision isn’t a luxury.

It’s what every other high-responsibility profession takes for granted.

The only real question is: 
⁉️ How much is it costing your organisation not to have it?

------------------------------------------
I'm Dr Jo Burrell
Click my name + follow + 🔔 
➡ Join my campaign to #MakeHRHappyAgain ⬅ 
Repost this to add value ♻️ 
DM me to learn about our pioneering HR Supervision service 💌

When HR struggle, it doesn’t stop with HR ❤️‍🔥 

It ripples outward — to leaders, teams, culture, and performance.

In our work, we see it in rising stress, conflict and complaints.  

Yet too often, the signs go unnoticed until the damage is done.

Our HR Mental Wellbeing Survey findings showed just how costly that ripple effect can be — for people and business outcomes.

So I’d love to hear your perspective 👇

What do you notice happens across the organisation when HR are running on empty?

🗳️ Vote in the poll and share your experiences in the comments.

When HR are struggling, what’s the biggest effect across the organisation?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

I’m thrilled to be joining Debra Clark and Claire Bond for this session on Tuesday 14 October.

We’ll be exploring:
💎 The shocking results of the 2025 HR Mental Wellbeing Survey 
💎 Why HR are struggling so munch
💎 How can we turn this crisis around 

I’d love to see you there 💖

View company: Towergate Employee Benefits

FREE WEBINAR: The hidden mental health crisis in HR

42% of HR professionals in the UK are considering leaving the profession altogether. The 2025 HR Mental Wellbeing Report reveals that HR teams are facing unprecedented levels of depression, anxiety and burnout. 

Join our webinar to discover why - and find out how you can better protect your HR teams from the emotional toll of ‘invisible labour’ and constant crisis management.

It’s time to start prioritising HR mental wellbeing. 
FREE WEBINAR REGISTRATION
Tue, Oct 14, 2025 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 

https://lnkd.in/eU3EBaGm

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