lisa whittleton
Warwickshire
Our team have a range of backgrounds, from occupational psychology, disability
management, nursing, and lecturing, but what we all have in common is a strong
passion to make a difference for the organisations we partner with. We do this
through bringing the theory and evidence to life through practical, real life
experience so that you can implement the tools and techniques straight away
within your workplace. We go a step further than simply ‘awareness raising’ and
help you to take positive action. Lisa Whittleton, Director I’ve had an interest
in psychology and how we think, feel and behave since long before University,
quite possibly shaped by personal experiences growing up with close family /
friends affected by mental ill health. My first role after doing a master’s in
occupational psychology (after a short stint in recruitment which was very much
not for me) was working as a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant with wounded,
injured and sick service personnel to help them transition to a new career. This
was totally inspiring and really opened my eyes to the stigmas that exist in
workplaces around mental health and disability. I set up Illuminate in November
2013 as I was keen to influence this positively. At the time, we were not having
the conversations we are now around mental health, so I recognise we have come a
long way…but there is still a way to go to de-stigmatise completely and ensure
we are being proactive around the topic so our teams can thrive at work. I love
building relationships with our clients to really get to understand their world
and the challenges within it to help bring about positive change. Working in
this field is a constant reminder of how easy it is to slip into unhelpful
habits in terms of looking after my own mental wellbeing and achieving the right
‘work-life’ balance. I do have to work hard to practice what I preach, and don’t
always get it right. This is what makes my facilitation real and relatable for
you. I am a people person and tend to be the listener, the support and the new
perspective for many of my friends. I am all about socialising, and love music
festivals and gigs, alongside what I believe is a healthy addiction to
Crossfit…and my cat, Mrs Norris.
