Lisa Whittleton

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.