Stay well and thrive in ’25: how to keep creative, healthy and motivated

This session is part of the Connect & Inspire strand which offers a variety of sessions, from in-person networking and online roundtables to in-depth case studies, designed to promote the sharing of knowledge and the building of relationships across unscripted TV.

It’s been a really difficult few years for the industry and from job losses to wage cuts, almost everyone has been affected in some way.  Reframing the sadly familiar catchphrase: ‘survive until ’25’ - wellness expert and executive coach Gaylene Gould and Michelle Langer will be taking us through tips and strategies for not just surviving but thriving in these uncertain times.  Drawing on their own life experience and personal knowledge of the industry, Michelle and Gaylene will also be discussing and answering your questions about building resilience, keeping healthy, staying creative and finding happiness in small wins as well as practical ways of using change and upheaval as a catalyst for personal and professional growth.

Who it's for

This session is open to anyone in unscripted TV eager to learn more about how they can change shape in their career.

The majority of the USF online short course offering is for those at early career stage and above. As a result, we generally require applicants to have at least 3 credits (unless working in a traditionally uncredited role). If you strongly feel you would still benefit from the training, please email USF@screenskills.com so we can assess if an exception should be made.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible. Please email the above address if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help, be that clarifying the form such interaction is likely to take or discussing reasonable adjustments.

What it covers

This session will take the form of a chaired conversation between two of the industry’s leading experts and thought leaders.

 The discussion will be followed by questions from the audience. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and offer your own thoughts and insights and we encourage as much participation as possible. 

 We will be using Menti alongside the zoom chat function so if you’re not familiar with menti, please download the app ahead of the session.

Speakers

Gaylene Gould’s research for Clore Leadership  into Restorative Care Practices makes the case for restorative care systems being embedded into the infrastructure of cultural organisations. Gaylene embarked on the research as a way to understand her own cycles of burnout throughout her career as a cultural leader while coaching other Black and marginalised professionals through similar cycles. Gaylene has a long career as an arts and film curator including as Head of BFI Southbank, a programmer for Toronto International Film Festival and other roles across the wider arts sector.  Now she concentrates on her own care-based art practice, co-creating spaces of respite, connection and reflection with marginalised people wherever they live, work or play. 

Michelle Langer is a Workplace Wellbeing Expert & Executive Coach who was trained by Dr Deepak Chopra and The Chopra Center for Wellbeing. She has been teaching wellbeing workshops, mindfulness & meditation for almost two decades, helping blue chip companies, public figures and individuals to unlock peak performance and regulate stress. Michelle has helped people from a wide variety of backgrounds; from stretched CEOs to premier league footballers, stressed hedge fund managers to government ministers, celebrities and comedians.  Michelle has worked with over 15 Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, Mastercard, Accenture, Disney, Publicis, P&G, Pfizer, Paramount and the NFL.  Within UK media she has worked with Screenskills, C4 and independent production companies. Alongside wellbeing, Michelle had 30 years’ experience as a television executive producing some of the biggest global entertainment shows (including I’m a Celebrity, Big Brother, X-Factor and Hell’s Kitchen). 

Sophie Morgan has over twenty-five years TV experience as BAFTA nominated and award-winning producer, creative director and commissioning editor.  She now runs consultancy Pontariva, providing creative and business support to freelancers, production companies, industry bodies and broadcasters.

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘get ticket’ at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the “decline ticket” function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.

This session is supported by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.

This course would normally cost participants to attend, but thanks to this support, we are able to offer it to you for free. If you fail to attend, we reserve the right to request reimbursement of costs, unless your place can be taken by someone else.