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Consultant Profile : Hansa Pankhania

Hansa Pankhania is a dedicated and experienced Stress Consultant, Trainer, Counsellor and Psychotherapist. Hansa has been working with individuals, groups and Managers in both public and private organisations for many years. These include Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in Europe, and the NHS.

As part of her degree in Counselling Education and two Diplomas in Stress Management Training (Individual and Corporate), she conducted extensive research into ways of dealing with the impacts of stress and trauma on individuals and organisations. In her previous profession as a senior Medical Social Worker she developed services in woman’s health issues, depression and cancer, amongst others.
 
She offers bespoke Consultancy and Training in Stress Management and other related Personal Development Programmes nationally and internationally - Hansa is one of only seven Stress Management Trainers validated by the International Stress Management Association in the United Kingdom.

Her professional input is informed by her training in Western Psychological Theories and Models as well as her interest in Eastern models of health and wellbeing. She promotes natural ways to reduce stress and optimise health and potential using techniques which have no side effects and can easily be incorporated into a busy lifestyle.

She is devoted to helping people in organisations to reduce stress levels, maximise health and potential and shows an explicit passion for her work.
 
Hansa regularly features on Sky Television, in numerous radio shows and general health publications.

In her spare time she enjoys time with her family and sings in a bollywood band.

Consultant Profile : Carol Pennington

Carol is an independent trainer and consultant with 15 years experience working as a researcher and consultant advising companies and health professionals on handling work related stress.

Originally a member of a University Faculty of Psychology, Carol has worked independently for the last twelve years and during that time has built up close links with a range of Occupational Health professionals carrying out 121 stress risk assessments in association with OH providers.

Carol has provided knowledge and support for a wide range of organisations – including government departments, local authorities, the emergency services, large private companies and health trusts. She currently advises organisations on the measurement and monitoring of stress incidence, the handling of stress related absence and in supporting individuals through change.

A key note speaker at a number of HR, Health & Safety and Occupational Health conferences Carol was a member of the HM Investigative team that reported nationally on the impact of stress on health and sickness absence.

Consultant Profile : Dr Anita Levinson

Anita Levinson is based in Edinburgh but she enjoys travelling to other locations to work. She has a degree in psychology and a PhD based upon the industrial relations aspects of health and safety at work legislation.

In the mid 1980's she was a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh looking at stress and how it affects General Practitioners - this is when her particular interest in stress at work began.  She became a university lecturer specialising in Organisational Psychology that included writing and delivering modules on stress at work. Another area of interest was Business Ethics, in particular the psychological aspects of ethical behaviour.

Along with her academic work, Anita wrote and delivered courses on managing stress in both private and public sector organisations. She has also facilitated focus groups to generate solutions to stress-related problems.  To date, she has run such courses for some 20 years accruing much valuable insight into the pressures currently affecting employees in many organisations.

Life is not all serious though and Anita has many interests other than work. She enjoys tennis, salsa and walking, having discovered the benefits of those endorphins!  She has started to learn Italian and has been going to French classes for the past five years.  Paris is a favourite place to visit, which seems to work its magic on every occasion, leading to feelings of well-being and relaxation. Visits to other areas of France and to parts of the US are special, but equally so are trips to visit her son in Newcastle and her daughter and family in London.

Consultant Profile : Carol Taylor

Carol Taylor’s base in Portsmouth means her work area is primarily in the South and South East, although she always enjoys discovering other parts of the UK.  However, she doesn't like to be away from the sea for too long!   

Discovering a passion for languages at school, she originally trained in Languages and Business Studies, but “drifted” into teaching in a tough inner-city school. Happily, there she discovered her second passion – and talent - for making a difference through learning.  She rapidly moved into management positions in education, in schools and at strategic level, where she honed her skills in all aspects of managing people, developing vision and culture, and working persuasively with partners.  Professional and personal experiences with stress-induced ill-health reinforced her desire to create healthy and productive workplaces by being proactive and thinking “big picture”. 

In addition to the courses she leads for In Equilibrium, Carol works extensively in Executive Coaching, Action Learning and Organisational Development, where again, she thrives on helping people to balance the personal and the professional. She works knowledgeably with private and public sector clients.

As a facilitator, trainer and coach she embraces creativity and fun, yet offers insightful challenge and support. She’s able to balance her academic knowledge with the real-life experience of having “walked the talk.” It’s important to Carol that her intervention results in a “take-away” for the client in terms of action and improvement.

For someone who loves her work as much as Carol, getting the balance right is always “work in progress”! She’s a great fan of Stephen Covey’s “First Things First” : “The key to the quality of life is in the compass – it’s in the choices we make every day.”

For relaxation, she finds walking hard to beat and is amazed at how getting to the top of a mountain can put life in perspective! She’s not ashamed to admit to enjoying TV quiz and cookery shows – her appearance on "The Weakest Link" is in the pipeline! Swimming and jogging help fight the challenges of stress, age and gravity! But if that all sounds too energetic, she also enjoys singing and always finds a place for doing nothing in companionable silence.