One day masterclass, live on Zoom
Burnout is not about doing too much. It is a nervous system that cannot stop.
A practical, trauma informed day that teaches the physiology beneath the exhaustion and gives you the STILL Method tools to recognise, prevent, and recover from burnout, in yourself and in the people you support.
- ACCPH accredited provider
- IPHM accredited provider
- Five hours live on Zoom
- Workbook and CPD certificate
- No prior training needed
- Sunday 20 September 20269:30am to 2:30pm, only 2 places left
- Thursday 12 November 20269:30am to 2:30pm, places available
- Accredited provider, ACCPH and IPHM
- 25+ years in anxiety and emotional health
- Featured in The Guardian and on the BBC
- Thousands of practitioners trained
Understanding burnout
When the body refuses to rest, even though you are exhausted
Burnout does not arrive because you worked too hard. It arrives because your nervous system never received the signal that it was safe to stop.
The autonomic nervous system governs your threat response, and it does not distinguish between genuine danger and a relentless inbox. When it senses sustained pressure without recovery, it holds you in a state of readiness. Stress hormones stay elevated. Focus and decision making suffer. Sleep breaks down. Motivation collapses. What we call burnout is often the body's last attempt to force the rest it was never allowed to take.
That is why a fortnight off so rarely fixes it. If the system is still braced, time away is just a change in the calendar, not a change in physiology. Recovery has to start with safety.
Burnout is not a failure of resilience. It is what happens to a nervous system that has been asked to stay switched on for too long. Stuart Thompson, The STILL Method
The distinction that changes everything
Stress and burnout are not the same state
Most burnout advice treats it as stress that went on too long, and prescribes rest. That is why so much of it fails. These are different physiological positions and they need different responses.
Activated, but still functional
Stress hormones are high and the person still feels driven and alert. The system is engaged and capacity remains. Uncomfortable, but genuinely recoverable with rest.
Depleted and dysregulated
The system has exhausted its capacity to sustain that response. The person feels flat, cynical, and unable to switch off even when they stop. Rest itself starts to feel unsafe.
Why a break is not enough
If the system stays in a threat state, time off gives little relief. Real recovery needs a felt sense of safety re established first, which is a physiological shift, not a scheduling one.
Regulation before recovery
We work with the nervous system directly, using body based tools, reframing, and structured practice, to rebuild the conditions in which genuine recovery becomes possible at all.
Who this is for
Two reasons people book this day
Most rooms are a mix of both, and that mix is part of what makes the day work. No prior STILL training or coaching experience is needed.
You are running on empty yourself
You have taken the time off and come back feeling the same. You want to understand what is actually happening in your body, and have a structured way back that does not depend on willpower.
Teachers, SENCOs and pastoral leads. Social workers and health professionals carrying compassion fatigue. Carers supporting a family member through long term illness. Leaders who cannot switch off.
You support people who are
You want a credible, evidence informed framework for burnout that you can use in sessions from the following week, rather than general wellbeing advice.
Coaches and wellbeing practitioners adding burnout CPD. HR staff and workplace wellbeing leads. Therapists wanting a nervous system lens alongside their existing approach. Anyone building a practice with exhausted professionals.
Being honest
This is probably not right for you if
- You want a full practitioner qualification. This is a one day CPD masterclass, not a certification. The certifications are separate.
- You are looking for clinical treatment for depression or another diagnosed condition. This is coaching and education, and it does not replace medical or psychological care.
- You want organisational consultancy or a culture change programme for a whole staff team. Email us instead and we will point you to the right conversation.
- You are hoping for quick fixes and productivity hacks. The day is built around physiology, and physiology takes consistency rather than tricks.
- You cannot commit to the full five hours and do not want to work through the recording afterwards.
Why this day is different
Grounded in physiology, not motivation
Burnout treated as occupational, not personal
The World Health Organization classifies burn-out in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical condition. We teach it that way, which takes the blame off the individual and puts the focus on conditions and capacity.
Three dimensions, not one feeling
Burnout research consistently describes exhaustion, cynicism or detachment, and a drop in sense of effectiveness. You learn to recognise all three, because people usually only report the first.
Cumulative load made visible
We use the allostatic load model to explain what sustained demand does to the stress response over months and years, so early signs stop looking like ordinary tiredness.
Polyvagal informed, plainly explained
Shutdown, numbness and the guilt that arrives the moment you stop all make sense once you understand states of activation and collapse. No jargon, and no overclaiming what the science settles.
Tools you use on the day
You practise the regulation tools in the session rather than reading about them. Breakout discussions are small and real, and you leave with things you have already tried once.
Built on the STILL framework
Stop, Talk, Imagine, Listen, Learn. Five pillars that work together rather than in sequence, already used by thousands of practitioners across anxiety, grief, pain and sleep.
Scope of practice
What this training does and does not qualify you to do
This is continuing professional development in coaching and nervous system informed practice. It does not qualify you to diagnose, to treat mental illness, or to work as a therapist or clinician, and it is not a substitute for medical or psychological care.
You will be taught to work within a clear coaching scope: recognising signs, supporting regulation and recovery, and referring on when something sits outside that boundary. If you already hold a clinical or therapeutic qualification, this adds a nervous system lens to the work you are already licensed to do.
The programme
How the day is structured
Five connected sessions, each building on the last, so you finish with a complete and usable framework rather than a collection of ideas.
The physiology of burnout
What sustained dysregulation does to the brain, hormones, focus, sleep and immune function, and how to recognise the early physiological signs in yourself and in others.
Safety, threat and the rest paradox
Why people feel anxious or guilty the moment they stop, and how to use nervous system informed tools to make genuine rest physiologically possible again.
Overgiving, guilt and caring roles
The patterns that keep coaches, teachers and carers locked in exhaustion, and how to replace them with sustainable boundaries that hold under pressure.
STILL tools for regulation
Applying Stop, Talk, Imagine, Listen and Learn to burnout specifically, with practice time so you leave having used each one at least once.
Recovery plans and sustainable energy
Building a practical, personalised recovery plan for yourself or a client, and the maintenance that stops the same pattern rebuilding six months later.
Live question and answer
Open time with Stuart to bring your own cases, your own team, or your own situation, and work through what applies to it.
Putting it to work
What practitioners do with this the week after
Add a burnout strand to an existing practice
Coaches and therapists use the framework to open a specialism that reaches exhausted professionals, a group that rarely responds to general wellbeing offers.
Run staff sessions in schools and care settings
Pastoral leads and managers use the material for INSET, staff wellbeing time, and supervision conversations that had no structure before.
Evidence CPD to an employer or regulator
The certificate and workbook give you something concrete for appraisal, revalidation, or a CPD record that needs verifiable hours behind it.
Why we built this
The people who book this are usually the ones holding everyone else up
Across more than twenty five years of this work, the same thing kept showing up. The teacher who never stops. The social worker who takes the difficult case because nobody else will. The coach who holds everyone else's overwhelm and has nowhere to put their own.
They were not short of effort or commitment. They were short of a way to understand what their body was doing, and permission to treat it as physiology rather than a character flaw. Most of what was on offer told them to take a bath and set a boundary, which is not much use to a nervous system that has forgotten how to stand down.
So we built a day that starts with the biology, stays practical throughout, and treats the people in the room as capable adults who need an explanation rather than a pep talk.
You cannot rest your way out of a state your body has decided is not safe to leave. You have to make it safe first. From the masterclass
What people say about STILL Method training
Practitioners across education, health, social care and private practice have trained with us. You can read their words in full rather than take ours for it.
Read the reviews →What you receive
Included with every place
- One full day of live training on Zoom, 9:30am to 2:30pm
- Small group, interactive format with breakout discussions
- Live question and answer time with Stuart Thompson
- A digital workbook to keep and reuse with clients
- CPD certificate from The STILL Method
- 30 day access to the recording, included with every booking
- The full STILL burnout framework, ready to use
- Recovery planning templates for yourself or your clients
Questions
Frequently asked questions
When is the next masterclass?
There are two dates running. Sunday 20 September 2026 and Thursday 12 November 2026, both 9:30am to 2:30pm UK time, live on Zoom. September is nearly full.
How long is the day?
Five hours of guided learning, from 9:30am to 2:30pm, with breaks built in. It runs as one day rather than being split across sessions.
Do I need coaching experience to attend?
No. The masterclass is open to anyone interested in burnout, wellbeing and nervous system informed approaches. It works as a standalone CPD day and as an introduction to the wider STILL Method certifications.
What is the early bird price?
Places are £195. A limited number of early bird places are released at £120 for each date, and once they have gone the standard price applies. Both include exactly the same training, workbook, certificate and recording access.
What is the difference between stress and burnout?
Stress is a state of activation where you still feel driven and alert. Burnout is what happens when the system has exhausted its capacity to maintain that response, so motivation collapses and rest itself starts to feel unsafe. They need different approaches to recovery, and that distinction is the foundation of the day.
What if I cannot attend on the live date?
Every booking includes 30 day access to the recording, so you can work through it in your own time. If neither date suits, book the one that is furthest away and use the recording.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. All participants receive a CPD certificate from The STILL Method, which you can use towards your continuing professional development record. The STILL Method is an accredited provider with ACCPH and IPHM.
Is this relevant to my own burnout, not just professional use?
Yes. Many people attend for their own recovery as much as for professional development. The tools apply equally to your own experience and to supporting others, and you are not expected to declare which one brought you.
Can organisations or schools book group places?
Yes. Group bookings are welcome and are often made by schools, care settings and HR teams for staff CPD. Email train@thestillmethod.org for group pricing.
How does this relate to the wider STILL Method training?
This is a one day CPD masterclass rather than a certification. If you want to qualify as a STILL Method practitioner, see the full certifications on the courses page, all of which are included in the Training Pass.
Book your place
Your nervous system is ready to recover.
If you or the people you support are running on empty, this day will show you what is happening beneath the exhaustion and how to recover in a way that holds.
| Date | Time | Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 20 September 2026 Live on Zoom | 9:30am to 2:30pm | 2 places left | Book → |
| Thursday 12 November 2026 Live on Zoom | 9:30am to 2:30pm | Places available | Book → |
Group bookings for schools, care settings and teams: train@thestillmethod.org
Every place includes the live day, the digital workbook, the CPD certificate and 30 day recording access. The Training Pass covers this masterclass alongside every STILL Method certification.
View the Training Pass →