2025 Workshop on “Resilience is Key to Preventing Burnout.”

The workshop was brought to life by the experienced speakers, who shared during the open panel discussion valuable insights on the central question: Can resilience prevent burnout? Their insights also inspired the audience, offering a fresh look at preventing burnout through resilience — the core theme of the event. The panel brought together professionals from diverse backgrounds to explore strategies for preventing burnout through resilience.

Among the speakers of the workshop were: 

• Prof. Carmel Cefai – Director of the Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, an expert in social-emotional learning and school wellbeing.
• Prof. Christopher Anthony – Associate Professor at the University of Florida, specialist in assessment and social-emotional development.
• Prof. Paul Bartolo, an educational psychologist and former International School Psychology Association president, focuses on inclusion and mental health in education.
• Dr. Ronald Zammit – Registered Clinical Psychologist, CBT/DBT practitioner with a background in trauma and complex mental health.
• Lorinda Mamo – Lorinda Mamo shares her parenting experience through medical challenges, offering a personal perspective on resilience, self-care, and finding strength in everyday moments.
• Matthew Bartolo – Years of experience as a psychotherapist, trainer, and founder of a multidisciplinary mental health team – Willingness. 

Danica Cassar, a health psychologist with expertise in CBT and ACT and a partner at Willingness, coordinated the discussion. 

Burnout and Resilience – The Basics

Matthew Bartolo opened the workshop, clarifying the basic concepts and laying the foundations for an open discussion. He introduced the theme of preventing burnout through resilience. It consists of three intertwined dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, which refers to a cynical attitude towards work, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, which includes feelings of ineffectiveness and reduced productivity at work. 

Resilience, on the other hand, is both the process and the result of successful adaptation to challenging life situations, supported by flexible thinking, emotion regulation and behavioural adaptation. Secure attachments in childhood, which include trusting people and feeling accepted and safe, help to build resilience. Alongside this, Matthew also stressed the importance of the environment in fostering resilience, thus stimulating further discussion.

Distinguishing Between Stress and Burnout

At the beginning of the discussion, Dr. Ronald Zammit explained the difference between normal stress and burnout. Stress can serve us well, e.g., by encouraging us to prepare for a test that we would not have done if we had not been stressed. But it becomes problematic when there is too much of it, and we feel that we are no longer in control. 

He used the metaphor of a rucksack, in which we add more and more stones as we go along. The backpack gets heavier and heavier until the person can no longer carry it and collapses under its weight. This metaphor illustrated the need for preventing burnout through resilience.

Building Resilience – A Skill for Everyone

The rest of the panel then highlighted other aspects of resilience. Sometimes, resilience is seen as a trait you either have or don’t have. Over time, it has become clear that resilience is more like a muscle we can all strengthen. This perspective reinforces that preventing burnout through resilience is a skill we can all learn, like building a muscle over time.

Resilience Traits and the Role of Effort

Attitudes to work and, in general, how we view the problems we face play a significant role in resilience. To the extent that we perceive them as more of an obstacle and we do not feel truly competent, the difficulties will weigh us down and exhaust us, but to the extent that we experience them as a challenge, they may motivate us to move on. Clear boundaries between work and private life, as well as relationships, are also meaningful. Relationships are the heart of resilience and mental health. These characteristics give an individual a sense of control over life, i.e. I can do it. They also include beliefs that asking for help, saying no, and being assertive are acceptable. Developing these traits is essential for preventing burnout through resilience in both personal and professional environments.

Environmental Factors That Shape Resilience

In addition to the individual’s efforts, the speakers also stressed the role of context, as the environment can promote or suppress an individual’s sense of control over their life. 

We need to start with children by reducing sources of stress in the environment. Children need to grow up in an environment where they feel safe and accepted, as this promotes healthy self-esteem. When we don’t feel accepted, our self-esteem is affected. Unhealthy relationships and emphasis on competition create stress and disable people from flourishing. These drawbacks do not apply primarily to the family context but also to other contexts in which children grow, such as school. 

This situation leaves the question of how to structure a curriculum that will contribute to this. We need to promote education that focuses on a child’s strengths and gives them the feeling that they’re valuable to the school. Every kid has areas of strength and areas that need to be developed. You have to have a system in place that can address these things.

Thus, they need to be taught key resilience skills, i.e. coping skills to deal with stress and social skills that will enable them to form healthy relationships. 

Society, parents, and teachers must also be educated to promote these skills. Encouraging environments also need to be created for adults because adults can only care for others when they are okay. This proposal would include educating employers, who can also significantly influence the environment of their workers through their decisions. 

Biological Wisdom – Sleep, Diet and Exercise

The discussion also highlighted the biological aspect, which is increasingly coming to the fore. The line between the biological and the psychological is blurring, as it is becoming increasingly clear that the wisdom of the grandmothers, which addresses the importance of sleep, diet, and exercise, is of immense significance for the individual’s mental health. So, we must promote healthy lifestyles in schools and the workplace. 

Burnout Beyond Work – A Personal Story

Burnout is not limited to the workplace but can also occur due to personal life. Here, Lorinda Mamo shared her experience of burnout in the face of personal challenges. First, her son faced health problems, and then she was diagnosed with cancer. She inspires the audience with her positive attitude and says that her son strengthens her. She emphasised the importance of how we perceive life’s challenges and of seeking help when we need it. 

The Role of Mental Health Professionals

Some people find it difficult to talk about their problems. As professionals, it is vital to approach them with compassion and validate and normalise their feelings. Teaching people to be assertive, to say no initially to small things, and to approach their struggles with compassion are key to supporting their resilience. 

Taking Care Of Ourselves Is Also Needed Here

Alongside all this, as professionals, we also need to take care of ourselves. We have to be aware of our internal world. Strengthening our sense of control, agency, and mindfulness is important. All this helps us regulate our emotions. The best way to take care of our clients is to care for ourselves. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

At the end of the meeting, all the experts gave their final thoughts, summing up the whole discussion. They stressed that we should strive to see problems as challenges and to create environments that foster resilience, i.e. removing unnecessary sources of stress and strengthening individuals’ resilience skills. It is also important not to forget healthy lifestyles and to build healthy relationships. Namely, we bend better when we are supported. Take the risk of connecting with other people as long as these people are safe and sound.  So yes, surround yourself with people who give you a sense of purpose and support you in growing. The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to preventing burnout through resilience, community support, and healthier environments.

Barbara Gungl holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Maribor and is expanding her horizons as an intern at Willingness. Passionate about helping others, she has experience working with youth and adults as a scout and through other organisations. Her endless curiosity drives her interest in neuroscience research and relationship communication dynamics. At the same time, she strongly believes in the power of kindness, honesty, and the desire to grow, igniting a small spark that can turn into a flame. After all, it’s the little things that count.

Willingness delivers CPD trainings annually, featuring internationally renowned speakers from various fields. These workshops are designed to equip professionals with practical knowledge and tools to enhance their work and better support the communities they serve. View upcoming workshops here.