Cat Williams Speaker | PHSCE & Lifestyle & Women & Assemblies and Celebrations Events & Well-being & Teacher CPD & Exams & Anti-Bullying & Mental Health & Parents & Conference & Happiness

Cat Williams

Staff and Student Mental Health, Resilience, Relationships and Well-Being expert.

Cat describes herself not only as a professional speaker but as a heart-felt therapist and coach who has spent time 1:1 with hundreds of young people and come to know their individual thoughts and struggles; from familial separation or exam pressure, to peer pressure or social rejection, sometimes sadly leading to anxiety, depression or issues such as diet restriction or even self-harm.

Cat has travelled around the globe with her British Army Officer husband. Initially working as a Physiotherapist before progressing into psychological therapy, coaching and public speaking. Cat’s broad perspective on life and therapy makes her a uniquely engaging & interactive speaker, providing tailor-made presentations and workshops for primary to sixth form pupils, and the staff who teach them.

Each presentation includes real-life scenarios, storytelling, practical strategies, exercises, props, visual aids, hand-outs, active games, educational drama and open discussion. Questions are welcomed and encouraged throughout.

Sessions for Pupils allow them to explore:

1)Strengths, Resilience & Emotional Well-being: happiness, mental health, personality strengths psychology, stress management, self-confidence, mind-set for tests and exams, understanding and controlling emotions and behaviour, self-harm, habits and addictions, responsible use of social media, personal resilience, moral courage, mindfulness, self-hypnosis.

2)Relationships: dealing with bullying, sexual consent, healthy and unhealthy relationships, listening skills, communication skills, types of abuse, cyber-bullying, pornography, difficult relationship scenarios, relationship breakdown, preparing for adult relationships.

Sessions for teachers enable them to:

1)Foster their own emotional well-being; how to discover and use natural personality strengths, minimise stress and maximise potential, (during inspections/busy periods); build and maintain personal resilience, coaching skills to increase collaboration with pupils and colleagues especially when managing challenging behaviour.

2)Learn new techniques; increase confidence delivering lessons on stress management, bullying, emotional well-being, mind-set for exams, understanding and controlling emotions and behaviour, transition, self-harm, responsible use of social media, building healthy relationships, abuse, personal resilience, moral courage and confidence, understanding sexual consent etc.

Cat was recorded for 'Head Talks', a nationwide project which interviews celebrities and experts about mental health. See her in action here.

Click here to view her TEDx talk on emotional resilience and her unique 'Toilet Seat Therapy' approach.

More recently, Cat wrote a piece for the summer edition of Chalk & Chat, the magazine of the Good Schools Guide, which can be viewed here.

Testimonials from Teachers

"It went well thanks, most of the feedback was positive (9 of the 15 people who completed feedback forms scored her 10/10). Cat herself was very easy to deal with, and a number of members of the audience said they'd like to see her come back"

– Alex Brown, AKS Lytham Independent School

"Cat was really lovely and the session was really clever and thought provoking. One of the student ambassadors that was working on the event said she has tried the ‘tapping technique’ that Cat talks about and found it extremely useful and went on to mention it to her course leader (Midwifery) and she has said she’s going to incorporate it into the course ‘self-care’ recommendations. One of the schools also said they would like to use this technique at school."

– Serena Noble, Sheffield Hallam University

"It went well, thank you, the students thought she was insightful and took away some really important ideas from her talk."

– Rebecca Creswell, Co-ordinator of Pupils Personal Development, Warwick School

"We enjoyed meeting Cat, and feedback from parents and staff has been positive. We are investigating a few items that she raised, to see if they might be things that we could offer in school."

– Chris Hammond, Lyonsdown School

"It was a joy to welcome Cat to our staff INSET training. She led a thoughtful, engaging and inspiring presentation that I know will stay in our staff members minds for a long time. In fact, many have already used some of the new techniques and referenced Winnie the Pooh and their Gremlin in conversations. Thank you again Cat!"

– Kate Hodson, Executive Head Teacher, Coningsby St.Michael's CofE Primary School

"The event went very well and the audience were very impressed with Cat."

– Steve Carter, Redbridge Education Partnership

"Many thanks for yesterday. All staff thoroughly enjoyed the session with Cat. She was well prepared, knowledgeable and dynamic in her presentation. I would not hesitate to use Cat again or recommend her to others."

– Kate Caryl, Headmistress, Wakefield Independent School

"Cat was so well received that we were all delighted with how the day ran."

– Marie Tuohy, Headteacher, St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

“Cat Williams gave the students at Stonyhurst an engaging presentation with several practical ways to deal with the stresses of daily life and examinations. The varied nature of the presentation ensured that there was something for everyone to take away with them.”

– Reuban Strain, Syntax Playroom Master, Stonyhurst College

“Cat Williams is a passionate speaker, genuinely concerned about the emotional well-being of young people today. The novel expression of her exploratory, open approach reveals an intellectual curiosity that is infectious. Catch her if you can!”

– Dr Jeremy H Grundy MA (Oxon), PhD (McGill), Headmaster, Birkenhead School

“Cat Williams’ presentation was stimulating and relevant to OFSTED’s SMSC criteria, the story engaged the children and carried an important message about self and social awareness, and emotional well-being, I highly recommend her”

– Mr Andrew Walker, Headteacher, Farndon Primary School

“I loved the assembly and thought that she wrote an amazing story and I thought it should have a standing ovation, also that assembly made me think and made my light shine brighter"

– Year 6 Pupil, Farndon Primary School

“I’ve used every technique that Cat has shared with us and each one has helped me in a positive way, I handle problems now in a way that I never thought I would."

– Libby ‘H’, Pupil at Eagle Butte High School

“The students were very engaged, they gained much personal insight into their emotions, behaviour and the way they relate to others, I had my eyes opened as well!"

– Carol Carlson, Head Teacher, Ralston School, Alberta, Canada

“Cat was a pleasure to have as an instructor. She is organised and professional. The reviews from seminar participants were among the best we have ever received.”

– Sharon Hurlbert, Course Manager, Medicine Hat College, Alberta, Canada

“It was such a tremendous gift of yourself that you gave us today. We all really enjoyed the session and I think everybody got a lot out of it. I thought your delivery was very clever and I really look forward to reading your book.”

– Catherine ‘W’, Teacher

"Cat provided a witty and original way to approach resilience and mental health. Her talk had an audience of 250 boys captivated, with a blend of analysis and diagnosis. Cat’s insistence upon the need to question our fears before tackling any next steps made her stand out from many other talks that have been given on this topic. To walk into class following this talk and have 20 lively 15 year olds want to discuss the issues is high praise indeed. Many thanks!"

– Lloyd Charman, Deputy Housemaster, The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School

"Good afternoon Cat and many, many thanks again for your inspiring session on Monday - all the feedback was very positive across the board. The fact that people continued to talk while you continued to feed us with more and more interesting concepts was a significant sign of how much was gained from having you here! Sincerely - thank you."

– Marie Tuohy, Headteacher, St Vincent's Barnet

"Cat Williams gave a passionate speech to all year groups at Newman College which gave the students practical ways to deal with stress and how they can react to stressful situations in a positive way. The presentation was engaging and varied allowing all students to take something away. Her talk was relevant to fit the PSHE and SMSC curriculum, would highly recommend."

– Stephanie Grimshaw, PSHCE Coordinator, Newman RC College

The session Cat delivered ‘The Bounce Factor – What is resilience, and how can your mindset affect you during job searching?’ was engaging, inspiring and uplifting. Cat was organised, sharing materials in advance and adapting content for our needs. Participants left the session with positive actions to take forward and the feedback from participants reflected the positive approach Cat took to the topic. We are looking forward to working with Cat on future sessions.

– Hannah Perkins, Training and Events Coordinator, Student Futures - Careers and Employability, University of Chester

The session was great, Cat was fantastic and well received by our delegates

– Jessica Hollings-Tennant, Marketing Communications Manager, Ascentis