Izzy - Nursery Practitioner | January 2024
★★★★★
I started at Strive with Sanamente over a year ago and have now completed it. When my employer first suggested it, I was sceptical. I have always struggled with my mental health and self-image and when it was offered to me, I was at the worst point of my life mentally. The scepticism came from trying different therapies before and nothing really working.
However, after one meeting with Linda, I could tell this was different. Strive not only helps with mental health, but teaches you how to deal with anything and everything in the future. The program offered tools for different emotions, meetings and lectures, and staff that make you feel comfortable and heard.
After over a year of meeting with Linda, I feel positive about my future for the first time, willing to try new things, put myself out into the world, and feel prepared for any stressors or situations which may come up in the future. The constant support from Linda, in such a non-judgemental atmosphere, has been my saving grace and I could not be more thankful that I decided to work with Strive.
I would recommend it to anybody who struggles with mental health, family and relationship issues, or self-confidence. This program has changed my practice at work to something supportive, positive and influential to my coworkers. I couldn’t be more thankful for the support Strive and Linda have given me.
H Frost | December 2023
★★★★★
I cannot recommend SanaMente highly enough. The online resources are user-friendly and of a high quality. In particular, the meditation recordings were of real benefit to me. The Tuesday group session is filled with caring people from different walks of life, all there to support one another. My one-to-one sessions have provided such great support and given me a brimming tool kit filled with different ways in which I can navigate situations, feelings and emotions. I know it is cheesy to say, but SanaMente and my one-to-one support have transformed my life having started 2023 in a very different dark place. I am so grateful - thank you to all the team.
Louise Toombs | July 2023
★★★★★
Having 41 staff members taking care of 125 children with diverse needs daily is not easy. I used to face challenges before discovering Linda Neville and her Strive Corporate Solution.
Sickness absences have significantly reduced, alleviating the burden of arranging last-minute cover and the associated costs. One staff member, who had never completed a full month without sickness in years, is now present every day. Dealing with absences and finding suitable replacements was a constant headache, affecting both the nursery's stability and finances.
The positive impact on staff confidence, happiness, and enthusiasm is undeniable. And the children are thriving in an atmosphere of increased positivity and support. The benefits are real. We have saved costs in terms of time, money, and resources. Our working environment is better, and productivity has skyrocketed. Strive has prevented staff turnover and I have redirected employees with performance issues to the programme, seeing huge improvements.
Linda Neville's innovative approach has brought me peace of mind, knowing I have done my best for my employees. I no longer dread coming into the nursery, and the weight that used to burden my shoulders has been lifted. Strive has restored my passion and love for what I do.
Strive is not just a program; it is a game-changer. The improvements I have seen in my staff have had a ripple effect, positively impacting managers, other employees, and most importantly, the children we care for.
Linda Neville's dedication and commitment to creating this solution, which is nothing like the other options out there, has truly transformed my business. Strive’s innovative approach to supporting the mental fitness of my staff has been nothing short of remarkable. She has revolutionised the way we address staff wellbeing and has empowered us to create a nurturing environment for our team.
Louise Toombs
Owner of Shardlow Hall Day Nursery
Karen Byrne | July 2023
★★★★★
The school engaged the services of SanaMente when revisiting our well-being strategy two years ago. The SanaMente approach offered a new dimension to wellbeing, enabling individualised support to help staff understand their own mental health and equipping them with the right tools and strategies to cope through difficult and challenging times.
As an employer, we wanted to offer our staff a compassionate platform that would, in return, work to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism and improve productivity and staff morale. Furthermore, we saw for the first time an approach to supporting staff that provided the employer with key data in terms of engagement levels and value for money, which was vital in providing a way to measure and evaluate the impact of our approach.
Our first full academic year yielded real success against our aims. Of the staff referred to the programme in the first year (selected from staff either at risk of or suffering from mental health-related issues), 75% remained either present in school or had a minimal number of days absence whilst working through incredibly challenging mental health, stress, and anxiety related issues. We saw staff who had previously struggled with certain situations and challenges effectively managing these by referring to methods taught during the SanaMente sessions and the support they received. Other staff have been able to make key changes that they say have put them in a much better work and personal place.
This enabled a positive impact on teaching and learning, avoiding long-term absences and the detrimental effect that this would have on the students. In monetary terms, we estimated that the programme had resulted in a net saving of £13,700 across the academic year against supply costs. Linda leads the programme with expertise, knowledge, and a wealth of experience. This has become a vital service to us as an employer, using key aspects of her guidance gained from years working in mental health to feed into our wellbeing strategy.
We feel well informed and supported, reassured that as leaders we are equipped to manage complex cases in a very specialist area. Linda collaborates with leaders in research and representative corporate organisations to enable continuous development of the programme and how it can benefit employers and employees. Linda will also actively seek our feedback on a regular basis and will take this on board when shaping future developments. As an employer, we would highly recommend SanaMente. Linda has captured a new and refreshing angle to help employers confidently support their employees in a kind and compassionate way whilst yielding positive results.
Karen Byrne
Director of Operations
Pudsey Grammar School
Mount Pleasant Road, Leeds LS28 7ND
Proffessor John Maultby | University of Leicester | June 2023
★★★★★
Alan | June 2023
★★★★★
Having worked with Linda and her team for several years I was excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the founding members of the Strive community. Key to the success of the programme is the ability to access a variety of online resources, including recordings at a time of my choosing and when I need help in the moment. These resources are comprehensive but remain very accessible, with pragmatic ideas for putting these into practice.
All of this is backed up by one to one support which is invaluable in which we are able to discuss progress and concerns acting as a great way to ‘check in’ and reinforcing the feeling that you are a part of a supportive community. I’d have no hesitation in recommending the Strive programme as an excellent way of supporting your mental health.
Peter | January 2023
★★★★★
I have been a Strive member for two years now. The Strive programme has excellent events and resources that benefit my emotional and mental health. I recommend these events and joining Strive. I enjoy weekly Energise sessions online with Clare to help me live healthily in body and mind. I also attend the monthly Refocus events which give me food for thought and I find the speakers stimulating. But I also do use the online Strive platform resources as the go-to place for help when I need it. I highly recommend joining Strive and making the most of this mental wellness resource and community.
Sarah W | December 2022
★★★★★
The team at SanaMente gave me the support I needed. Their website has lots of tools to help with many different things. There are weekly events you can join online. I would recommend a 1:1 session to get you started.
Sarah G | December 2022
★★★★★
Linda gave me the opportunity to join Strive whilst going through a very difficult period... suggesting this may help! My Strive Mentor was extremely patient and allowed me to go at my own pace, guiding when needed but also pushing me forwards... Thank you both! I would highly recommend it!
2 September 2022
★★★★★
I am a Betula member of the Strive community and have been for a few months, during which time I read the Strive newsletter and make use of the excellent member's online resources, which for August's theme of Energy provided some really good material on health and nutrition, including hydration, all of which interested me and I have been able to apply the suggestions to my daily routine.
The Energise live web events each Tuesday evening have provided the impetus and motivation for me to keep going with improving my health and wellbeing and I have really benefited from the support from the kind and knowledgeable Clare, who facilitates the sessions, as well as receiving support from the community of members who also attend and to whom I also try and give support for our mutual benefit. The Energise events tend to complement the month's theme, so in August, we have been talking about Energy and the role food and nutrition play in this.
We have learnt about the benefits of regular hydration with water and not my habit of using sweetened fizzy drinks which I have now kicked with the group and Clare's support and as a consequence feel better and have more energy. I am recognising how eating a good diet, getting my sleep, as well breaks at work, plus exercising has improved and continue to improve my mental wellbeing, as well as my physical health.
I have also been attending regularly the Refocus events which again are live over the web, and we have listened to and had questions answered from experts who speak and get the members thinking about new perspectives on staying mentally and physically well, for example, a session on body confidence, led by Linda, the director of SanaMente, last week, helped to nudge me towards thinking more positively about self-care, as both compassion for others and self-compassion underpin the input I receive with my Strive membership.
I've left the best till last and that is the guided relaxation sessions at the end of each event, optional, but essential as far as I'm concerned, helping me to relax and absorb positive insights from the evening's session. These make the perfect end to a working day, which is always busy.
Louise Toombs | 25 August 2022
★★★★★
Mrs Toombs told us, she has 41 staff looking after 125 children on a daily basis, ranging from babies to eleven years. Each day is different the children have ever-changing needs. The staff have to be able to respond and react to those needs as well as keep parents informed and provide a high-quality developmental service. This requires staff to be flexible, resilient, and confident.
“If the staff are not on top of their game the risks to the nursery are plentiful”
Mrs Toombs explained how things were before she signed up for Strive. She talked about the operational challenges she was facing on a day-to-day basis. She described dealing with absences/sickness and the cost implications when staff must be replaced. Using Agency staff comes with challenges other than the additional cost. The disruption to the continuity of care as the Agency staff are not familiar with the specific likes and needs of the children and the additional burden to remaining staff to lead and supervise them.
There are also ratios in childcare which need to be met i.e., a certain number of staff members must be supervising the children. Having to find quick replacements and dealing with highly expressed emotion, drama and staff conflict took away time and resources from crucial managerial jobs. The cost of poor staff wellbeing to the nursery was huge, not just monetarily but in the currencies of time, effort and resources. The leadership team would be drawn into resolving conflict, managing rooms and picking up day-to-day tasks which distracted them from running the business.
Several staff members were struggling with various emotional issues which fell to Mrs Toombs to manage. Mrs Toombs didn’t only feel drained and stressed, but felt helpless in more serious mental health situations, including crises that she was not qualified to deal with. The pressure led to adverse effects on her own mental health and this was when she sought help, leading to meeting Linda Neville, Owner of SanaMente Services and being introduced to the Strive Corporate Solution.
Mrs Toombs told us she has seen a return on her investment. When we asked her how Strive had made a difference to her business, one of the first things mentioned was a significant reduction in sickness absences. She highlighted one member of staff who had not completed a full month without sickness in her years of working at the nursery. Since being signed up with Strive, this employee has been present every day.
Noticeable improvements have been made in terms of staff’s confidence, happiness, and enthusiasm. Mrs Toombs has also noticed the general improvement of mood in the children and believes that this is due to the increase in positivity in their environment.
Workplace conflicts and tensions have also been eliminated between the staff that are on board. There is a clear difference between staff who have been enrolled and those who haven’t yet.
Real improvements have been seen at the nursery:
Reduced costs in time, money and resources
Better working environment
Increased levels of productivity - when people are happy they can do their job better
Prevented staff turnover, directed the staff with performance issues to the programme
Mrs Toombs also feels reassured that she will avoid any risk of employment tribunals or discrimination accusations. Strive provides evidence that you’ve offered the employee a supportive programme and she feels protected and confident that she has done her best for her employees. Shardlow Hall Day Nursery is regulated by OFSTED and Mrs Toombs is clear that Strive meets the Outstanding criteria for OFSTED for staff wellbeing.
“Strive is not an impulse buy - many may be sceptical at the start like I was but I have seen a number of genuine improvements in my staff which has had a knock-on effect on the managers, the rest of the staff and the children, I am delighted”.
She added that staff are now productive, on the ball and enthusiastic about work. Stress levels have been minimised, not only for the staff, Mrs Toombs has felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders as a business owner. There was a time recently when she dreaded coming into the nursery, working a 50-60 hour week - it was completely draining and affected her own mental health, personal relationships as well as the business.
Staff have grown in confidence, and some have even begun to take on extra leadership duties. She knows she is doing everything to support her staff and business. She is reassured that her staff are being supported, their progress is being monitored and she is excited that her company is part of this exciting programme and will benefit from the next step of research to create an interactive quality dashboard to demonstrate further improvements.
Finance Director | 14 June 2022
★★★★★
As a company, we had real concerns for the mental health and wellbeing of some of our employees. Many had been working from home during the pandemic and were expressing anxieties about returning to the office. In addition, the commercial landscape was changing, costs are increasing and the need to increase productivity has never been more acute.
We were drawn to Strive because of the depth of knowledge skills and experience of the founder and mentors. Having explored the market Strive offers a unique clear process for assessing and monitoring the progress of the employee. Their strict approach to confidentiality fosters confidence in those who use the platform and the breadth of services aims to address all learning styles. Resources are presented in video, audio and written format and supported via live webinars and online individual mentoring sessions.
Six months in and our team is thriving, there are observable changes such as;
Increased confidence in decision making
Better time management
Improved relationships and productive conversations
An energetic buzz around the office
One person with a history of stress-related sickness absence has reported that because of the support from Strive, they have remained well and at work. This person holds a key position, their absence would have been significant to the company in a loss of knowledge, reduced productivity and lost financial perspective. By keeping this one person at work we have trebled our overall return-on-investment over this short period. I cannot thank Strive enough.
De Montfort University Student | 17 February 2022
★★★★★
In regards to SanaMente, please do make more events with this company. I think the way Linda was expressing herself and her work was genuinely amazing.
I don't think I need therapy but, I will definitely join their newsletter and some programmes they have. I think one of the things that have made me make this decision is because today we were talking about generally "acceptance with one's self" and this is something that I really struggle with because there is no judge harder than me. It's crazy how little events in life mark your pattern and colour the glasses you view through life. Definitely taking on board every single word that was spoken today
Louise | 10 February 2022
★★★★★
What made you join Strive?
I felt I was a little lost in myself and needed some help to find my happy place. I liked the fact that you were able to do it at your own pace, there was no pressure and I didn't have to conform to time but there was someone there on hand if I needed it. There was constant guidance and support but I didn't feel pressured and I also liked the community of people that are going through their own journey making you feel like you are not alone.
Did you get what you expected?
Yes, and more, from my very first session with Linda how comfortable she made me feel, she made me feel straight away strong enough that I could face my demons. I thought it would have been a longer process before I got that spark. I never thought I would like the group sessions but I find them really insightful and helps me to understand what's going on in my mind and how to deal with it in my own way.
How has it helped?
Now when I am anxious about certain situations, I have strategies in place to deal with those and I can face my fears and deal with the situation in a better frame of mind. It’s also made me say yes to doing more things too. Before I would try to make excuses when people asked me to go out and do things, but now I find myself broadening my network, going out doing more things and socialising more. I actually want to go out and socialise more, instead of sitting at home anxious.