Healthcare professionals working in acute settings are exposed to sustained pressure, high-stakes decision-making, and frequent encounters with distress and uncertainty. While resilience is often cited as essential for maintaining wellbeing and performance, it is rarely operationalised in a way that feels practical, accessible, or immediately applicable in clinical environments.

This presentation introduced How to Be Resilient (HTBR), a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-informed framework designed to translate established psychological principles into clear, usable strategies for healthcare staff. The approach drew on core CBT models, alongside contemporary understandings of stress appraisal and emotional regulation, to offer a structured yet flexible way of responding to pressure.

A central feature of the talk was the ‘script’ metaphor, used to describe the automatic, learned patterns of thinking that can shape perception, emotional responses, and behaviour under stress. Rather than focusing on challenging or changing thoughts directly, the model emphasised recognising the presence of the script and developing the ability to choose responses independently of it. This aligned with emerging perspectives on metacognitive awareness and psychological flexibility.

The session outlined key components of the HTBR model and demonstrated how these could be applied in real-world clinical contexts. Practical techniques were introduced that could be implemented in the moment, without requiring extensive training or additional time burden.

By reframing resilience as a set of trainable cognitive and behavioural skills, this approach aimed to move beyond abstract recommendations towards actionable strategies that support both staff wellbeing and sustained clinical effectiveness.