Vital Skills Summit 2026 - Durham

Different roles. Different pressures. Shared responsibilities.

Wednesday, 2 September 202609:00 – 17:00Teaching and Learning Centre, Durham University | 8 Hours Accredited CPD

4 – 5 Delegates: £10 off per ticket Use code: GROUP4-5. 6 – 9 Delegates: £15 off per ticket Use code: GROUP6-9. 10+ Delegates: £20 off per ticket Use code: GROUP10+.

Vital Skills Summit 2026 - Durham

Different roles. Different pressures. Shared responsibilities.

Understanding Human Experience: What Does It Take for a Human to Truly Reach Out? is a fully CPD-accredited summit held at the world-renowned Durham University, exploring the psychological, social and biological factors that influence whether people seek help, speak up, connect with others or remain silent. With contributions from Professor Fuschia Sirois, Dr Michael Priestley and Dr Marco Bocchio, the event will explore common humanity, self-compassion, procrastination, gender norms, wellbeing, help-seeking, and emerging research into psychedelic and non-psychedelic treatments for depression, anxiety and mental health conditions. Alongside academic insight, the summit will include lived experience of living with a mental health condition, offering a powerful human perspective on what it means to struggle, delay, withdraw, reach out and recover. This event is designed for professionals who work with, lead, care for or support people, offering a deeper understanding of the experiences that sit behind behaviour and the conditions that make genuine connection possible.

Date: Wednesday, 2 September 2026; 09:00 – 17:00
Location: Teaching and Learning Centre, Durham University | 8 Hours Accredited CPD

Speakers

Professor Fuschia Sirois
Professor in the Department of Psychology
Durham University
I am social/health/personality psychologist interested in the factors that create risk or resilience for health and well-being. I have a particular interest in the how self-regulation (how we manage and direct our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours to reach our goals) can impact health and well-being and the factors and qualities that contour people’s capacities to self-regulate. I joined Durham University as a Professor in Social and Health Psychology in May 2022, and was previously a Professor at the University of Sheffield. Prior to arriving in the UK in 2015, I was a Canada Research Chair and the Co-ordinator of the multidisciplinary Psychological Health and Well-being Research cluster at Bishop’s University (2010-2015). I am passionate about communicating the results of psychological science with the public so that research is accessible and impactful beyond academia. To this end, I regularly engage with the public, media, and journalists about research on health and well-being.
Dr Michael Priestley
Lecturer in the School of Education
Durham University
Michael Priestley [he/him] joined the School of Education at Durham University as a Lecturer in 2024. Michael teaches on a range of modules across the BA and MA Education Studies programmes. Prior to this, Michael worked as a Research Associate at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Michael also completed a PhD, MA, and BA at Durham University School of Education between 2013 and 2022. Michael’s primary research interests and expertise relate to student mental health and wellbeing at university, postmodern educational philosophy, and critical educational psychology. Michael’s research to date spans interdisciplinary and participatory mental health theory, methods, and practice, integrating educational philosophy, political sociology, and health psychology to develop recommendations for a whole university approach to mental health in a neoliberal context. Michael applies his research to collaborate with third sector organisations including the Charlie Waller Trust and Student Minds, where he works freelance as Youth Involvement Coordinator and Assessor for the University Mental Health Charter respectively.
Dr Marco Bocchio
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology
Durham University
My groups investigates the neuronal mechanisms that underlie cognition and emotion, with a focus on activity in the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. A central theme of our work is how these circuits are shaped by neuromodulators such as serotonin, and how psychedelics act on these systems. Alongside our Neuroscience research, we also study the effects of classic and non-classic psychedelics on mental health and psychological processes. This includes quantitative and qualitative observational approaches.
Geoff Benning
Nurse Educator
Life Vital Academy
Geoff Benning is the founder of Life Vital Academy and the creator of the Vital Skills Summit. A former intensive care nurse with more than 20 years' experience in intensive and acute care, he has spent his career where clinical expertise meets human connection, and has built Life Vital Academy around the belief that high-quality, practical education can change how people respond when it matters most. Before founding the Academy, Geoff was a key member of the education teams at Jersey General Hospital and Jersey Hospice Care, where he built a strong reputation for delivering impactful, insightful teaching. Today he leads training across first aid, mental health first aid and conflict management, and is known across Jersey for an approachable style and expert insight that make learning practical, engaging and empowering, leaving participants understanding not just what to do, but why each step matters. Through Life Vital Academy and the Vital Skills Summit, Geoff brings together academic research, frontline experience and lived insight to explore the human side of safety, wellbeing and care. His work focuses on kindness, leadership and the everyday behaviours that shape safe, psychologically safe environments, the part of practice that rarely sits in a policy document, but makes all the difference.
Scott Douglas
Keynote Speaker - Lived Experience
For over 20 years, Scott has worked as a production, event and stage manager, always calm, always dependable, the person others turned to when things got difficult. From the outside, everything looked under control. Then Scott experienced a mental health crisis of his own. That experience changed how he sees pressure, performance, and what it really means to "cope." At the Vital Skills Summit, Scott speaks with an honesty rarely heard from the stage, not theory, not textbooks, but what he actually lived. He talks about the masks people wear to look like they're holding it together, the quiet moments that keep someone here, and why the people who appear most in control can be the ones struggling most. Scott's message is simple and hard to forget: don't just look, look again. And when someone needs it, put the person first.

Facilitator

Professor Catherine Reading

Professor, Director of CPD/Professional Development

Durham University

Programme

Welcome and Housekeeping
Opening the summit, introducing the day’s theme, speakers, venue guidance, timings and key information to help delegates feel prepared, comfortable and ready to engage.
TLC033
Exploring how gender norms shape wellbeing, communication and help-seeking
Dr Michael Priestley explores how gender norms shape wellbeing, communication and help-seeking, why people may stay silent, minimise distress, or avoid support, and how safer spaces can enable people…
TLC033
Coffee Break
Exploring research into psychedelic and non-psychedelic drugs and their potential benefits for mental health
Dr Marco Bocchio explores research into psychedelic and non-psychedelic drugs, their potential benefits for depression, anxiety and mental health, and what emerging science may mean for future…
TLC033
Exploring common humanity, self-compassion and procrastination
Professor Fuschia Sirois explores common humanity, self-compassion and procrastination, helping delegates understand how self-criticism, shame and delay can affect wellbeing, coping and reaching out…
TLC033
Lunch
Skills in Action - ITU Psychosis and the lasting effects
This 20-minute talk explores ITU psychosis through lived experience, sharing what it can feel like to face confusion, fear and altered reality in critical care, and the lasting effects this can have…
TLC033
Skills in Action - Mental Health and Young People
Mental Health and Young People explores the pressures, identity challenges and emotional struggles young people face, and how trusted adults and services can better recognise distress, listen well…
TLC033
Skills in Action - Resilience in a Changing World
Resilience in a Changing World explores how connection, adaptability and purpose can help people navigate uncertainty, manage pressure and build sustainable strength in their personal and…
TLC033
Skills in Action - The First Conversation
The First Conversation explores how to respond when someone reaches out, including what to say, what to avoid, how to listen without rushing to fix, and how to help someone feel safe, heard and…
TLC033
Coffee Break
Lived Experience of Mental Health Condition
This lived experience talk explores what it feels like to live with a mental health condition, lose control to services trying to help, and navigate fear, vulnerability, identity and the need to be…
TLC033
What do we do on Monday? Keynote Speakers Q & A
A Q&A with all keynote speakers, offering delegates the opportunity to explore key themes, ask questions, reflect on the day’s learning and connect academic insight with lived experience and practice.
TLC033
CPD and Final Remarks
CPD and Closing Remarks brings the summit to a close, summarising key learning, reflecting on the day’s themes, and outlining how delegates can evidence their CPD and apply insights in practice.
TLC033

Ready to join us?

Secure your place at Vital Skills Summit 2026 - Durham. Registration takes less than a minute.

Registration fee: GBP 150.00

CPD Accreditation

A CPD certificate is available upon completion of the post-event evaluation.

Got a question?

learn@lifevitalacademy.co.uk