Meet The (Dream) Team
Rest assured that your business is in incredibly safe hands. From Head of Wellbeing to Chief Medical Officer, our talented team works behind the scenes to make the magic happen. And by ‘magic’ we mean totally revolutionising mental wellbeing at work, one winning resource at a time.
Jim Woods
CEO
Find your wellbeing go-to’s – things you do every day that build your foundations. For me, that’s running every morning to inspiring podcasts, and getting to bed at a good hour. The fun comes from experimenting with new things, where you’re allowed a refreshingly high failure rate.
Alfredo Belfiori
CTO
I feel that my best achievements are not realised in a specific moment, but when I get them into a routine: for example getting fit. I feel it is a success as soon as I get the routine to get fit in my daily routine, in a way that it becomes what I like doing. It makes me feel free to make mistakes, because I know that in the long run, the routine will win.
Helen Gillett
COO
Optimism is connected to certainty and a sense of control. Positive habits bring certainty e.g a walk every day, or choosing when and how to consume the news. This can really help when many other things (or indeed everything) feel out of control and uncertain. So build those positive habits and lean on the optimism they generate.
James Dashwood
Head of Wellbeing
Try and stay connected to people. Whether that’s calling a friend, sending a text or having an honest conversation with your partner, Finding ways to connect with people is one of the most important aspects of wellbeing.
Chetna Teckchandani
Customer Success Executive
I drink water that is stored in a copper vessel as it is good for your health.
Elisabeth Snegir
Supplier Relationship Administrator
Don’t let your phone be the first thing you look at in the morning. I’m incredibly guilty of this. But I know I feel so much better if I just take 2 minutes to stretch and think of what I’m looking forward to today (even if, that is as seemingly insignificant as a cup of tea). Trust me- your body will thank you.
Iain Jordan
Chief Medical Officer
Motion before emotion. If you wait for motivation it may never come. just start something small.
Abderrahim Boutorh
Software Developer
Get your 8 hours sleep every day. make it a priority before anything else!
James Alexander Lee
Software Developer
Try to have something to look forward to. Can be something big, can be something small. But having something to work towards can provide the motivation that you need.
Nishita Morjaria
Customer Support
To be like a Lotus flower, it rises through the mud, yet it does not allow the dirt to affect its growth and beauty.
Hemma Mason
Head of Supplier Partnerships
Being fully present is a suprisingly hard thing to do. Find 5 mins a day to be fully present, no thinking about the past or worrying about the future but fully present in the activity or conversation your engaged in. You will be surprised at how great it feels and the affect it will have on your life as a whole.
Justin Southam
Account Executive
Treat yourself as you’d treat others. You wouldn’t expect your friends to be perfect all the time, so don’t hold yourself to unrealistic standards either.
Holly Tree
Marketing Executive
Journaling! I cannot recommend journaling enough. The wonderful thing about journaling is there is no right or wrong way to do it. Video blog, one word to describe the day, a 4 page entry detailing you thoughts and struggles that day. What ever you need that day to organise your thoughts and calm the mind.
Petra
Customer Support Advisor
I believe most people thrive on consistency, and a regular schedule. The key for consistency is setting and achieving specific goals. Start by determining how you want to be more consistent in your life, and aim for small goals first. Over time, keep yourself motivated and try out different things
Louise
Finance Manager
Always take time to get outside and enjoy the sun when it’s out. Life can be busy and we get consumed by to-do lists and endless jobs, but taking time, even just 5 minutes to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine helps you to reflect on what’s really important in life
Natalia
HR & Team Administrator
Find a passion which brings you satisfaction and a smile. Sometimes you may wait a bit longer to discover the new thing which you really enjoy and which helps you grow. Taking up the piano after 30 years was a huge, positive surprise. Practicing the piano (even if sometimes I sound like a 5 year old) is like a form of meditation for me.
David
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Michelle
Account Executive
Cara
Business Development Representative
I think that setting boundaries is a key part of your personal wellbeing. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so knowing when you’re at capacity and prioritising yourself is often the most selfless thing to do.
Jack
Business Development Representative
Celebrate the little wins. It is very easy to set grand goals and targets, and never feel satisfied until we hit them. The small wins along the way should be enjoyed too. This helps with movitation, but also means you enjoy the journey a bit more. This way even if you don’t hit your end target, the time spent was not wasted.
Katie
Supplier Relationship Administrator
Everybody is different, so do what you enjoy – whether it’s yoga, martial arts or just going on a walk, the benefits of exercise will always be there no matter what you choose to do.
Ehsan
Data Analyst
Be kind to yourself. It’s important to learn from mistakes but never dwell on them for too long, prepare for the next challenge and take the opportunity to make up for the past shortcomings. We only improve iteratively.
A Letter from our Founder, Jim Woods
Where It All Began
Three years ago, I lost my 6th friend to suicide. My wife and I had visited her at a psychiatric unit in Oxford, but she hadn’t wanted to see us. She wanted to leave this world, and her suffering, behind.
In that moment, I truly understood one thing: if you want to help people, you have to get in sooner.
By a twist of fate, an opportunity to make a real difference in the world of mental health came my way. London’s prestigious Zinc incubator had a call out for entrepreneurs to tackle the mental health crisis, and I knew I had to act.
Through Zinc, I met Oxford University Psychiatrist Dr Iain Jordan, and life was never the same. Iain introduced me to the six areas that have the greatest impact on our wellbeing: Sleep, Exercise, Meaningful activity, Social connections, Helping others, Stress Management.
Iain explained how these six pillars formed the foundation of his work in helping patients to improve their mental health. After taking them to countless experts, and having them medically evaluated, it became clear that they really did work.
But while the experts knew this, most people didn’t.
Creating Betterspace
In our great scientific era, we have medicalised the problem of mental health. But while medication is essential for some, we knew there was much more to it. So the six pillars became our operating system: a way to educate people around mental wellbeing, and to help them thrive.
Together, Iain and I realised that the world of workplace mental health was missing personalisation, choice, and freedom. A place where employees could choose their own wellbeing path, against a budget set by their employer.
So we tested our trailblazing concept with London law firm Linklaters. The result? A 94% engagement rate, with 71% of employees reporting improved mental health and literacy.
And so Betterspace was breathed into life.
I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve achieved so far, and it delights me that we’re now seeing the first generation who are not only actively looking for employers who will look after them, but who are prepared to leave an employer that fails to do so.
Which means the time for organisations to prioritise employee wellbeing really is now.
Our Advisory Board
(or mental health gurus, if you will)
Experts don’t come any more, well, expert than our Leadership Board. With Dr Iain Jordan at the helm, our Board of mental health experts has two critical objectives:
To ensure that everything Betterspace does is backed by a strong, evidence-based approach.
To make sure that Betterspace is fulfilling its social mission to help tackle the mental health crisis.
In fact, this whole platform (along with our six pillar approach to wellbeing), was developed in consultation with every last one of them.
Dr. Iain Jordan
Chief Medical Officer
Inventor of the 6 pillars and a man with 30 letters after his name. Iain is no ordinary psychiatrist. As well as being a consultant psychiatrist in psychological medicine at Oxford University Hospitals and a mental health adviser at ZINC and numerous start-ups.
Gregor Henderson
Director Mental Health, Public Health England
Gregor is the National Lead for Wellbeing and Mental Health with Public Health England, a national agency responsible for leading work on improving the health and wellbeing of the population in England.
Nigel Jones
Advisory Group Chair, City Mental Health Alliance
Nigel Jones is the former Chair of the CMHA where his term ended in 2019. Until April 2018, his primary professional activity was as a partner at Linklaters, where he had worked for 32 years. His professional focus is now on business coaching. Nigel created Linklater’s healthcare sector, leading it for 2 decades.
Jenny Edwards
Former CEO, Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation is the originator and promoter of Mental Health Awareness Week, among many other areas of work. Earlier in her career, Jenny was Chief Executive of Homeless Link and Director of the National Campaign for the Arts. She has also been a member of a number of national policy and advisory groups.
Nick Pahl
CEO, Society for Occupational medicine
Nick manages the SOM team and it’s overall operations and resources acting as the main point of communication with SOM Trustees, leading on policy issues and relations with Government and stakeholders.
Sian Rees
Director of the Oxford AHSn
Siân leads the Oxford AHSN Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Experience theme, working across the region with colleagues in other AHSNs, NHS trusts, research organisations and other partners. Siân also carries out research on experiences of health and healthcare at the University of Oxford. She is an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College.
Zoe Eccleston
Workplace Health and Wellbeing Consultant
Zoe has 20 years experience in corporate health and wellbeing. After designing wellbeing programmes for RWE npower, British Gas, PepsiCo, Vodafone and Bloomberg.
Values to live by
You don’t get far in life without a solid set of values to guide the way. Our values are what we live by: informing every decision we make, and influencing every nugget of advice we dish out.
Celebrate Difference
We know that our uniqueness makes us stronger. When we share our stories we connect, and with that comes energy and power. We understand that everyone is on a different wellbeing journey.
Be Fearless
We share ideas, safe in the knowledge there is space to be heard. We listen, but don’t feel we have to agree. We take action.
Greater Than the Sum of our Parts
We learn from mistakes and find solutions together. We know the team is stronger than any group of individuals. We’re better together.
