Explore skills: wellbeing in the wild

Expedition teams spend months obsessing over physical kit lists, rarely preparing for the psychological toll of isolation or team conflict. Yet neglecting wellbeing is a leading cause of expedition failure and post-expedition burnout.

This one-day course will equip you with a 'psychological kit list' for working in remote locations, learning to identify mental health triggers and foster a team culture designed to succeed – even under pressure.

Who this seminar is for:

• Expedition leaders and participants
• Field researchers and scientists
• NGO personnel and humanitarian workers
• Educators and school group leaders
• Outdoor professionals and guides
• Expedition medics and health professionals

What you will learn:

• Psychological demands of expedition and remote environments.
• Techniques to maintain personal wellbeing under pressure.
• Strategies to support teammates’ mental health.
• To build and use a personal 'emotional kit list' as a tool for resilience.
• To foster open, stigma-free communication about mental health.
• To recognise and respond appropriately to mental health crises.

Meet your trainers

Dr Sophie Redlin is a General Practitioner, Expedition Doctor, and Researcher in Medical Anthropology whose work explores the intersections between humanity, health, and the arts. As the co-founder of the ‘Moral Injury Partnership’, she specialises in designing context-specific psychological training and residential workshops for frontline workers navigating burnout and moral injury in humanitarian and expeditionary settings.

Dr Conor Diffin is an Emergency Medicine and General Practice physician with extensive experience in low-income countries and demanding environments. Having summited Kilimanjaro and supported teams traversing the Bartang Valley in Tajikistan, he brings to the seminar a first-hand understanding of the physiological and psychological challenges inherent to wilderness travel.

Dr Imara Gluning is an Emergency Medicine doctor with a background in global health, informed by a childhood spent living across seven countries, including Kenya, Sudan, and Laos. Her professional portfolio includes scoping essential health needs for remote communities in North-Eastern Kenya with the Northern Rangelands Trust and serving as the lead location medic for BBC productions in the Bahamas.

Making a booking

• Advance booking for this event is required. In order to book you will need an account on our website. If you already have an account you will be prompted to log in when you click 'book now'. Please create an account if you do not have one yet (you do not need to be a member of the Society to create an account).
• Due to the administration involved, we are unable to provide invoices for this event. Payment must be taken at the time of booking.
• We do not issue tickets (electronic or physical) for this event. Instead your name will be on a list at the door.

Accessibility at our events

We want everyone to feel welcome at our events. Key accessibility features of this event include:

• Step-free access to the event
• Accessible toilets
• Assistance dogs are welcome
• Hearing loop

For full details, please visit our accessibility page. If you have any questions or specific access requirements, feel free to get in touch with us on access@rgs.org