Speakers

We have invited experts in their field to speak at the symposium, who will share their knowledge about maintaining the mental well-being of employees in their presentations.

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Based on his global work to educate mental health staff, Danish psychologist Niels Peter Rygaard will conduct a seminar on three topics. Each topic is followed by reflections and discussions in the audience. Working with traumatized youth is an important cause of re-traumatization in both individual and staff groups, impeding their ability to provide secure care. Presentations and group discussions will cover three topics:

1. What are the causes poor mental health in Europe´s youth?
2. How can we understand and work with individual and staff group re-traumatization?
3. How can leaders support their staff groups? A model of effective group development.

About the speaker:

In 2006, Niels formed an international network of researchers in high-risk children and youth. To educate mental health workers in care for traumatized children and youth, he created the Fairstart Foundation, partnering with NGOs and government agencies worldwide. 950 staff in Europe and 25 world countries are now educated in online classrooms, and have trained the caregivers of 90.000 high-risk children and youth. Niels is a member of the APA International Division, the European Federation of Psychologist Associations, and the PCUN group for children in migration. In 2020, he received the APA Award for Humanitarian International Work for Underserved Populations, and in 2023 the International Coalition of Psychologists Award for Human Rights. In the words of professor Chris Groark, Un. of Pittsburgh: “Niels´ educations, presentations and research papers have influenced practitioners and policy makers and improved the lives of thousands of children and their caregivers. His worldwide impact is phenomenal.”

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In this engaging and practical session, we will explore how to improve and maintain good mental health. Together, we will look at key principles and everyday practices that help us stay mentally well and support the wellbeing of those around us. We will explore topics such as how to recognize our own mental state more clearly, and how to respond with simple, effective exercises to care for ourselves when challenges arise. The session includes reflective moments and short hands-on tools that participants can immediately apply in their daily lives and workplaces. In the end part of the session we will share the insights into the work of our organization, Peaasi.ee, and how we promote mental health and fight against stigmatisation.

About the speaker:

Umberto Dorus Geerts, has an educational background in Social Pedagogy and European social policy and intervention. He works directly with young people and families in different settings but in recent years focuses more on training professionals working in the field of education.

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In the emotionally demanding work with at-risk youth, self-care is not a luxury, it is essential. This experiential sound therapy session combines the deep, transformative resonance of gongs with psychological insights into stress release, nervous system regulation and emotional resilience. Participants will be guided through a unique sound journey where the body and mind can release accumulated tension, restore balance and reconnect with inner resources. The session integrates short reflections and practical takeaways on how to use sound and simple self-regulation techniques in daily life.

Participants will leave with simple tools they can integrate into their daily routines, enhancing their well-being beyond the session.

About the speaker:

Andres Põhjala – therapist, counsellor and sound journey facilitator from Estonia.

Andres combines transpersonal psychology, trauma-informed counselling and the ancient practice of gong sound journeys to support emotional healing, personal growth and physical restoration. With a background as a therapist, coach and peer support, he specialises in creating safe, transformative spaces where participants can release stress, restore balance and reconnect with their inner resources. Andres has facilitated sound journeys and therapeutic workshops for diverse audiences, including mental health professionals, educators, corporate teams and personal development groups.

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In this session Mart invites us to examine one of the most pressing issues in modern organizations: the profound role employers play in shaping employee mental health, motivation, and overall performance. Drawing on evidence-based research, this session will explore not only the fundamental needs of employees but also the essential components, stages, and purposes of the experiences they encounter in the workplace. We will look at the opportunities and risks of designing such experiences, the different forms they may take, and the critical considerations leaders must keep in mind to ensure success. Just as importantly, we will address why some initiatives fail, and how performance can be measured to create sustainable impact. This session sets the stage for a deeper conversation on how organizations can transform the employee experience into a driver of both well-being and organizational resilience.

About the speaker:

Mart Reimann is an ecotourism and adventure tourism educator and entrepreneur. Mart is a research fellow at Tallinn University. His focusing on outdoor recreation research and education. Mart´s research and more than 50 international scientific publications include landscape recreational values, tourism impact on local communities, rural tourism clusters, visitor behavior, adventure tourist motivations and risk management issues. Mart teaches several ecotourism and outdoor recreation courses. Board member of Estonian Nature Tourism Association, member of Estonian adventure tour guides certification committee, Estonian Ramblers`Associacion, Britsh Canoe Union, Estonian Rural Tourism Association.. His trainings lectures and travels have taken him to over 100 countries around the world. Mart Reimann founded company Reimann Retked in 2003 which organizes active nature and culture tours to Estonian For 4 years Reimann Retked had a daughter company Reimann Reiser in Norway, which organized adventure tourism activities in Norwegian fjords and mountains. Mart has spent more than 500 days  since February 2022 in Ukraine working with frontline communities and lecturing in universities in Zaporiizhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv. Mart did cross Baltic Sea with kayaks unsupported from Estonia to Sweden 180 km with 36 hours, did ski through Estonia (310 km), did kayak Estonian coastline (580 km), did win the Europes longest Gauja kayaking race (420 km) and have got twice a bronze medal from world longest and hardest paddling marathon Yukon River Quest (715km) in 2008 did solo kayak in western Greenland. Mart has been author for several programs connected to outdoor recreation and wilderness survival for Estonian TV and radio channels as well as several articles in journals and newspapers

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This workshop aims to provide participants with an inspiring and practical experience that strengthens their ability to support children while maintaining their well-being. Participants will gain an overview of effective theoretical perspectives and practical approaches that help to sustain inner balance, resilience, and motivation in everyday life.

Workshop Themes

1. Emotional Resilience – Self-Compassion as the Key to Balance

• Understanding resilience as the capacity to deal with difficult emotions.
• How attitudes towards oneself influence emotional well-being.
• Developing self-compassion as the foundation for coping in demanding everyday life.
• Finding the balance between compassion for others and preserving personal well-being.

2. Self-Worth and Self-Esteem – Recognizing Your True Value

• Building unconditional self-worth in both good and challenging situations.
• Strengthening self-esteem in the face of difficulties.
• Cultivating a healthy sense of being that supports authenticity and confidence.

3. Motivation and Inner Growth – Unlocking Potential

• Discovering intrinsic motivation and aligning with personal values.
• Realizing and applying one’s true potential in daily life.
• Using the PERMA wellbeing model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) to manage daily satisfaction and emotional balance.

About the speaker:

Ülle Pind is a seasoned management consultant, trainer, and coach with a rich background in HR leadership and strategic development. She has served in senior roles across sectors—banking, telecom, and manufacturing—including Swedbank Estonia, Ericsson Estonia, and Elcoteq Tallinn.

She is committed to lifelong learning, with advanced training in executive coaching from AoEC (London), studies in HR management at Tallinn University, and communications at the University of Tartu. Today, besides her consulting and coaching practice, Ülle fosters creative and restorative learning through PintDaly and PeopleFirst —her wellness retreat and arts center in Pärnumaa—where she offers workshops in serene, natural surroundings, often integrating her passion for ceramics and creative practice.

Her facilitation is praised for being practical, engaging, warm, empathetic, and impactful—combining deep professional insight with human-centered connectiveness.

Ülle’s guiding purpose has always been to support human well-being within organizations. She firmly believes that only people who feel well and cared for can contribute their best to an organization and its goals. Achieving this, however, is always a two-way process, where both the individual and the organization must find the necessary common ground.

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Multiple music award winner, director and producer Marta Vaarik is an Estonian interdisciplinary artist who uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to depict personal stories and bold gestures that question prevailing cultural norms, breaking down traditional narratives. Unlike serious themes, Vaarik’s works are more frivolous in tone. Through her work and media personality, Vaarik seeks to initiate a dialogue on contemporary social problems and societal structures. Her latest exhibition “Hold me tightly” has received acclaim from both audiences and critics and has traveled across the country, revealing otherwise hidden themes and stories to the public. The “Hold me tighlt” project grew into a feature-length documentary, which is expected to premiere in the spring of 2027. Vaarik is also working on a second full-length documentary, “My Grandmother – Taboo Breaker,” which intertwines the story of the 95-year-old protagonist with the experiences of four generations of women, revealing the changes in women’s sexuality and intimate lives over the past hundred years in Estonia.

Marta will join the panel discussion with young people from the NGO Sa Suudad.

The goal of NGO Sa Suudad is to support young people who have and/or have had difficult times in
their lives, that is, young people who exhibit or have exhibited high-risk behavior.
They stand up for young people through advocacy and try to create different forms of support
together with young people that meet their needs.

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One of the most comprehensive theories of human motivation is Self-Determination Theory, which might help us to understand the adolescent development, also of those from vulnerable backgrounds. Why is the quality of motivation more important than the quantity of it; and what are the types of harmful motivation? Why is taking the adolescents’ perspective one of the most crucial skills for the adult and how long we need to learn it? What supporting the feeling of autonomy actually means and what is the opposite of that? Why is suppressing and ignoring all of the basic psychological needs so harmful, and how we might unknowingly do that? During the lecture/seminar, we aim to discuss these and other motivation-related issues; participants’ questions and and other contributions are welcomed.

About the speaker:

Grete Arro (PhD in Psychology 2014) works as a researcher in educational psychology at the School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University. Since 2005, she has worked as a researcher in various research groups in the field of educational psychology, one of the main focuses of which has been the assessment and support of general competences. As a researcher and lecturer, she is interested in various topics related to learning, mainly those related to the development of thinking and learning methods that support conceptual understanding. She is also interested in strategies that support effective learning, learning motivation and the topic of emotion regulation.
In addition, she has been working in the field of environmental psychology since 2013, mainly in collaboration with ecologists on the topics of environmental education and environmental awareness, applying, among other things, her knowledge from the field of educational psychology in this work. This collaboration is mainly expressed in the interdisciplinary working group SEEMIK at Tallinn University, which has contributed in recent years to various environmental education projects supporting effective learning and conceptualizing the concept of environmental awareness in order to create reliable assessment tools for assessing environmental awareness. Her other area of ​​interest in environmental psychology is the creation of spaces that take the psyche into account, including urban environments that support mental health and good executive functioning.

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PARALLEL WORKSHOPS

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In this workshop, psychologists Tatiana and Nadežda explore how to cope with work-related stress and introduce creative tools for working with young people. Nadežda presents her visually-driven books designed to support youth through art-based techniques. Art is a universal language and a powerful form of self-expression- even for those who don’t speak much or think they “can’t draw.” Join us to discover how creativity can open doors to understanding and connection. In today’s workshop, we will be using a creative workbook developed by Nadezhda Olaru and her colleague Olga Luptova. This workbook is primarily designed for independent use by young people aged 10 and above. It helps them explore and express their emotions, and learn strategies for emotional regulation through creative exercises. At the same time, the workbook is also a valuable tool for adults working with youth — including teachers, psychologists, social workers, creative therapists, and youth workers.

About the speakers:

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Playback Theatre is a form of improvisational theatre where participants’ real stories, experiences, and thoughts are immediately transformed into stage performances. Actors reflect back what was shared using movement, words, music, and imagery. This creates a safe and supportive experience where every story is valued and heard.

In this workshop, participants will experience how to express personal experiences creatively, how to truly listen to colleagues’ stories, and how to discover new perspectives through them. This method enhances listening skills, fosters empathy, and builds a sense of community. It is both playful and deeply reflective, supporting the maintenance of mental well-being.

About the speaker:

Jaan Väärt is a trainer and support specialist with a background in social and healthcare services. He has experience in team supervision, psychosocial support, and the use of creative methods. Jaan has taken part in international projects, applying improvisation and theatre-based approaches to support self-care, communication skills, and teamwork. He is also a psychodrama director, actor and director of the Estonian Story Theatre, and a lecturer at the Tallinn Psychodrama School.

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I am Silver Ulvik. I have been playing drums for 26 years now and my love for music and drums has not diminished one bit.

Soon we will be playing drums together. These are very easy to learn djembes. I always like to say that half an hour of work under my guidance and straight to the big stage. That’s it. Learning basic skills on the djembe is just fun. And of course rhythms. We can’t live without rhythm for a moment. That’s probably why drums are so captivating. Anyway, come to the workshop, let’s learn rhythms, play with music and have fun🤘

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MODERATOR

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