Testimonials

Testimonials from Organisations

I’ve known David personally and professionally for many years. He is incredible and his work helping people to break their silence is truly inspirational. I know how proud he is to publish this book and I’m hugely confident it will make a massive difference to so many people. Outside of his day job, he is my daughter’s godfather. Need I say more?

Sharon Slattery, ex-UK Sales Director of Auto Trader

I invited David into Wave within six weeks of opening our business. It was important for me to create a culture of kindness from day one and there was no better way of doing this than by inviting David to talk to our employees. He was instrumental in helping us break down the stigma of discussing mental health. Every organisation needs a David Beeney.

Jane Austin, Director of HR at Wave Utilities

When you first meet David, his warmth and authenticity strike you the most. This really helps people relate to him and confide in him. Fossil has supported his mission to break the silence for many years. I’ve never encountered anyone as passionate about helping people with their mental health as David is.

Sarah Dunn, HR Director Europe North at Fossil Group, Inc.

David’s authenticity and passion shine through in his delivery. These qualities enable him to connect and engage employees across all areas of our business on the importance of focusing on their wellbeing. David has a genuine interest and commitment to understanding our culture so that employees can break their silence without fear.

Ellen Bigmore, Head of HR at Safran Electrical & Power

David’s honesty about his journey and the tools he shared with us had a huge impact on our colleagues. It helped break the silence, opening up more opportunities for conversations about mental health with empathy and care.

Siân Evans, Director of Leadership & Colleague Experience at Simplyhealth

We are all human and have things going on outside of work, so in breaking the silence, we can create a kinder culture that builds deeper levels of trust, where people can truly thrive and be themselves. David’s story and passion for building kinder cultures are truly inspiring. I cannot recommend his work highly enough. I will take him with me wherever I go!

Nicki Burge, Ex- People Director at Direct Online Services

Creating a kinder culture aligns perfectly with our values and everything we strive to achieve. David’s work with us has enabled us to continue embedding our values and breaking the silence by encouraging more conversations about mental health.

Corinne Spillane, Chief People Officer at Liaison Group

David has been delivering wellbeing workshops for staff in our organisation for the past four years. The sessions have been so popular that many participants say they are the best workshops of their kind they have ever attended.

Sarah Brewer, Head of Employee Experience at Public Health Wales

We invited David to work with Yorkshire Housing to help us start a different type of conversation about mental health at work. David’s ability to connect with and inspire everyone he meets is a rare talent. His authenticity, personal vulnerability and natural gift for storytelling have helped us break the silence around mental health and address many barriers to people opening up.

Nina Evison, Executive Director of Culture & Performance at Yorkshire Housing

Bringing mental health awareness support into our organisation wasn’t something I did lightly. David broke the silence for us by bringing real-life experience and practical solutions to coping with them. He helped us talk openly and freely about how we were feeling and gave his time and ear to those who wanted to talk more.

Claire Wishart, Head of HR at Calnex Solutions

David talks from the heart, which is incredibly brave, and peppers his sessions with light-hearted anecdotes. This openness allowed our team to feel safe and secure, allowing them to share their vulnerabilities and create a stronger and more understanding environment.

Emma Brierley, Ex-Director of Talent & Development at Broadwick Soho

David’s journey inspires those who have endured the weight of silence, encouraging individuals to embrace authenticity and be their true selves. In a world where mental health concerns are often swept under the carpet, this book and David’s work guide people to building a workplace culture that prioritises the wellbeing of its people and breaks the silence.

Julie Clarke, VP Global Employee Experience & Engagement at Sutherland

David is inspirational and relentless in his drive to break the silence around mental wellbeing. He has spoken at many of our events and has had a far reaching and long-lasting impact on thousands.

Matt Manners, CEO & Founder of Inspiring Workplaces

I’ve known David since the early 1990s when no one talked about mental health, especially in the workplace. When I saw his work change that, I asked him to come in to help my team and me at Vanarama. I saw first-hand that he was playing a huge role in not just changing that but making it unusual NOT to talk about it. I always thought he could write his book. I’m delighted he’s finally helping even more people break their silence.

Andy Alderson, Former CEO of Vanarama

David approaches everything he does with infectious kindness and compassion. He is truly inspirational and a master at creating space to allow people to take a breath and focus on their mental health.

Jo Purser, Head of Strategic HR & OD at NHS England

When it comes to mental wellbeing, David’s compassionate approach, candid sharing of personal experiences, and skilful and humorous storytelling make him an exceptional and trusted partner for me and many others. He first broke his silence at Auto Trader and is now helping thousands of others to break their silence too.

Dani Baldwin Rowe, Ex-Internal Communications Manager at Auto Trader

The stories we tell about workplace wellbeing are an important part of how organisations will change for the better. By sharing his story so openly, David has helped employers break the silence about mental health. In doing so, he has played a key part in helping leaders understand how vulnerability helps them build kinder cultures.

Gethin Nadin, Chief Innovation Officer at Benefex

David has a genuine passion and positive energy in advocating for a kinder culture in the workplace and has helped us break the silence. If you can combine this with a high-performance culture, you have the foundations for a highly successful business.

Paul Maberly, Managing Partner at Mercer & Hole

The way David brings his vulnerability and authenticity to his workshops really helps to build trust. It inspires people to break their silence regarding mental health and instils kinder cultures within teams across all levels.

Hiran Odedra, Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at Mercedes Benz Grand Prix

David has taught me life-changing skills to support and develop my mental wellbeing. Th e sessions he has delivered for all our employees have inspired many to break their silence. He will continue to make a massive difference to people’s mental wellbeing and, in the process, save many lives.

Barry Gavahan, Group CEO at DES Group

We were delighted that David agreed to speak at our Mental Health Awareness Day. David talked to our members about his experience of mental health as a counsellor as well as his own personal experiences of panic attacks. David's talk was authentic, engaging and thought provoking, the interactive nature of the talk allowed members to ask questions and share concerns on a topic that can often be difficult to talk about.

Richard DeNetto, Chairman of Cambridge CIPD

I met David this Monday at the CIPD Mental Health Day when I was representing Illuminate Charity. He gave an open and inspiring talk about anxiety and what it's like to experience a panic attack. He talked frankly, in detail about his experience and how it has effected his work and his private life. When I first met him I would never have guessed the story he was to tell and that's the point I think. 'Unseen' illnesses are extremely tough to deal with (and that's an understatement) and the illness can force a sense of isolation upon sufferers. David's story is one we should all hear in my humble opinion. He has a noble quest to raise awareness of mental health illnesses amongst employers and help fellow sufferers feel the relief he clearly experiences now. I wish you every success David in your new venture and look forward to introducing you to our Illuminators.

Tracy Wilkinson, Illuminate Charity

Testimonials from Attendees

Just wanted say how awesome and moving today was for me. I know that your goal was to affect even just a couple of people but I'm positive you have touched many many more. Truly inspirational and affected me more than most will know. So thank you for being so brave and delivering the way you did.

Thank you for sharing your personal story with me, your success despite your challenges with anxiety have made me think about things differently.

I know that your goal was to truly connect with just a few people today but I’m positive that you have touched many many more.

Your session has inspired me more than you can ever imagine, I am going to seek professional help for the first time ever in my life.

I thought the session was brilliant! It was so inspiring how you shared something so personal and reached out to others who may be going through something similar or know someone who is. It’s such a difficult subject to talk about, particularly something so personal. It was inspiring listening to you.

Just wanted to say a thank you for giving your talk on mental health. I’m lucky enough never to have suffered with any of those issues but I think it was really important for me to understand what other people could be going through. It’s brilliant that you are making such a big difference in this area. We are clearly very lucky to have you listened to you today.

Thank you so much for sharing what you did today. I’ve suffered with anxiety for most of my life and I’ve never thought of it as being a mental health issue before. I have felt all of the feelings that you discussed today. I also remember vividly the first time I choked in front of an audience and I think about it every time I need to present. I DREAD presenting in front of people. I’ve had sleepless nights about it too. I end up working myself up until even I can’t make sense of what I’m trying to say. Thanks for raising the subject, it highlighted to me that I should do more research into how I overcome it rather than letting it hold me back. Your session was extremely engaging today.

That was incredibly inspirational. Thank you for sharing, I can’t even imagine how difficult that was for you. In years to come, even when Auto Trader might be a distant memory, I won’t forget this morning’s talk. I think you’re incredibly brave and you are going to inspire many people with the career path you have chosen to go down.

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk through your experiences with us, I know this can’t have been easy, but I wanted to let you know that this was extremely beneficial and I feel, we are all guilty of never finding the right time for ourselves when we need help. I found myself totally touched from your meeting and will hopefully go a long way to help me think differently in the future. Speaking form my own experience of dealing with family members that have mental illness and understanding that I should also allow time for myself. Once again thank you for sharing with us truly inspiration. One of the best meetings I’ve attended.

A huge thank you for the session today. I am struggling with my daughter who has social anxiety and the need to find work. It’s such a taboo subject and of course it shouldn’t be. I feel privileged to have attended. Thank you again.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for holding the session today. I am so glad I signed up to listen to your personal story. You’re an inspiration. I went through EAP last year and referred myself for some counselling following a personal trauma and I must admit, it took a lot for me to finally find the strength to do it. I think it’s great you’re creating the awareness. If I hadn’t already started on my journey by this point, that session would have given me great guidance.