Our Testimonials

Following an Employee Engagement Survey, the Senior Management Team realised that the concept of Stress and Stress Management were registering as a concern amongst our employee population. I accepted as part of our Employee Well Being Program to investigate what other organisations were doing in this space and how they addressed the problem. I attended a program in IBEC (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) where I met Ray McKiernan and The Stress Management Institute.


Ray’s presentation immediately resonated with me as he approached the subject in a very positive way (i.e. building resilience in people to prevent stress) but also demonstrated how resilience could be used to boost performance. I recommended Ray McKiernan to the senior management team at Siemens and we soon scheduled for all staff to attend a full day workshop on “Better Performance Through Resilience”.


I am very happy to recommend the services of Ray McKiernan and the Stress Management Institute. He is professional, proactive and highly engaging. The feedback from our staff has only been very positive. They said he took time to listen and understand what their needs were as we went through a very difficult time in our business. I am available for further comment is required.


 

I invited Ray to deliver a session on managing yourself as part of a CPD programme entitled “The Engineer’s Guide to Effective Management” designed for engineers working in managerial roles for organisations in both the public and private sectors and in a wide range of industries. Having seen Ray in action I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed and I wasn’t, nor were the delegates on the course. Ray delivered a session that was perfectly customised to their needs in an enlightening, informative and enjoyable way. The feedback from delegates was universally positive.

Ray is an excellent individual to work with. He took time to listen and understand what we were looking for, who the audience would be and what were their needs. He then delivered a session that more than exceeded what we had agreed. I would highly recommend Ray to any organisation either as a trainer or consultant – the outcome will always be positive.


 

It is my pleasure to recommend the services of Ray and his team at the Stress Management Institute. Ray has been at all times professional, proactive and highly engaging. The tailored resilience programmes in particular have become a beneficial tool within our business and feedback from our clients has been wholly positive.

Ray has continually provided an excellent service for our clients, with tangible benefits in terms of engagement using evidence based practical solutions for management and staff.

I would not hesitate to recommend Ray to any organisation thinking of implementing such services. 


 

SoundClouders were mentioning to me to give Bio-Hacking a try if I had the chance. I'm glad I did. What a wonderful way to recognize from a scientific perspective where stress comes from, how it affects us and how 'we' can manage it. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. We all handle stress differently, but sessions like this are great reminders that we're in the driver seat when managing it. All of which is important when working in a fast paced environment filled with serious talent.


  

We worked with the Stress Management Institute, in particular Ray McKiernan, on a Resilience Programme for members, called Who is Blue. Ray's input was excellent, very practical, helpful and focused. The feedback from the series of programmes we held was overwhelmingly positive regarding the sessions delivered by Ray and the usefulness of all he covered.


 

The National Centre for Guidance in Education (NCGE), which is an agency of the Department of Education and Skills in the Republic of Ireland, engaged Ray McKiernan of the Stress Management Institute for a single day’s continuing professional development (CPD) with our Adult Educational Guidance Counsellors and a single day’s CPD with our Adult Guidance Information Officers.

Our experience of Ray is someone with a great capacity to engage with a group; a depth of understanding of his field and a real interest in making a difference to people’s lives. We asked Ray to work with our groups on resilience. His combined approach of group work; presentation; some DVD; some PowerPoint; some meditation exercises; humour; energy and resources to take away, all combined towards a worthwhile experience and a sense of ‘refreshing our lives’. Ray is generous in his time and shows attention to detail in terms of presenting to the specification requested. Individuals from the group expressed appreciation to NCGE for having had the opportunity to work with Ray McKiernan.


 

“Coping with Everyday Demands” was the title of a series of four sessions for RTÉ staff earlier this year. The aim of the course was to provide an understanding of the significance of pressure and its impact on work place performance and our general health & wellbeing. The expertise and experience of Ray McKiernan demonstrated in a most engaging and informative way the complexities of working under pressure and how to manage that pressure to ensure we maintain a balance in our lives and still perform to our optimum. The reacting from participants was very positive and the demand for places far outweighed our expectations and unfortunately we could not accommodate everyone. I would have no hesitation in recommending Ray for future sessions; his professional approach and attention to detail ensured a smooth and flawless delivery and left the audience wanting to learn more.


 

Ray McKiernan has been engaged by Concern Worldwide to deliver trainings and workshops with our internationally and Irish based staff for the last 2 years. His expert knowledge and inclusive presentation style has ensured positive feedback from those attending. His session on ‘Key Competencies for Managing Pressure and Building Resilience’ delivered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2012 was particularly well received by our senior managers working in difficult and complex environments overseas.

 

I recommend Ray and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.


 

The Migraine Association of Irelandinvited Ray McKiernan to speak at our latest information Seminar (Naas Co. Kildare).

 

This was the second time that Ray has given a presentation at one of our events, following a hugely positive response to his first talk.

 

Almost half of those in in attendance at our latest seminar cited Ray's talk as the most useful aspect - a huge achievement considering that a consultant neurologist was also present on the day.

 

A large number also recommended that that we include a stress management segment at future seminars.

 

Our members seemed to appreciate the interactivity of the presentation as Ray invited them to take part in breathing and visualisation exercises.

 

Medical Jargon was broken down and attendees were shown how "theory" could be applied to their lifestyles in a particular manner.

 

Many commented on the humour used in presenting the facts - a light relief to people wanting to bring an extremely debilitating condition under control.

 

The Migraine Association of Ireland look forward to working with Ray again in the future.