I am the Founder and Managing Director of BECS, a training company that delivers customised corporate courses in business, management and mental health skills worldwide, and the Mental Health Retreat in Devon.
I qualified as a teacher in 1994 and spent many years teaching in primary, secondary, higher and special needs education and in private language schools in Devon, UK. I was also involved in adult education and became a Senior Lecturer at Exeter University.
In 2000 I lost my voice so I started a job at Nortel Networks Opto-Electronics where I worked with optical fibres. I liaised between my production team and management. I attended and organised meetings, wrote business reports, technical reports and minutes. I was also responsible for Human Resources issues in my team and provided a link to different departments. This position gave me an insight into company culture and the running of a large international company. After two years at Nortel I felt that my voice was good enough to start teaching again.
In 2002 I moved to Brussels and worked as a corporate business trainer for two years. In 2004 I set up Business English Consulting Service Ltd or BECS which proved to be a big success in the Arabic Gulf, especially in Kuwait where I became a Director of the British Business Forum. I set up and chaired the BBF Businesswomen group and co-founded the International Women Network Kuwait. I also wrote ‘The Business Survival Guide (Because It’s A Jungle Out There)’.
I realised that absenteeism caused by work-related stress is a big problem across the world. The media is full of mental health, burnout and suicide stories so I signed up for a clinical diploma course in Plymouth that focuses on the psychology of mental health problems and I graduated as a solution-focused psychotherapist in 2019. Since then I have written the self help books ‘Brain Based Stress Management’ and ‘The Mental Health Survival Guide (Because It’s A Jungle Out There)’ and designed mental health courses for BECS which are delivered by a team of clinical solution-focused psychotherapists and specialists.
Our mental health talks and courses help groups of people but not individuals. That is why I started the one-to-one Mental Health Retreat in Devon. It means we can focus on our guest’s needs and interests, help make changes and create a plan for the future. On top of that, my team offers psychotherapy and hypnotherapy sessions, yoga, walk and talk sessions, horse riding, sound baths and art therapy. We teach how to look after mental health so that you feel happier and healthier. We take our guests to fabulous places for lunch, dinner and coffees. The retreat is a lot of fun. I feel very proud that I can help our guests change their lives for the better.
An Swinnen 