The I Am Well Approach
Practical wellbeing for people under pressure.
Pressure does not usually begin with a crisis. It often shows up earlier—in the body, concentration, patience, sleep, communication or the ability to switch off.
I Am Well helps people notice those earlier signs, understand how pressure is showing up and use practical ways to respond before it becomes harder to manage.
Grounded in more than 20 years of work with individuals, families, schools, workplaces and communities, the approach is shaped around real people and real situations. It is not built around one technique or the expectation that everyone should be calm. It is about finding what is useful, practising it and being better able to use it when it matters.
Because your body notices before you do
Pressure often reaches the body before it becomes a clear thought. Raised shoulders, a tightened jaw, changes in breathing, moving more quickly, reduced patience, difficulty concentrating or being unable to switch off can all be signs that something is building.
Not everyone experiences pressure in the same way. Noticing is not about diagnosing yourself, watching your body all day or judging how you respond. It is about recognising your own patterns early enough to have more choice about what happens next.
That is where practical wellbeing begins.
Notice. Understand. Respond. Practise.
The I Am Well Approach follows four connected steps. They are not a rigid formula or a demand to respond perfectly. They provide a practical way to recognise what is happening and decide what may help.
NOTICE
Recognise what has changed in the body, thoughts, emotions, behaviour or pace—without waiting for pressure to become unmanageable.
RESPOND
Use a practical response suited to the person and the moment. This may include movement, breath, grounding, EFT, sensory tools, relaxation, self-massage or another appropriate approach.
UNDERSTAND
Make sense of what may be adding to the pressure, what your early signs look like and what support or adjustment may be useful.
PRACTISE
Repeat what helps during ordinary moments so it becomes easier to use when pressure rises. The aim is not perfection; it is having more options.
The situation determines the tool
People do not always need the same thing—and the same person may not need the same thing on a different day.
Someone may need movement before stillness, a sensory tool rather than a breathing exercise, a structured reset after a difficult conversation or space to recover without being asked to explain what happened.
I Am Well draws from practical wellbeing education, movement, breathwork, grounding, EFT, sensory awareness, guided relaxation, self-massage, hand reflexology and complementary approaches where appropriate.
The technique is never the point. The question is: what will be useful here, for these people, in this moment?
Regulation Under Pressure™
Regulation Under Pressure™ is I Am Well’s practical approach to developing skills that can be used before, during and after demanding moments.
It does not promise that people will remain calm all the time, remove every source of pressure or place the entire responsibility on an individual when an environment also needs to change.
The approach helps people:
Recognise their earlier signs of increasing pressure
Use short, practical responses during real situations
Recover after difficult or demanding moments
Recognise when a boundary, adjustment, rest or further support may be needed
Practise skills that can become part of everyday routines
For organisations, this also means considering the working environment, expectations and systems—not simply teaching staff to tolerate everything.
Calm is a skill—not a permanent state
People are not meant to remain calm through every demand. Sometimes the useful response is to act, speak, move, set a boundary, ask for support or step away.
When I Am Well says calm is a skill, it means people can learn ways to create enough steadiness to recognise their options and decide what to do next. It does not mean suppressing emotion, ignoring harm or becoming more convenient for other people.
Skills can be learned, adapted and practised. They do not have to look the same for everyone.
Practical support with clear boundaries
People are not meant to remain calm through every demand. Sometimes the useful response is to act, speak, move, set a boundary, ask for support or step away.
When I Am Well says calm is a skill, it means people can learn ways to create enough steadiness to recognise their options and decide what to do next. It does not mean suppressing emotion, ignoring harm or becoming more convenient for other people.
Skills can be learned, adapted and practised. They do not have to look the same for everyone.
Where the approach is used
The principles remain consistent, but the delivery changes around the people, setting, pressures and purpose in front of us.
WORKPLACES & ORGANISATIONS
Practical workshops, connected programmes and on-site clinics for teams, managers and people working under pressure.
CHARITIES & COMMUNITY SERVICES
One-off workshops, short programmes and bespoke delivery for women, parents, families and communities.
SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
Adaptable wellbeing support for pupils, staff and parents, shaped around age, setting and what the school is seeing.
INDIVIDUALS & FAMILIES
Personal appointments, children and family support, group sessions and practical resources for everyday wellbeing.
Developed through more than 20 years of practice
The I Am Well Approach has grown from Dee Marshall’s experience across youth work, education, family and community support, workplace wellbeing, facilitation and complementary therapies.
Working across these different settings has shown her that pressure rarely appears in one neat way—and that practical support has to fit real people, real environments and real lives.
Dee’s role is not to impose one technique or ask people to perform calm. It is to observe, listen, adapt and help people develop responses they can genuinely use.
Start with what you are seeing
You may already know which service you need, or you may simply know that people are carrying too much and the current support is not enough.
Tell me who the support is for, what you are noticing and what you would like to be different. I will recommend a useful starting point without forcing the situation into a pre-set workshop or technique.