On 4 July 2025, the town of Marčan hosted a professional workshop dedicated to strengthening teachers’ mental health and emotional resilience. The activity took place within the Erasmus+ project From Burnout to Balance – Supporting Educators’ Well-Being, which focuses on helping teachers recognise, prevent and manage stress through practical education and peer support.
Led by Zdravka Harmadi, the session gathered 21 teachers from different schools who spent the day exploring the connection between emotional intelligence and well-being in their profession.
Exploring what’s behind stress and burnout
The workshop began with an interactive lecture on the causes of stress and burnout among educators. Participants reflected on the pressures of modern teaching — from administrative overload to emotional demands — and discussed how these factors can gradually lead to exhaustion. Together, they analysed the difference between stress and burnout, identifying the physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms that often go unnoticed until they escalate.
The discussion also touched on the importance of self-awareness and early prevention, with teachers sharing their own experiences and challenges in maintaining balance throughout the school year.
Practical strategies for resilience
After the theoretical introduction, the session moved into a hands-on workshop format. Participants took part in several activities designed to translate knowledge into daily practice:
The Emotional Circle: a group exercise to identify, name and express emotions.
Breathing and mindfulness techniques: simple tools to lower tension and regain focus in stressful moments.
Applying emotional intelligence in the classroom: practical ideas for managing conflict, improving communication and supporting students’ emotional needs.
Positive psychology and the PERMA model: exploring how positive emotions, engagement and purpose contribute to long-term teacher satisfaction.
Throughout the activities, teachers reflected on how small changes — like setting boundaries, delegating tasks or taking short emotional breaks — can significantly improve their sense of balance and job satisfaction.
Reflection and outcomes
The session ended with an open discussion where participants shared what they had learned and how they planned to apply these tools in their schools. Many emphasised the need for continued mental health training and regular opportunities to exchange experiences with colleagues.
The feedback was unanimously positive: teachers found the workshop both relevant and practical, describing it as a much-needed space to reconnect with themselves and their professional purpose.
By combining emotional intelligence, mindfulness and peer dialogue, the workshop achieved one of the main goals of From Burnout to Balance: helping educators find effective, everyday ways to protect their mental health and create healthier learning environments for everyone.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
