The Odyssey Mindset

Dr. Sam Akbar is a clinical psychologist with a particular interest in stress, trauma, and resilience. She studied Classics at Wadham College, Oxford, before becoming a clinical psychologist. Her career has taken her from the NHS, where she treats refugees who have experienced war, torture, and sexual violence, to international training and teaching, helping clinicians across the globe, from Ireland to Iraq, develop the skills to work with severe trauma.

Sam’s work focuses on what it means to live well under pressure. She specializes in helping people navigate stress, burnout, and overwhelm with practical tools grounded in psychological science. Her approach blends evidence-based techniques with warmth, humor, and an eye for what’s usable in the real world.

She retains a deep love of the classical world, often drawing on ancient philosophy and myth to explore timeless questions about suffering, resilience, and the human condition. This perspective adds richness and depth to her work, offering a broader lens through which to understand modern psychological struggles.

Her book, Stressilient: How To Beat Stress and Build Resilience, draws on years of clinical experience to offer readers clear, actionable strategies for managing stress—at work, at home, and everywhere in between. It has been translated into nine languages.

Sam also regularly speaks and runs masterclasses for a wide range of audiences—from leaders in business to professionals in public service—on managing stress, building resilience, and learning how our past experiences shape our present.

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