Last week, KCB delivered the second session in our Student Wellbeing Webinar Series, focusing on one of the most common and often overlooked stages of professional study: the mid‑programme challenge. This is the point where initial motivation can dip, workloads intensify, and confidence can fluctuate, especially for students balancing full‑time work, busy home lives and demanding professional qualifications.
To support students through this period, we were joined once again by Heather Connery, an accredited coach and therapist specialising in Gestalt, counselling, resilience and holistic wellbeing. Heather brings extensive experience of helping professionals navigate long periods of challenge, and her insights resonated strongly with students across the Qualifying Programme, MSc Governance and Certificate levels.
Why the Mid-Programme stage feels harder
Heather opened the session by acknowledging something many students feel but rarely say out loud: the middle of a qualification can be the toughest part. The initial excitement has settled, the workload is steady and sustained, and the end goal can still feel far away. For students managing work, family and study, this can create a perfect storm of pressure.
This is where confidence, workload management and wellbeing become deeply interconnected. When one wobbles, the others often follow.
Core Confidence vs Situational Confidence
A central theme of the webinar was Heather’s distinction between Core Confidence and Situational Confidence, a concept that helps students understand why confidence can feel strong one moment and fragile the next.
Core Confidence is the inner foundation built from your experience, capability and everything you’ve already proven yourself capable of. It doesn’t disappear.
What fluctuates is Situational Confidence, the confidence you feel in a specific environment or moment. When students face new expectations, increased visibility, assessments or unfamiliar study challenges, situational confidence can dip, even when their underlying capability remains intact.
Heather encouraged students to reframe the discomfort of new situations from:
“I’m not confident enough.” to “My confidence hasn’t caught up with my capability yet.”
This shift helps students recognise that their confidence is not broken. It’s adjusting.
Managing workload without overwhelm
Heather also explored practical ways to manage workload during demanding study periods. Students often feel pressure to “push through,” but this can lead to exhaustion rather than progress.
Key strategies included:
- Creating realistic weekly plans that reflect actual capacity, not idealised expectations
- Setting boundaries with colleagues, family and friends to protect study time
- Breaking tasks into manageable steps to reduce cognitive load
- Recognising early signs of overwhelm before they escalate into burnout
These tools help students maintain momentum without sacrificing wellbeing.
Watch the webinar recording
Missed the webinar? You can watch a recording of the webinar below:
Join us for the final webinar: Understanding and Managing Anxiety for CGIUKI Examinations
The final webinar in our first Student Wellbeing series is on 3 November, and will be dedicated to understanding and managing anxiety. This is a topic that becomes especially important for students as they move closer to the exams and feel the pressure of balancing study with work and home life. Heather will explore practical, compassionate strategies to help students recognise anxiety early, understand what’s driving it, and develop healthier ways to respond during demanding periods. We warmly invite all Qualifying Programme Students to join us for this final webinar ahead of the exams, to continue building confidence, resilience and sustainable wellbeing throughout their studies.