Award-winning counsellor debunks ‘Blue Monday’ myth with free wellbeing masterclass

A free virtual masterclass has been launched to help working professionals cut through the January gloom.

The session is being hosted by Sharon McCormick, clinical director of The Listening Centre, the 2025 Greater Birmingham Business of the Year.

Sharon (pictured) says the 60-minute masterclass aims to debunk the myth of ‘Blue Monday’ – a date which was dubbed the most depressing day of the year following a marketing campaign.

Sharon’s masterclass, ‘Beyond Blue Monday: Finding Your Happiness’, takes place on Monday 19 January – the third Monday of January when Blue Monday is said to occur.

“Blue Monday was invented in 2005 by a travel company selling holidays,” said Sharon, a BACP accredited counsellor with 23 years’ experience.

“It's a marketing receipt, not a diagnosis. Feeling flat in January is a normal human response. What people need isn't a label - it's practical strategies that actually work."

‘Beyond Blue Monday: Finding Your Happiness’ draws on Harvard’s 85-year study on adult development, as well as neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett’s research on emotional regulation.

Attendees will explore what genuinely predicts happiness, how to identify strengths that energise rather than drain, and why self-compassion outperforms self-criticism.

Sharon, cited by BBC Radio 4 as delivering “gold standard” ethical practice, has been invited as expert witness to the national Commission for the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2026.

For more information about the virtual masterclass, email [email protected]