Let’s Talk Mental Health
1 in 5 people at work are struggling with mental health issues.
The problem is they don’t talk about it.
The other 4 individuals are indirectly affected. It impacts productivity, sick time, disability claims, retention and more.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
For the last 16 years Victoria has been changing the conversation around mental health and wellness.
And even making it fun.
Victoria energizes audiences and creates unforgettable keynote experiences internationally. She offers crucial mental health ‘insider’ information that inspires people to take charge of their well-being.
Attendees learn effective skills to discuss mental health openly and comfortably and practical strategies to bring out the best in themselves and others.
As a result, they become more effective in their jobs and more fulfilled in their lives. And the organizations they work for flourish as a result.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada named her keynote That’s Just Crazy Talk as one of the top anti-stigma interventions in the country.
Why?
Because: 50% of people with mental health issues never reach out for help. The stigma of mental illness is still strong.
That’s Just Crazy Talk – A Story about Family, Secrets and Stigma
That’s Just Crazy Talk looks at Victoria and her family coming to terms with mental illness and their journey to wellness.
A funny, poignant evidence-based keynote that explodes stigmas. It portrays the love and resilience it takes to stay together as a family in the midst of illness. It shows the beauty that can result when we face our fears.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada named her keynote That’s Just Crazy Talk as one of the top anti-stigma interventions in the country.
50 mins plus optional Q + A
★★★★ 4 out of 4 stars. Outstanding, Bravo!
– National Council for Behavioral Healthcare
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Attendees will leave this session with:
- Increased comfort discussing mental health and opportunity to talk about it openly
- Strategies about how to support individuals with mental health issues to encourage them to reach out and accept help earlier
- A look at the impact of stigma across multiple generations
- Reduced stigma and increased awareness
- What wellness and recovery looks like
- Insight into what works and what doesn’t in treatment plans
- Inspiration, hope and encouragement
That’s Just Crazy Talk is Endorsed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada as one of the top anti-stigma tools in the country. Two scientific research studies show the keynote reduces stigma and increases mental health understanding.
Ideal for events with themes of mental health and wellness, stigma reduction, workplace wellness; disability and diversity, community and corporate events.
Ideal audience: general audiences, workplace leaders, employees, HR staff, diversity leaders; union leaders and stewards; healthcare professionals, clinicians, nurses, social workers, individuals with mental illness, family and friends; high school and university students and staff.
Why Now?
Over 50% of all people who die by suicide have depression.
The urgency has never been greater.
Funny You Don’t Look Crazy – A Story about Mental Illness and Returning to Work
Funny You Don’t Look Crazy captures Victoria’s experience of employment before, during and after bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis.
It helps people better understand mental health issues in the workplace and best practices for returning to work.
Audience members walk away enlightened and entertained, holding an expanded vision not of what’s improbable, but instead of what is possible.
40 or 55 mins plus optional Q & A
The reaction of the students and employers to her keynotes were stunning.
– Alan Muir, Executive Director Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities and National Organization on Disability
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Attendees will leave this session with:
- How to help an employee or co-worker who is struggling at work
- Ability to recognize the warning signs of mental health issues
- Experience and increased comfort in discussing mental illness and mental health in the workplace
- Powerful message that employment success after mental illness is possible
- What workplace wellness and a healthy workplace looks like
- Effective return to work strategies
Ideal for events with themes of employment, career, return to work and workplace wellness, disability and diversity.
Ideal audience: Workplace leaders, employees, managers, HR staff, diversity leaders, union stewards, union leaders, vocational rehabilitation therapists, social workers, individuals with mental health issues and their loved ones.
Why You?
Because choosing keynotes that inspire insight and propel action, change how people do their jobs and change people’s lives.
Crazy for Life – A Story about Accepting Help for Mental Illness
Crazy for Life centers on Victoria’s personal journey to accept help for her mental illnesses and learning how to thrive.
This brave, humorous keynote takes audiences from meditation groups to psych wards, from black depressions to manic psychoses. It both educates and entertains; inspiring hope and creating empathy.
35 or 55 mins plus optional Q & A
Transformational! Victoria created willingness in people to talk about mental illness and actively reach out for help. She shifted the direction of our organization. She reached people we couldn’t.
– Noel Clark, Director of Talent Management, AgriVision Farm Management
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Attendees will leave this session with:
- Skills to comfortably discuss and address mental illness
- Clarity about signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis and bipolar
- A list of tools that support wellness
- Reduced stigma and judgement
- Feeling inspired to take action and speak out
- An understanding of the barriers to accepting help and a mental illness diagnosis
- Ideas how to help someone accept assistance
- Key tools for mental wellness
Ideal for events with themes of anti-stigma, mental illness and recovery; self-care and wellness; psychiatry and emergency medicine; community awareness.
Ideal audience: healthcare professionals, nurses, social workers, first responders; psychiatric, hospital, and emergency ward staff; individuals with mental illness, family and friends; high school and university students and staff.
“Anyone in the presence of Victoria Maxwell feels the heat of truth. I’m grateful for how she’s poked at the stigma piñata and left me feeling we’re not alone.”
Shelagh Rogers, CBC Radio journalist & Officer of the Order of Canada
Catalyst for Creativity and Courage
Research shows creativity, mental health, productivity and wellness are highly correlated.
This fun, highly interactive keynote gets people to step out of your comfort zone into their courage and creativity zone.
Through improv games, simple writing activities and creativity exercises, participants take away tools that enhance wellness and recovery, boosts confidence and builds resilience. Equally beneficial to the workplace, the strategies sharpen focus and presentation skills and improves problem solving and team work. No experience necessary – only willingness!
50 – 75 mins
The feedback from our staff was tremendous. The session was empowering; filled with incredible learning, humour and candor. They loved everything about it. I highly recommend Victoria.
– Janice Kaffer, President and CEO, Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare
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Participants will:
- Practice improv games that enhance active listening, healthy risk taking and creativity
- Walk away with science-based creativity exercises that promote self-care and team work; reduce stress and build mental health
- Explore timed writing activities that develop innovative thinking and cultivate empathy and respect for others
- Take away with 3 exercises that promote courage and confidence
Ideal for events with themes of mental health and wellness, workplace wellness; team building, innovation and leadership; community and corporate events.
Ideal audience: workplace leaders, employees, HR staff; union leaders and stewards; healthcare professionals, caregivers; educators, school staff; individuals with mental illness, family and friends; general public and community leaders.
Give participants effective skills to discuss mental health and practical strategies to bring out the best in themselves and others.
Talk to Victoria to learn which keynote and workshop would best fit your event.
