Victoria Maxwell
Victoria Maxwell is an internationally recognized mental health keynote speaker who combines humour, powerful storytelling and lived experience to change how people understand, discuss and respond to mental illness.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis, Victoria transformed her personal challenges into a career dedicated to mental health education and advocacy. For more than 20 years, she has helped organizations, leaders and communities challenge misconceptions, recognize mental health concerns and create environments where people feel comfortable seeking support.
Named a mental health leader by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Victoria brings both personal insight and professional experience to the stage. Her acclaimed keynote, That’s Just Crazy Talk, has been recognized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada as a highly effective intervention for reducing mental health stigma.
Speaking topics
- Ready Set Recognize: Workplace Mental Health Issues & How to Help
Conversations about Mental Health have become more common.
Most people recognize when something doesn’t seem right, yet people often feel uncomfortable reaching out when they’re concerned about a colleague. In this keynote, Victoria draws on her lived experience of bipolar disorder and psychosis to lead audiences through a concise framework that helps them have more confident and productive conversations with those who may be struggling in the workplace.
Victoria shares her own story including her return to work and provides a practical overview of mental illness, the early warning signs, and associated risk factors. An anonymous pre-event survey is sent out to attendees to customize the keynote, while live audience polling and real-time questions and responses are built into the session.
Audiences leave better informed and equipped with practical tools to support everyone in the workplace including;
- Explain key concepts related to mental health, mental illness, and early workplace warning signs
- Reflect on the Do’s & Don’ts of mental health conversations at work
- Apply a practical framework to initiate supportive conversations when concerned about a colleagues mental health
- Reflect on personal and workplace beliefs about help-seeking and supporting others
- Identify actions that help reduce stigma related to workplace mental health issues
Ideal for: Corporate and public sector organizations, correctional services, leadership conferences, HR professionals and people leaders, employee wellness initiatives and workplace diversity and inclusion programs.
- That’s Just Crazy Talk: Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
Why is mental health still one of the hardest subjects to talk about at work, and what can we do to change that?
Conversations about mental health have become more common, yet knowing what to say or do when we’re concerned about a colleague can still feel daunting. Throughout this keynote, Victoria draws on her lived experience of bipolar disorder and psychosis, her successful return to work, and her expertise as a mental health strategic advisor.
She shares parts of her own story while providing a practical overview of mental illness, early warning signs, and associated risk factors. She also leads attendees through a concise framework to help them have more confident, comfortable and productive conversations about
mental health with those who may be struggling in the workplace.An anonymous pre-event survey is sent out to attendees to customize the keynote, while live audience polling and real-time questions and responses are built into the session. Length of keynote: 45 – 90 mins
Attendees will be able to:
Explain key concepts related to mental health, mental illness, and early workplace warning signs
Reflect on the Do’s & Don’ts of mental health conversations at work
Apply a practical framework to initiate supportive conversations when concerned about a colleague’s mental health
Reflect on personal and workplace beliefs about help-seeking and supporting others
Identify actions that help reduce stigma related to workplace mental health issuesThis keynote is also available as a workshop that includes interactive exercises, group discussions, and Q&A’s adapted to suit the distinct needs of participants. Attendees leave better informed and equipped to initiate supportive mental health conversations at work and respond with greater confidence and compassion.
Ideal for: Mental health conferences, healthcare organizations, community associations, educational institutions, public awareness events and organizations seeking to build greater mental health understanding.
Video clips
Speaker testimonials
“Truly inspiring.
Her presentation created an openness for staff to ask questions and better understand how to support our employee’s. Victoria played a key role in changing the perception of mental health as a taboo in our company.”
Victoria’s session was a huge hit and we had received such a robust feedback on how engaging she was and her content was so relevant to our objectives of increasing awareness, addressing stigma around mental illness and igniting thought provoking dialogue about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Mental Wellness in the workplace.
“The way Victoria presented was absolutely amazing. I didn’t want her to stop.”
“I loved her candor when speaking about mental health issues and even the manner in which she delivered the topic. I really think that it provided some clarity into those who have never, knowingly, encountered that type of situation and some tools on how to possibly assist, if ever required.”
“She was so engaging, funny, honest, vulnerable and relatable. She did a great job normalizing mental health discussions at work.”
VIRTUAL EVENT: One the best speakers we’ve had. Grabbed me right from the beginning: moving, educational and inspirational. A powerful way to learn about mental health. We’ll definitely try to have her back.
Victoria is magic…the response was unprecedented. All sold-out shows. We are still receiving calls about the power of those performances…a leader in mental health education.
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.
We can’t thank you enough Victoria. You charged the energy in the room which totally set the stage for the next phase of the summit. You were the highlight of the event!
Exceptionally engaging, thought-provoking and irreverently funny. Her expertise and experience translate into good business sense. This is an important element in the wellness initiatives our company takes pride in offering our employees.
Transformational! Victoria creates a willingness in people to talk about mental illness and actively reach out for help. She shifted the direction of our organization and reached people we could not otherwise reach.
Victoria’s session was fantastic for our leaders. She hit it out of the park and it was just what we wanted. She’s an inspiring and engaging keynote speaker and facilitator.
It was wonderful. Victoria really created an opportunity for more open discussion between leaders and team members. The authentic way she presents her story is a great catalyst to starting conversations at a grass roots level around mental health.