Mental Health Speakers For Workplace Wellbeing

Mental health speakers for workplace wellbeing can help open the conversation, reduce stigma, and give your team practical tools for building resilience.

In today's fast-paced and demanding work environment, the wellbeing of your employees is paramount. Mental health issues, often overlooked, can profoundly impact the productivity and overall health of your staff, and are one of the leading causes of long-term sickness absence, which can disrupt the harmony of any workplace.

The statistics are stark. According to the NHS, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will grapple with a mental health condition in any given year, and in England, around 1 in 6 people report experiencing anxiety and depression in any given week. These numbers underscore the urgency for employers to prioritise mental health support in the workplace.

Today, we're looking at the top mental health speakers for workplace wellbeing to help open the conversation and reduce mental health stigma. These experts don't just raise awareness but will also inspire, providing invaluable insights and strategies to promote mental health and resilience among your workforce. Join PepTalk as we explore their vital role in creating a mentally healthy workplace for your employees.

Real-world mental health speakers

The lived experience of our real-world experts can inspire and motivate your team, showing that there is always light, even in the darkest of times.

Poorna Bell

Champion diversity within your team and open the conversation on mental health with Poorna Bell, speaker, journalist and mental health advocate. Poorna is the founder of Fix My Life Workshops and Events and has written two acclaimed books, Chase the Rainbow and In Search of Silence. Her third book, Stronger, combines memoir and manifesto, drawing on her experience in competitive powerlifting after her husband's death.

Learn more and book Poorna Bell →

Josh Connolly

Discover the keys to sustainable mental health maintenance with Josh Connolly, one of the UK's leading resilience experts. After coming through a serious personal mental health crisis, Josh found a way to embrace life and vulnerability, and is now one of the UK's most influential mental health advocates. He has spoken in the House of Commons, contributed to mental health policy, and advised the scriptwriting team on Channel 4's Hollyoaks.

Learn more and book Josh Connolly →

Josh Roberts

Josh Roberts is a writer, broadcaster and public speaker specialising in mental health. After a mental health crisis led to a diagnosis of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Josh wrote about his experience for The Times and received an outpouring of public reaction. He has since made it his mission to help others by sharing his story, including in his book, Anxious Man.

Learn more and book Josh Roberts →

Max Dickins

Create a safe, non-judgemental space for your team to talk about mental health with Max Dickins, author and male loneliness and mental health expert. A writer for page, stage and screen, Max explores male friendship and connection in his book Billy No Mates and in his PepTalk sessions. Male mental health and loneliness remain front and centre of the cultural conversation, and Max brings both research and lived experience to the topic.

Learn more and book Max Dickins →

Qualified mental health speakers

These trained professionals can help teams make sense of their inner workings and provide tangible suggestions and solutions for getting the right kind of help.

Kimberley Wilson

Discover how to build a healthy brain with Kimberley Wilson, chartered psychologist and nutritionist, and author of How to Build a Healthy Brain. Kimberley runs a private practice in central London, previously governed the Tavistock & Portman NHS Mental Health Trust, and led therapy services at HMP & YOI Holloway, Europe's largest women's prison. She champions a holistic approach to mental health, integrating nutrition and lifestyle with psychological therapy under her Whole Body Mental Health philosophy.

Learn more and book Kimberley Wilson →

Dr Alex George

Explore the foundations of good mental fitness and learn how to open up the conversation around mental health at work with Dr Alex George, Government Ambassador for Mental Health and former Love Islander. Dr Alex is a well-known and respected figure among healthcare professionals in the UK, drawing on his years as an A&E doctor to bring the nation accessible, reassuring advice on mental wellbeing.

Learn more and book Dr Alex George →

Emma Reed Turrell

Learn to stop putting others' needs ahead of your own with Emma Reed Turrell, psychotherapist, author of Please Yourself, and podcaster. Emma has spent over fifteen years working with individuals and organisations to help them realise their full potential and support their wellbeing. Her book, Please Yourself: How to Stop People-Pleasing and Transform Your Life, offers insights and techniques to help people understand themselves more fully, and she co-presents the podcast Best Friend Therapy with Elizabeth Day.

Learn more and book Emma Reed Turrell →

Julia Samuel MBE

Julia Samuel MBE is a psychotherapist specialising in grief, who has spent over three decades working with bereaved families in private practice and at the NHS, where she pioneered the role of maternity and paediatric psychotherapist. She helped launch the charity Child Bereavement UK and continues her role as Founder Patron, and is the author of the best-selling book Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving.

Interested in booking Julia? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

💡 Would you like to book an expert mental health speaker? Let us know, and we'll find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organisation. Email us at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a message via the chat. You can also call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!

Workplace wellbeing experts

Workplace wellbeing speakers can focus on reasonable adjustments and provide practical tips on how employers can help make workplaces healthier, more inclusive and more productive.

Nic Smith

Bring clarity to the wellbeing areas your organisation needs to focus on, minus the fluffy stuff, with Nic Smith, positive psychologist and workplace wellbeing and leadership expert. Nic combines over 20 years of experience in talent and leadership with the latest research from positive psychology, delivering bespoke interventions that help organisations flourish. She works with teams to improve everything from overall workplace wellbeing to the skills of leadership teams.

Learn more and book Nic Smith →

Charlie Hoare

Support your team's wellbeing and beat anxiety with Charlie Hoare, wellbeing consultant, entrepreneur, life coach and speaker on male mental health. Personal experience of depression and anxiety led him to write MAN DOWN: A Guide for Men on Mental Health, and he holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. Charlie also co-founded TÅPPED birch water, having previously worked for Innocent Drinks and Air Asia.

Learn more and book Charlie Hoare →

Justin 'JC' Coghlan

Openly discuss the vital subject of men's mental health with Justin 'JC' Coghlan, co-founder and director of global innovation for the Movember Foundation. Since its grassroots beginnings in 2003, Movember has grown into one of the world's largest men's health movements, raising substantial funds for men's health research and driving lasting change in how prostate, testicular and mental health issues are talked about.

Learn more and book Justin 'JC' Coghlan →

Tania Diggory

Eliminate burnout and bring a sense of calm to your team with Tania Diggory, founder of Calmer and mental health and wellbeing expert. A qualified NLP practitioner, mindfulness teacher and mental health trainer, Tania is devoted to highlighting the balance between mental wellbeing and business success, offering practical strategies to build resilience in daily working life.

Learn more and book Tania Diggory →

💡 Would you like to book an expert workplace wellbeing speaker? Let us know, and we'll find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organisation. Email us at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a message via the chat. You can also call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!

Key dates to bring in mental health speakers for your workplace

📅 Time to Talk Day | 1 February
👉 One in four of us will experience a mental health problem, but many still feel isolated, ashamed, and unable to open up about their lived experience. This day encourages everyone to be more open about mental health — to talk, listen, and change lives.

📅 Children's Mental Health Week | Early February
👉 75% of mental illnesses start before a person's 18th birthday. With most long-term mental health problems beginning in adolescence, there's a growing need for support for young people. This week highlights the importance of mental health support from a young age.

📅 Eating Disorders Awareness Week | Late February/Early March
👉 An eating disorder is an unhealthy attitude towards food, which can make you obsessed with your eating patterns. The charity BEAT runs Eating Disorders Awareness Week annually to tackle myths and misunderstanding around eating disorders.

📅 Self-Injury Awareness Day | 1 March
👉 Self-harm is the intentional act of harming or injuring our body. Self-Injury Awareness Day is a global observance dedicated to raising awareness about self-harm and self-injury.

📅 University Mental Health Day | March
👉 University Mental Health Day brings together the student community each year to make mental health a university-wide priority across the country and to create continued change to the future of student mental health.

📅 World Bipolar Day | 30 March
👉 Bipolar disorder can make someone's mood change dramatically from extreme highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). These changes can be overwhelming and distressing. World Bipolar Day is organised to bring global awareness to bipolar conditions and to eliminate social stigma.

📅 Stress Awareness Month | April
👉 Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to increase public awareness about the causes and cures of our modern stress epidemic, with a focus on sharing tips and coping strategies to help manage mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

📅 Mental Health Awareness Week | Mid-May
👉 Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity to learn more about mental health each year.

📅 National Schizophrenia Awareness Day | 24 July
👉 Schizophrenia is a common mental illness that affects 1 in 100 people in their lifetime, yet the condition is widely misunderstood. National Schizophrenia Awareness Day shines a light on the challenges faced by people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the UK and beyond.

📅 World Suicide Prevention Day | 10 September
👉 The International Association for Suicide Prevention hosts World Suicide Prevention Day to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention.

📅 World Mental Health Day | 10 October
👉 World Mental Health Day is run by the World Federation for Mental Health. It's an opportunity to support mental health initiatives.

📅 OCD Awareness Week | Mid-October
👉 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder affecting 1 in 100 people in the UK. OCD Awareness Week aims to bring about a greater understanding of the condition and how it affects people.

📅 National Stress Awareness Day | Early November
👉 National Stress Awareness Day was set up by the International Stress Management Association to raise awareness of the effects of psychological distress in the workplace and strategies to address it.

📅 Men's Mental Health Awareness Month (Movember) | November
👉 Every November is home to men's mental health awareness month, also known as Movember. It aims to tackle the stigma surrounding men's mental health.

📅 Anti-Bullying Week | Mid-November
👉 Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day aims to make a noise about bullying and to not stay silent when we hear bullying dismissed as 'just banter'.

What to read next

• Curious about what it means to be sober curious? Rethinking your relationship with alcohol.
• Learn simple, impactful strategies for neurodivergent-friendly communication in your workplace and personal life.
• Menopause has long been a hidden issue in the workplace. We explore key initiatives and issues surrounding menopause at work.

💡 Interested in a PepTalk Live session on mental health or workplace wellbeing? We have a wealth of expert speakers and storytellers in our network, here to help ensure you and your team can win at the business of life — email us at hello@getapeptalk.com, send us a message via the chat, or call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!