Supporting Workplaces

Leadership and employee training, small business support, and much more.

Keynotes & Presentations

Inspiring, empowering, and authentic. A passionate voice for mental health.

Communities & Classrooms

Programs, education, and engagement for communities, classrooms, and social supports.

Our Vision.

We believe that everyone deserves accessible, affordable, and effective mental health support.

From bustling small businesses to international companies; school classrooms and community supports to not-for-profit initiatives and social enterprises – VĪV Mental Health proudly supports organizations across Canada and around the world with exceptional mental health training, specialized programs, immersive education, innovative strategies, compassionate leadership development, inspiring presentations, media production, and much more.

 

Our Commitment.

The VĪV Mental Health Team is committed to empowering, educating, and supporting others through tireless innovation, collaboration, connection, and fostering healthy cultures and mindsets that promote individual well-being, inclusion, accessibility, equity, personal values, and diversity.

 

The name “VĪV” is derived from (and rhymes with) the words “survive” and “revive“, representing two key landmarks in a mental health journey.

DisruptHR YEG 11.0 (May, 2024)

The VĪV Mental Health Podcast

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Stand Up For Mental Health

Testimonials

“Kris and Rachelle facilitated two leadership workshops for our global workforce and they fulfilled all expectations! The presentations were highly engaging, fostering an environment where our staff felt comfortable sharing their insights and experiences. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and we eagerly anticipate future sessions!”

Mary Oguntoyinbo

IntouchCX - Global EX Strategy

“The training was amazing – I’d like a full day next time! Kris was very responsive to the room and sparked some great conversations. As a mom and as well as a leader in my workplace I will definitely be implementing what I learned both at home and with my teams. Thank you for exploring these topics through so many different lenses.”

Leadership Training Participant

Mental Health Summit 2024

“Incredible. Kris was the perfect facilitator. The pace was great – and how he shared details about his personal journey throughout made me feel like I could share my thoughts more. There was so much to take away from this workshop, I’m so happy I took this.”

Workplace Training Participant

Explore Edmonton

“When you work with Kris and Rachelle you get realness. This consulting team is so thoughtful in their design, approach, and delivery with clients. Kris brings charisma, heart and I love the work they are both doing in the community. I would recommend them to any company for training and facilitation about mental health!”

Tara Langan

Career TLC

“I have had the pleasure of working with Kris and the VĪV team on a number of occasions – I highly recommend! Kris is genuine, authentic, and an excellent leader and collaborator. He brings so much value to every piece of work and creates strong, healthy environments to work in.”

Tiffany Connauton

Beyond Diversity Inc.

“Kris is compassionate, resourceful, and his sessions and conversations are always so thoughtful and relevant. His superpower seems to be that he can draw out the best in people, helping others feel comfortable with their own vulnerability and creating a safe space for folks to exist freely without judgement.”

Justin Lessard

Mental Health Therapist

“I’ve been listening to your podcast and I love it. It’s so good! Thank you so much for being so vulnerable and sharing your story. It makes it so much easier for people to open up and help remove the stigma behind mental health struggles. Thank you so much!”

Podcast Listener

“Kris is a true professional. From the start of his presentation to the end, he had the full attention of my students. A talented speaker with a wealth of knowledge on the subject. I highly recommend!”

Nick Foley

Professor, Loyalist College

“One of the best podcasts I’ve ever heard. Amazing job.”

J.J. Richard

Listener

“I just wanted to reach out and thank you for speaking to our class today, it really resonated with me. As someone who’s struggled with mental health for a long time, hearing you talk about you personal struggles felt so relatable and less lonely. I appreciate your candour.”

Mykayla

Graduate student

From VĪV founder, Kristopher Marks:

 

I don’t have to know you to care about you” is a mantra that holds deep meaning for me. It embraces the idea that compassion is a limitless currency that we all possess; an abundant resource that we’re able to spend freely on anyone without reservation.

I have endured many significant challenges throughout my life. I feel that it is natural for us to compare our experiences to others, perhaps diminishing them in the process, when it may be more prudent and honest to compare the impacts of those experiences instead. After all, it is the impacts that we treat.

We tend to endure challenges individually; but surviving them is often difficult – if not impossible – without some level of support and intervention from others. “It takes a village to heal a village”, they say – and I believe what they say to be true.

Throughout my life there have been countless individuals who have helped build, populate, and maintain my village. Over the years they have selflessly offered gifts of compassion, dignity, and grace. They have been there to remind me not of who I once was – but who I am capable of being. They have empowered me by championing my triumphs and virtues and helped to re-frame my failures and misgivings as seasons of growth, learning, and maturity.

The greatest gift of them all, however, has been that of opportunity. Opportunities to feel safe. To be safe. Safe to heal, grow, try, fail, and persevere. Opportunities to find my words, and when lost, find them again. I have learned that we are all deserving of love and compassion, and that when our cups are full and runneth over, I have learned how to share the excess.

I have myself fallen – and watched others fall – through the proverbial cracks in our systems and supports. I have experienced workplaces, communities, social circles, and family structures that continue to perpetuate harmful stigmas and choose passivity – or at worst, wilful ignorance – over meaningful action. I have felt the hesitancy and trepidation to engage in difficult-yet-necessary conversations about mental health. I have myself known the fear of exploring authenticity and vulnerability.

There is a palpable urgency from those who continue to slip through the cracks. An urgency, it should be noted, that is also shared by those those who can’t bear to watch their loved ones slip further.

We should do better – because we can do better.

I have yet to find the words to fully express my gratitude for the countless incredible and inspiring individuals who share my village. So, after little deliberation, I have given up on trying to find those words.

I have, instead, chosen to take action. I wish to leave this world better than I found it. To leave the people that I connect with better for it. To build enduring villages filled with empowered people.

No, I don’t have to know you to care about you – just know that I do.

 

With gratitude,

 

Founder and CEO of VĪV Mental Health