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
Open Player In New WindowThe VĪV Mental Health Podcast offers a fresh look at how we talk about, access, and understand all things related to mental health. Overcoming stigmas, coping with trauma, day-to-day mental health maintenance, the effects of social media, mental health in the workplace, and so much more. This podcast is guided by health professionals, my own personal journey, and inspiring personal stories from all walks of life.
Host: Kristopher Marks
Twitter – Instagram – TikTok – LinkedIn – Threads – YouTube @vivmentalhealth
www.vivmentalhealth.com
Email: [email protected]
After a twelve month hiatus, the VIV Mental Health Podcast returns with a brand new episode that focuses on men's mental health.
Mental health therapist Justin Lessard returns as my guest to discuss why some men are reluctant to change, how self-talk is instrumental in how men view themselves, the effects of the patriarchy and capitalism, the fear of being seen as weak, why many men are drawn to sports, and so much more.
Host: Kris Marks
Guest: Justin Lessard
Visit us at: www.vivmentalhealth.com
Contact us at: [email protected]
LinkedIn – Twitter/X – Instagram – TikTok – Facebook – YouTube:
@vivmentalhealth
Intro music: ”My World” by No Witness
All music used is with the express permission of the artists and/or rights holders or has been deemed without copyright by the artist.
Stand Up For Mental Health
Testimonials
From VĪV founder,
“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