biography

Victoria Maxwell BFA, BPP*
Mental Health Educator, Consultant, Actor and Writer

Victoria Maxwell is one of North America’s most sought-after educators and consultants on the ‘lived’ experience of mental illness and recovery, early detection of depression, reducing stigma and creating corporate mental health strategies.

Creative Director of Crazy for Life Co.™and an award-winning actress and playwright with over 15 years experience, Victoria has worked alongside David Duchovny, John Travolta and Johnny Depp, among others.

After her diagnosis of bipolar disorder (manic depression) and psychosis, she became extremely proactive in her recovery process. She combines her theatre background, personal experience of psychiatric illness and professional knowledge as a group facilitator and mental health worker, to give a unique and powerful ‘insider’s’ perspective on dealing with depression and other mental illnesses.

Her critically acclaimed one-woman show Crazy For Life, her true-life story about accepting and living with a psychiatric disorder, tours internationally to sold-out audiences and rave reviews. Recently finishing a run in Toronto and England, Victoria will ‘hit the boards’ in the United States in 2005. Her efforts recently captured the Gordon Armstrong Theatre Award, honours as a finalist in the Canadian National Playwriting Competition and the Courage to Comeback Award and is also featured in the Knowledge Network documentary ‘Living with Depression’ aired in May.

Her company, Crazy for Life Co.™ assists organizations to enhance workplace wellness and return to work practices, recognize depression, and effect corporate mental ‘wealth’ action plans. Most popular wellness package combines her solo show Crazy for Life with a customized workshop or keynote speech for either in-house training or a company conference. Creating Optimism: Recognizing Workplace Depression and WorkWise: Maintaining Mental Health Without Going Crazy prove to be exceptionally inspirational and informative seminars and keynotes for companies and conferences across Canada. Talks focusing on creativity, presentation skills, storytelling, humour, writing and applied theatre also available.

“Incredibly enlightening…
Recommended at the highest level.”

Dr. Harry Karlinsky, MD, FRCPC, Director, Department of Psychiatry,
University of BC, Vancouver

Victoria is a charismatic keynoter and performer whose honest, often hilariously irreverent approach to her own experiences disarms the prejudices often associated with mental illness, even as she provides crucial information on how to deal with it openly and effectively – in the workplace and elsewhere. A frequent guest on radio (CBC’s Richardson’s Roundup, CKNW’s Parenting Today) and television, she writes monthly columns for various health magazines, and websites (BC’s Mood Disorders Association, Chapters Bookstore’s Chapters of Health and Calgary’s Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders).