Sandy Naiman

Keynote/Inspirational/Mental and Emotional Health Advocate

Sandy Naiman is an award-winning journalist and blogger. A staff reporter for The Toronto Sun from 1977-2007, her features, profiles and columns focused on Women's Issues and Health. She was Women's Editor at CHFI from 1980-1990 and a nationally syndicated columnist on ;CBC radio from 1990 to 1992. She contributed to numerous magazines, including The Walrus, Chatelaine and Greater Good. She launched her first mental health blog – Coming Out Crazy – at The Toronto's Star's Healthzone.ca in 2008 and the moved it to the U.S. psychology website PsychCentral in 2010, where she currently she posts Coming Out Crazy.

Now divides her time between writing features for Healthzone.ca, blogging, public speaking, facilitating workshops, her emotional/mental health advocacy and part-time teaching at Seneca College. When invited, she loves guesting on radio, television and presenting at conferences on mental and emotional health issues of all kinds.

Sandy's dramatic 51-year psychiatric history is a major component of her life in recovery ~ ongoing, changing, challenging. Complete candour. Authenticity. She's working on Resiliency. Her mantra is "No Secrets. No Lies." Another. "People are the world's greatest resource."

In 1998, after receiving the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's "Celebrity" Courage to Come Back Award, she decided to write and speak out publicly about her recurrent episodes of mania. She sensed correctly that her story might inspire others as well as educate ~ the key to dispelling the discrimination, prejudice, bias and negative stereotyping too often and unjustly ascribed to people living with mental illnesses and other emotional health issues. This prejudice harms everyone in our society at all levels.

A passionate, outspoken and engaging speaker and advocate, Sandy is a dedicated spokesperson for the Mental Health Works program. Until recently and from its inception, she was a member of Moods magazine's honourary advisory council. In 2007, the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario honoured her with its Deloitte Hero Award for her activism and advocacy.

Sandy has a long history of community service. She participated on the Advisory Board at CMHA Ontario to develop a web site designed to assist the media in reporting accurately and responsibly on mental health and mental illnesses. Currently, she is secretary of the Board for the Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre, 36-year-old non-profit organization offering one-on-one music lesson and arts activities of all kinds to children at risk living in Toronto's inner city.

Topics include:

"Coming Out Crazy," her autobiographical and inspirational keynote.
Emotional and Mental Health in the workplace ~ Insights for Employers and Employee from someone who survived and thrived corporate life ~ a relational process.
"The Language of Respect," as an instrument for change, to heal our sick public discourse on mental illnesses and emotional health.
What do I say? Transitioning from mental illnesses to emotional health and recovery through work, at work.
Dispelling prejudice, discrimination, biases and negative stereotyping of mental health and disorders ~ mental and emotional health issues ~ we all live with them. Talking helps, but how can you find help and the right way to talk about it on the job and off.
Is there a difference mental health and physical health? The Great Divide or not. Let's talk about it.
Happynomics and Emotional Health in the Workplace. A healthy workplace is a more productive and profitable workplace. How corporations and business can increase their fiscal wealth by investing in the emotional health of their employees at all levels. Absence Management. The Problem. The Causes. The Solutions.

Check out Sandy's blog at http://blogs.psychcentral.com/coming-out-crazy/

To book Sandy Naiman at your next event, contact us.