Carol Kivler

Professional mental health speaker, author, thought leader, trusted advisor to international business executives, Carol Kivler is also a passionate advocate for mental health. A survivor of four bouts of treatment-resistant depression, she battled this devastating and debilitating mental illness with courage and faith to a full and sustained recovery.

Carol is an ardent mental health advocate for consumers struggling with depression and mental illness. Through her four books, mental health presentations and Courageous Recovery, Inc., her 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, Carol works tirelessly to overcome stigma and misrepresentations that still surround those suffering from mental illnesses. As a consumer advocate and mental wellness speaker, she tells the story of the treatment that saved her life, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), and shares strategies for maintaining sustained recovery and mental wellness. Her inspirational wellness presentations resonate with mental and medical health professionals, consumers, their families and friends, inspiring compassion, understanding and hope.

Carol is an authentic, riveting, and memorable motivational speaker. Her high-energy and compelling mental health presentations change thinking and encourage participants to move from mental illness to the realm of mental wellness.

For Carol Kivler, depression came out of the blue, to a happy, high-functioning college professor, wife and mother of three with no previous history of mental illness. Carol fell into a severe depression and was hospitalized. Despite a supportive family, caring friends and the best medical care available, clinical depression tightened its grip, completely resistant to psychotherapy and medication. With no alternatives left, Carol agreed to Electroconvulsive Therapy. ECT not only worked, it was her silver bullet out of the pit of depression. Despite three recurrences of clinical depression, Carol continued with ECT, recovering each time.

During her recovery periods, Carol received a master’s degree in human resource education and started Kivler Communications, a company that provides customized corporate training, development and international executive coaching. She also earned her CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) from the National Speakers Association. For the past 14 years, Carol has been living in recovery – proof that recovery is not just possible, it is probable.

In July 2014, Carol proudly founded Courageous Recovery, Inc. a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote a mental wellness movement by advancing education, advocating nationally, and eliminating stigma surrounding mental illness.

Carol’s three best-selling books on depression and mental health issues have won multiple awards and a strong following among medical professionals, consumers and their families.

A sought-after keynote, workshop, and mental health speaker, Carol addresses psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, counselors, medical/nursing students as well as associations, organizations, school systems and government agencies. This creates a unique opportunity for medical and mental health professionals to view a former patient as a courageous survivor.

Carol is a very popular mental health speaker at consumer conferences across the country. Attendees are motivated and empowered by her story of how electroshock therapy helped her and her message of hope and recovery. Carol serves on several boards and committees addressing mental health issues and has received numerous awards for her work.

Carol’s powerful and passionate telling of her very personal and harrowing journey profoundly impacts her audiences and the way they view mental illness and mental illness stigma. Carol wants everyone to know that: “People with mental illness want to be viewed as courageous survivors – to be accepted, not rejected; respected, not pitied; and admired, not feared”.