Mark Henick

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• So-Called Normal: Rethinking Mental Health Through One Life Story

  What does it mean to be “normal” in a world where so many people are struggling beneath the surface?

  In this deeply personal and unflinching keynote, Mark Henick shares the story behind his bestselling memoir So-Called Normal. From childhood trauma and suicidal crisis to recovery and public advocacy, Henick traces the moments that shaped his understanding of mental health, resilience, stigma, and human connection.

  Blending lived experience with practical insight, this keynote moves beyond awareness slogans to examine what actually helps people feel seen, supported, and safe enough to speak honestly. Audiences leave with a renewed understanding of mental health not as a distant issue affecting “other people,” but as a universal part of being human.

  This presentation is emotionally powerful, hopeful without being simplistic, and grounded in the realities people face every day at work, at home, and within themselves.

  Audience outcomes include:

  • A deeper understanding of how mental health challenges develop over time, often invisibly.
  • Why stigma persists, even in environments that claim to support mental health.
  • Practical ways individuals and organizations can create safer conversations around struggle.
  • The role of connection, language, and belonging in recovery and resilience.
  • How personal stories can change culture, policy, and lives.

• Balancing the Equation: The Science and Practice of Emotional Balance

  We spend much of our lives trying to eliminate stress, discomfort, and pain. But what if mental health is not achieved by removing every negative experience, but by changing the balance between what harms us and what sustains us?

  In “Balancing the Equation”, Mark Henick presents a new framework for understanding emotional well-being through the lens of balance rather than elimination or perfection. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, lived experience, and years of public advocacy, Henick introduces the HEAR and NICE frameworks: practical ways of reducing the weight of harmful experiences while intentionally strengthening positive ones.

  This keynote offers a grounded and accessible approach to resilience that avoids toxic positivity and simplistic self-help. Instead, it reframes mental health as an ongoing process of adjustment, interpretation, and emotional calibration.

  Audiences leave with a more realistic and compassionate understanding of how people change, adapt, and recover over time.

  Audience outcomes include:

  • Why eliminating all negative emotion is neither possible nor healthy.
  • How the brain naturally weighs experiences through bias, learning, and perception.
  • The HEAR framework for reducing the impact of painful experiences.
  • The NICE framework for strengthening positive emotional experiences.
  • Practical ways to intentionally shift emotional balance over time.
  • A more sustainable model of resilience for individuals, teams, and organizations.

• The Resilient Workplace: Building a Culture Where Mental Health Is Everyone's Business

  Workplace mental health is often treated as an HR checkbox — a policy posted, a webinar watched, a wellness day observed. But culture is not built in a day, and it is not sustained by awareness alone.

  In this keynote designed specifically for corporate and organizational audiences, Mark Henick examines the structural, social, and psychological conditions that either support or undermine mental health at work. Drawing on his experience working with teams, leaders, and organizations across sectors, he explores how workplaces can move from performative wellness to genuine psychological safety — and why that shift matters for retention, productivity, and human dignity.

  Audiences leave with a clear-eyed understanding of what it actually takes to build a workplace where people feel safe enough to struggle, speak up, and succeed.