Articles by Valéry Brosseau

Valéry Brosseau is a passionate speaker, writer and mental health advocate. She spent years believing that if she tried harder she could be better, different, “normal”. Her lived experience with mental illness has taken her on a journey to combat stigma through mental health awareness. She began volunteering in the mental health field in 2013, hoping to help provide a service she wished she knew existed when she was in her darkest place. Dedicating herself to Distress Centre Durham, she started as a crisis helpline responder and became a mentor, trainer and supervisor. In 2017, DCD awarded her their Volunteer of the Year Award and in 2018, she won Distress and Crisis Ontario’s Spirit of Volunteerism Award. Her involvement with DCD led her to seek out further education and training in mental health. She holds a diploma in Social Service Work from Humber College and has attended Ryerson University and University of Toronto as a psychology student. She has also completed countless certificates, such as the Applied Suicide Interventions Skills Training. Valéry now delivers talks and workshops, raising awareness and equipping people with the tools and language to support others and manage their own mental health. In 2019, she delivered a TEDx talk on the stigma surrounding suicide. She has also written for organizations such as the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the International Bipolar Foundation.