
Petra Velzeboer
Petra Velzeboer is a renowned mental health expert, TedX speaker, and CEO of mental health consultancy PVL. Her captivating story of being raised in a cult, paired with her down-to-earth nature and unique perspective on the world of work helps her to relate to audiences on a level that few therapists can. Petra’s unique approach to the future of work sets human capital at the forefront of innovation for any company.
Petra Velzeboer's videos
What Petra Velzeboer's clients say
"It has been a unique privilege to meet and work with Petra. Petra is the rarest of keynotes; someone who knows the science but who has also a lived experience to bring to bear on such an important topic. She is brave in her approach and this you learn is perhaps the key lesson in opening up and addressing mental health needs. She achieves a mix of levity and seriousness that T.S Eliot would be proud of and it's the first talk I have seen in a long time where none of the 300 attendees glanced at their phone or checked the time. This is such an important topic that we need advocates such as Petra to open up the conversation in such a powerful, practical and ultimately uplifting way."
"We wanted to close our conference with a memorable moment – and Petra delivered on an often-ignored issue: our mental health. With positive vibes, an energetic speech, get-together touchy moments and many wake-up calls, the participants were taken on an emotional roller-coaster of positive attitudes towards our… mind."
"We invited Petra to speak at our Mental Health Awareness event on dealing with stress and were blown away by her incredible unique story and her authenticity. She is an accomplished presenter and coach who provided a tonne of practical advice on how to look after your mental health told through unforgettable stories and analogies. We’re now getting her back in to be part of our leadership development curriculum."
"Petra supported us to develop our Global Mental Health Strategy - including bespoke content and re-development of our Mental Health Champions Programme. She offered practical support, thought leadership, clinical expertise and facilitated training in-person and virtually across the UK, US, EMEA and Asia. On top of this, Petra is adaptable, empathetic and highly committed. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to develop a market-leading approach to mental health and wellbeing. I'm excited to continue working together to implement our new strategy."
"We had the pleasure of having Petra speak at an internal Guardian employee event for mental health awareness week. The honesty in which she shared her personal experience was quite moving. She was both informative and inspirational. I would highly recommend her workshop."
"Petra certainly knows her stuff and has the ability to put it across in a no nonsense, practical and highly inspirational way. She brings the perfect balance of support and challenge to everything that she does. We were lucky to have Petra support a number of events at William Hill and it was a pleasure to work with her. A pleasure that I hope that we will be able to repeat again soon."
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Petra Velzeboer's 2025 biography
Meet Petra Velzeboer
Petra Velzeboer is a dynamic, entertaining, and practical speaker who is sure to bring life, laughter, and insight to your audience. A global TEDx speaker, psychotherapist, author, and CEO of mental health consultancy PVL, she brings expertise on topics that impact employees, managers, and C-suite leadership to evolve our workplaces and cultures for the new world of work.
The future of work is a hot topic that Petra speaks on with passion and excitement, complementing the narratives around AI and enhancing this debate by bringing people to the forefront! With a new angle on wellbeing, her focus on mental health and resilience in a world of change challenges ‘bubble bath wellbeing’ and instead focuses on positive psychology, elite performance, and creating dynamic teams that you will retain as they grow and evolve together – creating a future of work that is good for our health and sustainable for long term success.
Speaking on global stages she sees the challenges that exist across Europe, the UK, USA, Middle East, and Asia including rising statistics of burnout, anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide. These are only part of the issues facing the workplace as they tackle an economic downturn, long-term absence, employee health challenges, and attrition and retention as they experiment with a hybrid office – struggling to enhance belonging and connection.
Leaders are worried about asking the wrong questions and so they say nothing at all, secretly struggling to manage their own workload and mental health in the process. Petra offers practical answers to these questions giving leaders skills they can utilize today to help them lead by example in modeling healthy behaviors, showing vulnerability, and offering inspiration and motivation to their people to enable them to thrive.
Petra is the author of ‘Begin with You’ published by Kogan Page, a practical insight into thriving in adversity and challenging toxicity, groupthink, and culty behaviors in a world that is desperate for change.
Her inspiration and motivation come from her unique and compelling story which she tells with vulnerability, authenticity, and dynamic challenge to her audiences worldwide. Born and raised in a notorious cult she knows first-hand what a toxic culture feels like and what it takes to build resilience and take responsibility for good mental health. When she finally left the cult, she spiraled into addiction, depression, and anxiety leaving her a desperate suicidal mother of two young children. Hitting several crash points, she finally decided to let go of her victim mindset and begin to build a life that was worth living.
Working with the likes of PwC, Herbert Smith Freehills, Channel 4, Monzo Bank, Novartis, Accenture, Avanade, Eagle Eye, Financial Ombusman, and Havas Lynx group – she translates her story into solutions for teams today including challenging the masks we wear, promoting bravery and building elite teams that can navigate any challenge together.
She’s known for comparing cults to corporates and adapting her message to suit audiences of employees, senior leadership teams, and HR or Diversity and Inclusion teams.
As well as keynotes and inspiring team talks, she also works with organizations to go deeper through workshops, masterclasses, and hosting dynamic panel events as well as offering advice on effective and inclusive well-being strategies that enhance diversity of thought, gender issues, and leadership styles.
She adapts her story and expertise to include neuroscience, and positive psychology to inspire your people to achieve greatness.
- How our people are essential to the future of work
- Mindsets for Success
- A new angle on wellbeing
- How cults are like corporates – and what to do about it
- Leadership and dynamic management
- Burnout and navigating change
Featured in Newsweek, the Huffington Post, BBC Radio, Stylist, and many more she’s known for her no-bullsh*t approach to challenging behaviors and motivating leaders, employees, HR professionals, and wellbeing champions to truly be the change they wish to see at work.
Meet Petra Velzeboer
Petra Velzeboer is a dynamic, entertaining, and practical speaker who is sure to bring life, laughter, and insight to your audience. A global TEDx speaker, psychotherapist, author, and CEO of mental health consultancy PVL, she brings expertise on topics that impact employees, managers, and C-suite leadership to evolve our workplaces and cultures for the new world of work.
The future of work is a hot topic that Petra speaks on with passion and excitement, complementing the narratives around AI and enhancing this debate by bringing people to the forefront! With a new angle on wellbeing, her focus on mental health and resilience in a world of change challenges ‘bubble bath wellbeing’ and instead focuses on positive psychology, elite performance, and creating dynamic teams that you will retain as they grow and evolve together – creating a future of work that is good for our health and sustainable for long term success.
Speaking on global stages she sees the challenges that exist across Europe, the UK, USA, Middle East, and Asia including rising statistics of burnout, anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide. These are only part of the issues facing the workplace as they tackle an economic downturn, long-term absence, employee health challenges, and attrition and retention as they experiment with a hybrid office – struggling to enhance belonging and connection.
Leaders are worried about asking the wrong questions and so they say nothing at all, secretly struggling to manage their own workload and mental health in the process. Petra offers practical answers to these questions giving leaders skills they can utilize today to help them lead by example in modeling healthy behaviors, showing vulnerability, and offering inspiration and motivation to their people to enable them to thrive.
Petra is the author of ‘Begin with You’ published by Kogan Page, a practical insight into thriving in adversity and challenging toxicity, groupthink, and culty behaviors in a world that is desperate for change.
Her inspiration and motivation come from her unique and compelling story which she tells with vulnerability, authenticity, and dynamic challenge to her audiences worldwide. Born and raised in a notorious cult she knows first-hand what a toxic culture feels like and what it takes to build resilience and take responsibility for good mental health. When she finally left the cult, she spiraled into addiction, depression, and anxiety leaving her a desperate suicidal mother of two young children. Hitting several crash points, she finally decided to let go of her victim mindset and begin to build a life that was worth living.
Working with the likes of PwC, Herbert Smith Freehills, Channel 4, Monzo Bank, Novartis, Accenture, Avanade, Eagle Eye, Financial Ombusman, and Havas Lynx group – she translates her story into solutions for teams today including challenging the masks we wear, promoting bravery and building elite teams that can navigate any challenge together.
She’s known for comparing cults to corporates and adapting her message to suit audiences of employees, senior leadership teams, and HR or Diversity and Inclusion teams.
As well as keynotes and inspiring team talks, she also works with organizations to go deeper through workshops, masterclasses, and hosting dynamic panel events as well as offering advice on effective and inclusive well-being strategies that enhance diversity of thought, gender issues, and leadership styles.
She adapts her story and expertise to include neuroscience, and positive psychology to inspire your people to achieve greatness.
- How our people are essential to the future of work
- Mindsets for Success
- A new angle on wellbeing
- How cults are like corporates – and what to do about it
- Leadership and dynamic management
- Burnout and navigating change
Featured in Newsweek, the Huffington Post, BBC Radio, Stylist, and many more she’s known for her no-bullsh*t approach to challenging behaviors and motivating leaders, employees, HR professionals, and wellbeing champions to truly be the change they wish to see at work.
Petra Velzeboer's 2025 talks & topics
INNOVATION & THE NEW WORLD OF WORK
The pandemic turned the world of work on its head, creating shock waves across the globe. This presented a unique opportunity to reevaluate the way we’ve always done work.
Petra’s background of being raised in a notorious cult and seeing many similarities in the world of work today, drives her to challenge outdated work practices and usher in a new way of working.
In her signature keynote talk, Petra challenges companies to shift their focus and prioritise investment in human capital, wellbeing, and mental health.
Petra’s keynotes are uplifting, moving, funny and challenge audiences to cultivate mentally healthy cultures that promote innovation and sustainable performance for the future of work.
Petra poses a question that completely changes the way we have viewed work:
WHAT IF WORK WAS GOOD FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH, NOT SOMETHING WE HAD TO RECOVER FROM AFTERWARDS?
Adversity to Advantage
Petra’s unique, harrowing, and uplifting story shows audiences that you truly can get through any challenge with the right mindset and approach. Growing up in a notorious cult led her to intense depression, addiction, and hopelessness – ultimately acting as fuel to allow her to build an outstanding life as a speaker, mental health expert, author, and more.
With humor, entertainment, and practical tools – Petra provides insight into how you can turn your adversity into your biggest advantage.
Digital Wellbeing
It takes 26 minutes to refocus into a flow state every time we get distracted – so are work pressures and lack of time really the challenge or is it our inability to focus on the task that would achieve our greatest potential? Petra offers clear tools for teams and individuals to refocus their attention, boost well-being, and enhance productivity.
Workplace Wellness: A New Approach to Leadership and Culture.
With mental health issues on the rise, many organizations are grappling with growing demands and wondering how to sustainably focus and measure the real issues at hand. Petra offers a new angle on boosting wellness and mental health in the workforce, offering practical tools to invest in ourselves and support each other.