About Mental Health Speaker Carol Kivler
Recovery speaker Carol Kivler draws from her own experience in helping others cope with mental illness.
First diagnosed with a mental illness in 1990, Carol suffers from periodic acute
bouts of medication-resistant depression, responsive only to ECT (electroconvulsive
therapy). Since 1990, she has experienced both long periods of recovery and four
acute episodes of depression, each time requiring hospitalization and additional
ECT treatments. For Carol, ECT has become her "ladder out of the depression
pit" for which she is truly grateful. Read “Demystifying ECT” written by Carol.
Presently, Carol has been in recovery for eight years. She is the President of Kivler
Communications, a company that provides customized corporate training, development,
and executive coaching. Through Kivler Communications, she has conducted more than
2,500 workshops.
Carol started speaking to the mental health field several years ago, after being
approached by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Conference (NAMI). She was
asked to present and share her story of recovery and was certified by NAMI to deliver
their national program, In Our Own Voice.
Carol founded Courageous Recovery to continue to share her personal story of depression,
treatment and recovery with healthcare professionals, organizations, patients, and
the family and friends of those diagnosed with mental illness. Her mission is to
dispel the myths and stigma surrounding mental illness and inspire hope that recovery
is real.
Carol has been interviewed on television, radio, and in print. She is a featured
speaker each May during National Mental Health Month; is the author of Will I Ever Be the Same
Again? Transforming the Face of ECT (Shock Therapy) and Blessings:
Your Journal of Gratitude. Carol lives in Lawrence, NJ.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS
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Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) |
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Certified Master Trainer (CMT) |
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Member, American Society of Training and Development |
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Member, National Speakers Association |
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Member, Philadelphia Chapter of the National Speakers Association |
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Past President, Philadelphia Chapter of the National Speakers Association |
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Vitality Alliance, Path of Dialogue, Single Point Lessons Certification |
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Clark Wilson, 360 Degree Feedback Certification |
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Member, Office Advisory Commission at Mercer County Community College |
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Member, National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) |
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Member, NAMI/Mercer County |
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Board of Directors, NAMI, Mercer County |
AWARDS/HONORS
2013 - Invited to become member of the International Society for ECT and Neurostimulation (ISEN) newly created Patient Advisory Committee (PAC).
2010 - Invited by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) to join their
Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP), funded by the SAMHSA Recovery to Practice Grant. The
panel advises the grant as well as other activities of the APNA involving psychiatric
nursing practice.
2009 - Victorious Woman Award — presented for positively affecting entire families,
workplaces, and whole neighborhoods.
2008 - Recipient of the Garden State Seeds of Hope Award presented by New Jersey
Monthly Magazine. This award honors exceptional people who go to extraordinary lengths
to help and give hope to others.
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