Allan Kehler

Are you someone who wants to exist?  Or someone who wants to live?  To exist is easy.  You navigate through life on autopilot and rarely step outside of your comfort zone.  As a result, you are never able to reach your full potential. This presenstion will empower you to live. Get ready to take a break from our fast-paced society, and slow down to reflect on your own needs.

Drawing from his own experiences, Allan will inspire you to persevere through your personal challenges rather than avoiding or escaping them. You will be encouraged to take an honest look at what lies beneath your stress and be provided with tools to heal through a holistic approach. Through an interactive quiz, various hands-on activities, and an exciting game of PieFace, you are guaranteed to walk away with an increased understanding of stress and wellness. You will be empowered to take back control and create a life of happiness no matter what surrounds you. The time has come to stop existing and start living for YOU.

Allan will help identify the difference between existing and living while exploring stress management tools to prevent burnout for your personal and professional lives. He you rediscover yourself through an interactive component to bring new awareness for self identity and self purpose. This presentation will reveal your current state of wellness and help you focus on what is in your control to release what is out of control for your thinking habits.

How one teacher can change a student’s life in 10 minutes. As a student, it appeared that Allan had everything going for him. He was the president of his school, captain of sports teams, and athlete of the year. However, Allan was silently fighting an internal battle with mental illness. While attending university, a teacher finally saw beneath Allan’s mask, and changed his entire life through a simple process. Allan shares this powerful approach, and reassures educators that nobody needs to be fixed, but the value of being seen and heard is immeasurable.

In this presntation, the audience will become the student by participating in an interactive quiz. Participants will gain an increased understanding of topics including mental illness, self-harm, suicide, substance abuse, and wellness. As educators, we know that a student can’t succeed at an academic level if their emotional needs are not being met. Learn how to effectively talk to your students about mental health, and understand how to make them feel seen, heard, and supported. Allan shares his personal journey as a therapist working in education and as a student who sufferred from mental health and addictions. He helps identify barriers that prevewn students from seeking help or speaking up. Allan will take you on his personal journey to identify the key individuals within education and their traits to showcase the important role they played to assist him to overcome challenges with addictions and mental health to become who he is today.

He will also share his transformative personal journey to become a school councillor to share strategies that that break down the walls between educators and students to support those at risk for their mental health. Explore why some students would engage in self harming behaviours. Shatter the stigmas assocaited with mental illness and recognize behavioiurs of students that need support that appear to be in distress. This presentation is for educators who are looking to strengthen the conversion of mental health in the classrooms, school, and community.

Vulnerability = Strength. The relationship between men and mental health has often been referred to as a silent crisis. In an effort to avoid being perceived as weak or vulnerable, many men have a tendency to bury their emotions deep within.

Based on Allan’s bestselling book MENtal Health: It’s Time to Talk, this keynote features men who have persevered through their own mental health challenges. These lived experiences will provide a better understanding of topics relating to: masculinity, mental illness, addiction, sexual abuse, suicide, and ultimately wellness. Audience members, of all genders, will benefit from this timely message in various ways. Men will be able to relate to other men’s lived experiences, recognize that vulnerability is often met with compassion not judgement, and understand the freedom that comes from reaching out for help. Women will gain a new perspective on this issue and receive the confidence to reach out and connect with the men in their lives.

This presentation is guaranteed to break the silence surrounding men and mental health, and is a powerful reminder that the time to talk is now. Allan helps audience members identifty barriers that prevent men from seeking help. He will then show the advantates of men being more vulnerable and inspire men to embrace vulnerability as their superpower. Allan also is able to share the key differences between how men react differently to mental health issues than women, and redfine what it means to be a man. This presentaiton is not only for men, as it also focuses on how all humans can be a better support for men in thier lives as they work long hours or intensive labour.