Petra is a renowned mental health expert, psychotherapist and CEO of mental health consultancy, PVL. She captures, surprises, and inspires audiences with her incredible story of transforming adversity into advantage, and challenges them to take responsibility for their mental health. Petra was born and raised in the infamous Children of God cult, conditioned to believe that she was being groomed to save the world. Having escaped that world, she now talks to audiences about her ultimate rock bottom, her battle with mental illness including addiction and depression, and her subsequent transformation leading to her founding a flourishing mental health business. With her core values of lightness, bravery and responsibility shining through at all times, she is bold in her approach to mental health, normalizing our human experiences and even helping people to see the humour in our humanness. 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 behaviours in a world that is desperate for change. Featured in Newsweek, the Huffington Post, BBC Radio, Stylist and many more she’s known for her no-bullsh*t approach to challenging behaviours and motivating leaders, employees, HR professionals and wellbeing champions to truly be the change they wish to see at work. Petra Velzeboer is a dynamic, entertaining and practical storyteller who is sure to bring life, laughter and insight to your audience. She’s known for comparing cults to corporates and as a global TEDx speaker she brings expertise on topics that impact employees, managers and C-suite leadership with the aim of evolving our workplaces and cultures for the new world of work. The future of work is a hot topic which Petra speaks on with passion and excitement, complimenting the narratives around AI and enhancing this debate by bringing people into the forefront.