Public Speaking & Consultancy

“Dolly Sen is an exceptional public speaker. With a powerful mix of honesty and wisdom she speaks directly to the heart of all those privileged to hear her. Dolly speaks with knowledge, candour, intelligence and above all humour bringing important issues vibrantly alive. Many of those who heard her talk at the Barbican Centre’s ‘Cinema and Psychosis’ event said “Dolly is a star”; she had communicated to them but also touched them.” SAL ANDERSON, INSTITUTE OF INNER VISION.

I have spent over 15 years as a public speaker around the subjects of mental health, arts and activism. My public speaking has taken me to The World Health Organisation in Geneva, Boston University, Oxford University, The Barbican, Mayor of London, University of Westminster, Guys Hospital, The Probation Service and over 100 charity, corporate and statutory organisations. I have also made over 30 media appearances on TV, Radio, Internet and Print.

Testimonials from Previous Clients

“We felt honoured and privileged to have Dolly Sen speak and share her experiences at the launch of the first-ever World Health Organization report on suicide prevention “Preventing suicide: a global imperative”, on 5 September 2014. Her speech was deeply moving and next speaker Minister of State Kathleen Lynch from Ireland immediately picked up on several issues raised by Dolly, such as the need for non-judgemental and empathic support from front-line staff in health services. We hope that there will be many more people inspired by Dolly and daring to speak up about suicide attempts and suicide.” Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, Scientist in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at World Health Organisation. 

“You create such a great space for a conversation that is so important and so necessary.  It is so clear that people really want to have this kind of candid discussion and you manage that difficult space so powerfully and with humour.” Julia Farrington, Belarus Free Theatre.

‘I am been consistently impressed by Dolly’s ability to convey her experiences of the mental health system to all sorts of audiences, her creative energy, and the passion and intelligence which she brings to her work’  Professor Philippa Garety, Clinical Director Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

“Dolly was the opening speaker at an ISPS* UK event designed to stimulate dialogue between professional and lived experience perspectives on trauma, psychosis and psychodynamics.  Her talk received excellent feedback from conference delegates and she is someone who I hope very much will consider contributing to other ISPS events in future.  I thought her an accomplished speaker, engaging and lively, with an imaginative approach and interesting material.  I was also grateful for her sensitivity  to the needs of this mixed audience.” *International Society for Psychological and Social approaches to psychosis   Alison Summers, ISPS

“It was very very valuable and pitched really well, and that as a speaker, you were a lovely balance of serious, personal, and more besides. Catherine McNamara, Central School of Speech and Drama.

“Dolly Sen gave the keynote address at our AGM. Her talk was engaging, inspirational, moving and at times very funny.  She was very generous and honest in taking and answering questions from the floor, sharing personal stories and experiences with great candour.”Joyce Kallevik, National Director, WISH

“LSBU OT Society were delighted when Dolly agreed to do our training evening in October 2015. Dolly is a phenomenal person who inspires everyone she meets. The training session was very informative and really thought provoking.” Deborah Abson, LSBU OT Society

“Dolly Sen is an amazing speaker and passionate about mental health wellbeing and her dedication and work really has made a difference in many people‘s lives.”  – Abbie Muchecheti, Senior HR Officer, University of Oxford.

“Dolly was the key speaker at a recent event we hosted, where she delivered an insightful talk on her experience of living with mental health problems. Her brilliant sense of humour and intelligence ensured that the talk was highly engaging for our audience. Her keen understanding of our work, and the way she linked that to her lived experience, really highlighted the value of our research. Her passion for mental health and desire to empower others makes her a joy to work with.” Prof Sean Duggan, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health

“Dolly was great to work with, professional in her business-like approach to booking and then delivering an impassioned, creative and brilliantly challenging talk to galvanise the whole room into deep thought. Many student nurses, and those of us who have been in practice a lot longer, went home with our minds buzzing with ideas, reflections on how we may come across in practice, and questioning the perceived wisdom of a system that is clearly not helping as many as we would like it to!” Sandra Walker, Lecturer in Mental Health, University of Southampton