Speaking Inquiries

I speak regularly for Fortune 500 companies and organizations on a broad range of topics that are related to mental health and well-being in a way that is accessible, engaging, and science-based.

My keynotes and workshops focus on mental health and real self-care for a variety of identities and caregiving situations. They are informed by my private practice as a board-certified psychiatrist and as a clinical assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine. I examine the problematic nature of for-profit “self-care” solutions that fail to deliver a sustainable and long-lasting sense of wellness.

My talks deliver tangible psychological tools, based on what I see in my clinical practice, so that employees, leaders and managers leave with skills to manage difficult emotions, set boundaries, make choices aligned with values, and develop mental health literacy. The skills I teach in my keynotes and workshops are based on the frameworks I share in my book, Real Self-Care, a national bestseller, which has been featured by The New York Times, The Ezra Klein Show, The Guardian, NPR’s Code Switch, Talks at Google, Vox, and more.

Interested in having me as speaker for an upcoming event? I am available for in-personal and virtual keynotes, workshops, and brand social impact consulting services. Recent clients include Penn Medicine, LinkedIn, The Girl Scouts of the USA, Peloton for Business, Westminster Town Hall Forum, The New York Times, and Google.

Dr. Lakshmin’s Popular Keynote Topics

Real Self-Care is an Inside Job

Making Wellness Work for You

Real Self-Care in Times of Grief

Live remarks from Dr. Pooja Lakshmin on the topic of Mental Health Lessons from Around the World at the May 2023 Westminster Town Hall Forum, addressing 400 audience members.

Penn Medicine, FOCUS on Health & Leadership for Women

“Dr. Pooja Lakshmin's keynote at the University of Pennsylvania was just phenomenal! Her engaging and heartfelt remarks motivated, inspired, and deeply connected our audience. Our conference was focused on women’s health, and her remarks tied the entire day together, allowing attendees the opportunity for self-reflection and to consider actionable next steps in their own self- care journey. Working with Dr. Lakshmin ahead of the event was such a joy, we specifically appreciated how closely she worked with us to tailor her remarks to meet our specific needs. She also graciously agreed to meet with other speakers to ensure cohesion in content throughout the conference. Any organization would benefit from Dr. Lakshmin's unique blend of compelling story-telling and accessible mental health tools. We hope to work with her again soon!”

The Westminster Town Hall Forum

“Our audience loved Dr. Pooja Lakshmin's presentation at the Westminster Town Hall Forum. The room was captivated from start to finish as she shared insights from her book, Real Self Care. She illuminated many of the startling statistics around women's mental health with real life stories. Our audience hung on each of the stories Dr. Lakshmin shared: the trials of the women with whom she had worked, as well as personal anecdotes from her own journey. It was a powerful combination that helped our audience better understand this critical set of issues. 

It meant a lot to us that Dr. Lakshmin crafted a talk specifically for the Westminster Town Hall Forum and tailored it to our season theme. We were also delighted that she helped bring new people out who attended our program for the first time to see her. 

As she said in her talk, "women's mental health is a social justice issue." Dr. Lakshmin will speak to both the mental health challenges for women and how they connect with larger societal issues. It's an important message I hope becomes more mainstream with the help of voices like Dr. Lakshmin. ”

Harvard Law School


“Dr. Pooja Lakshmin's appearance in my Harvard Law School leadership class was nothing short of transformative for those who were lucky enough to witness it. Her clarity of expression, gift for connection, and genuine care for others shine through at all times. I highly recommend Dr. Lakshmin as a speaker in any context; she is always fully herself, and she is immensely talented.”

CCS Health

“What a joy it was to host Dr. Pooja Lakshmin at a special community learning call for our workforce of Transitions Coaches and Community Health Workers. Her conversation was effortless, thought provoking, and introduced new concepts around the important (and hard) work that is real self-care. Even though we were in a virtual space, she set the tone to be a safe and sage place to learn, share, and ask questions. Our audience was fully engaged and were able to take away tangible strategies from the discussion that related to their clients, work, and life.”

The Pokémon Company International


“Dr. Lakshmin not only shared data-informed resources and best practices to our organization, but she expertly facilitated conversations and empathetic storytelling in a manner that demonstrates her care for her work – not just as a medical practitioner but as a public health advocate. We highly recommend that other organizations consider partnering with Dr. Lakshmin and her team; our company is already eagerly working with internal leaders to re-engage her on future opportunities.”

Oregon State University College of Public Health & Human Sciences

Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families

“Working with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin was an absolute pleasure! She tailored her Real Self-Care content to our specific audience (early childhood educators and professionals), was organized and knowledgeable about the content, and made the planning process easy as we prepared for multiple virtual events with her. 

 Several participants were brave enough to ask personal questions about self-care in their own lives and she was skilled at inquiring further to understand the context and to provide compassionate, broadly relatable responses.

Working with Pooja was more than (and far better than) just a work task. It was an enjoyable collaboration! She truly cares about every individual's health and well-being, including ours and her own. We highly recommend collaborating with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin and hope to work with her again in the future.”

Lincoln Avenue Capital

“Pooja facilitated a fantastic conversation with our organization’s Women’s Employee Resource Group. She delivered a fresh perspective on mental health that was both informative and deeply impactful. Pooja was empathetic, compassionate, and non-judgmental in her approach, which made everyone feel comfortable sharing their experiences and asking questions. Her examples were both practical and relevant and left a lasting impression on our organization.”

Therapy for Black Girls

“Dr. Pooja's intimate and honest approach to mental health guided the Therapy for Black Girls community to understand we're not alone. With her detailed examples, we were able to learn how to take care of our well-being and mental health in ways that are meaningful and authentic. With her raw and honest approach, we were guided to understand the steps needed for us to create the necessary boundaries, how to appropriately plan, and ultimately understand we're not alone. Dr. Pooja created an environment of vulnerability and integrity and we truly look forward to having her back among the Therapy for Black Girls community in the near future.” 

Talks at Google

Pooja was invited to bring Real Self-Care to Talks At Google, a speaker series that has brought renowned thinkers, entrepreneurs, authors and social change agents.

Select Past Speaking

  • Mental Health Lessons from Around the World Keynote

    Westminster Town Hall Forum, Minneapolis

  • Childcare & The Motherhood Penalty Panel

    Engage Promoting Women’s Economic Security Summit in Washington DC

  • Peloton Corporate Wellness

    Self-Care Panel

  • LinkedIn Employee Wellness

    Self-Care for Women of Color for LinkedIn WOC ERG

  • Real Self-Care for Healthcare Workers Keynote

    Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey Annual Symposium in Meadowlands NJ

  • Real Self-Care for Busy Parents

    Vivvi Tribeca Community Event

  • Real Self-Care for Higher Ed

    Faculty Wellness Event at Macalester College Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching

  • Therapy for Black Girls

    Sister Circle Spring Reset

  • Q+A with Pooja and Roxy Szal of Ms. Magazine

    Book People in Austin TX

Past Clients List

23 & Me
Alice & Olivia
The Ad Club
ByHeart
Cambridge Health Alliance/ Harvard Medical School
Fair Play
Girl Scouts of the USA
Hello Sunshine
Penn Medicine
LingoKids
March of Dimes LinkedIn

McKinsey
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
The Motherhood Center
Pearson
American College of OBGYNS
Peloton
Pokémon
Rightpoint
Saysh
Thrive Global The New York Times