Speaking & Media
Mental health hides
in plain sight.
Dr. Chokka translates 30 years of clinical psychiatry into conversations that change how people think about their own mental health.
Available for podcasts, conferences, keynotes, and media. In-person or virtual — willing to travel.
In His Own Words
"After 30 years, I've learned that knowledge only helps if it reaches the right people at the right time. I built my career in clinical medicine — but I'm increasingly convinced that the most important work I can do now is help people understand their own minds before a crisis forces them to. That's why I speak, and why I show up."
— Dr. Pratap Chokka, MD, Clinical Professor, University of Alberta
Speaking Topics
Prevention: The Mental Health Conversation We're Not Having
More than 60% of mental health conditions first emerge before age 25 — yet most people don't get help until years later. The system is designed for crisis, not prevention. Dr. Chokka makes the case that the real opportunity is upstream, and shows audiences what it looks like to catch something before it causes lasting damage.
SourceSolmi et al., 2022, Molecular Psychiatry. Meta-analysis of 192 studies, n=708,561.
Not Everything Is a Disorder (And That's Good News)
Social media has millions of people self-diagnosing — while at the same time, millions with real conditions are being missed or misdiagnosed for years. Dr. Chokka has spent three decades at the intersection of both problems. His perspective cuts through the noise: clear-eyed about what genuine pathology looks like, and equally clear about what it doesn't.
Whole-Person Wellness in a Fragmented World
Most medicine treats the mind, body, and spirit as separate problems. Dr. Chokka has spent 30 years doing the opposite — and the results speak for themselves. He is one of the few psychiatrists who speaks openly about the spiritual dimension of mental health, drawing from both personal and clinical experience, without agenda or prescription.
Workplace Mental Health: Beyond Awareness Campaigns
Canadian employers bear more than $110 billion a year in mental-health-related costs — and 86% relates to downstream impacts rather than prevention. Dr. Chokka has spent years at the intersection of psychiatry and workplace performance. He shares what actually moves the needle, and why most organisations are spending on entirely the wrong end of the problem.
SourceCSA Public Policy Centre, 2026. The Economic Cost of Mental Health in Canada.
What 30 Years of Psychiatry Taught Me About Human Resilience
The patients who recover often share unexpected traits. After 30 years of clinical practice, Dr. Chokka has seen patterns the research doesn't always capture — about what people need, what they resist, and what consistently helps them heal. An honest conversation about resilience that goes well beyond clichés.
"You don't have to be in crisis to deserve care."
— Dr. Pratap Chokka
What Your Audience Will Take Away
Dr. Chokka leaves audiences with more than awareness — he leaves them with a new relationship with their own mental health.
How to tell the difference between normal human struggle and something that genuinely needs attention — and why getting that distinction right changes everything
How to become an active partner in your own care: the questions to ask, the signs to notice, and how to advocate for yourself in a system that moves fast
Practical tools for self-management — real strategies for regulating mood, managing stress, and building daily habits that support your mental health, whether you're trying to stay well or learning to live better with a condition you're already navigating
The truth about medications: what they do, what they don't, and how to have an honest conversation with your doctor about what's right for you
Why standard screening for depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder misses more than it catches — and what better detection actually looks like
What early intervention means in practice, and why catching something before a crisis is the highest-leverage move available
Why whole-person care — body, mind, relationships, and meaning — isn't a wellness trend. It's what the evidence actually supports.
What 30 years of psychiatry reveals about resilience, and the patterns Dr. Chokka sees in the people who get better
Ideal For
Previously Spoken At
A trusted voice across clinical, academic, corporate, and public-facing stages.
Alberta Psychiatric Association Annual Conference (2025, 2024)
ViewPearls for Primary Care (2024)
ViewBenefits Canada Mental Health Summit (2020)
ViewProgress in Mind — Expert Views (2020)
ViewAlberta Psychiatric Association Conference (2018)
ViewECNP Annual Congress (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) (2018)
ViewCanadian Psychiatric Association Annual Conference
ViewCADDRA Annual Conference (Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance)
ViewHRI Talks — Health Research Institute
ViewAdditional national and international appearances available upon request.
For Event Organizers
Official Bio
Dr. Pratap Chokka is a psychiatrist with over 30 years of experience and Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta. His work is grounded in two truths: brain health matters, and mental health hides in plain sight. He champions the full continuum of care: prevention, early detection, education, and treatment — seeing the whole person rather than a checklist of symptoms. As founder of the Chokka Center for Integrative Health and creator of EarlyDetect — a validated digital screening tool for primary care — he helps clinicians catch what matters early. His message to all of us: love your brain.
Let's build a conversation worth having.
Whether it's a podcast, conference, keynote, or media appearance — Dr. Chokka brings 30 years of clinical insight, warmth, and a point of view that stays with an audience.
Available in-person or virtually. Willing to travel globally. Suggested questions and a speaker brief available on request.
Get in Touch