Joel Clapham was a young man on the rise, who in late 2013, seemingly had it all…

Then aged 31, married with three healthy children and a home in suburban Melbourne, Joel was appointed the youngest senior executive in the financial services industry, and went on to win multiple awards for marketing and community-building campaigns.

But below the surface, Joel was disintegrating.

In mid-2016, a perfect storm of crises saw him nearly lose it all. Including himself.

Desperate to avoid the same fate as his father, who died by suicide when Joel was 16, he actively chose to be open, seek and accept help and treatment, and ensure he firstly survived, and then thrived once more.

In 2019 Joel established Hearten Up, a mental health training organisation and is a well-respected and in-demand mental health training specialist and consultant, a Principal Master Instructor in Mental Health First Aid, who is also undertaking postgraduate study and training to be a psychologist.

As a former cog in the corporate machine, Joel knows from his own experience how critical it is that businesses and organisations are both capable and comfortable in supporting their people. Because that’s what they are… people.

Through Hearten Up, Joel brings together his personal story, experiences, humour, compassion, and training, to help bring more heart to an often-hard world.

Joel is also an award-winning writer and performer with national tours of two solo shows, Humpty Dumpty Daddy, and Loves Me, Loves Me Not, both of which looked at mental health, identity and masculinity and have been performed to critical success at comedy and fringe festivals around Australia.