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Who is Matt Bellace?
Since 1995, Matt Bellace, Ph.D., has been a professional speaker and stand-up comedian.
His programs encourage over a hundred thousand people each year to pursue natural highs and be
resilient in the face of stress.
Dr. Bellace has a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology, which is the study of the brain and behavior. He trained at the National Institutes of Mental Health and The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
He’s the author of the best-selling book, A Better High: Laugh, Help, Run, Love and Other Ways to Get Naturally High. His most recent book, Life Is Disappointing and Other Inspiring Thoughts, focuses on dealing with disappointment and techniques for to coping with pain, loss and failure.
He’s a contributing author for the National Geographic Kids and was featured in the PBS documentary Voices of Hope. He was also a recurring comedian on truTV’s “World’s Dumbest.”
What Does Matt Do?
Matt brings a unique skill set to the stage, equal parts academic and comedian. His agent said, “If Matt wasn’t funny, he would be a professor somewhere.”
Matt’s persona on stage is also consistent with who he is off-stage and in his writing. This authenticity allows him to be equally comfortable speaking to students and adults. In any given week, his events could range from a drug prevention program at a school to a stress reduction retreat in the workplace.
His keynote programs are a perfect addition for conferences, corporate events, school assemblies and college orientations. Matt also collaborates with other speakers and comedians to organize wellness days and mental health stand-up shows.
All Programs
Student and Youth
Adult
“I think everyone should leave my program feeling better than when they entered. One of my favorite outcomes is when a student feels validated by my message and leaves the program feeling encouraged to make healthy choices.”
-Matt Bellace
Student and Youth Programs
Matt uses his background in neuropsychology to tailor his programs to the developmental stage of his audience. For student assemblies, he presents the science of natural highs and delivers important messages about resilience, positive social support and mental health. He reinforces his points by using a simple acronym, LEAD:
- Lean on healthy people
- Express yourself in a healthy way
- Achieve natural highs.
- Dont be afraid to take a stand
Experiences
“I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Bellace’s presentation and I honestly wished it was longer!
I found that he was super engaging and insightful and it was perfect to open up our day with.
I actually ordered his book when I got home as well.”
–Student
Mount Saint Mary Academy
Adult Programs
Dr. Bellace’s professional and workforce presentations focus on the science of stress reduction and how to manage emotions.
He will present practical ways to use these techniques in everyday life for yourself and others, while having some laughs and fun interaction along the way. The program will also discuss dealing with disappointment and how to use it for inspiration.
Dr. Bellace’s unique style of integrating science with funny stories and audience participation should make for a memorable event!
Experiences
“I received positive feedback from a range of individuals from bench scientists, maintenance workers, HR professionals, mid-level managers through Senior Vice Presidents. We all face challenges, and Matt’s talk united us by providing engaging, concrete ways to help move forward with whatever we are handling individually.”
–Jeanette Fairhurst
Associate Director Therapeutic Antibodies – Immunoscreening, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
What’s So Funny?
is a mental health comedy show where some of the best stand-up comedians joke about their pain, loss and failure. Comics perform material about their mental health journeys and have a discussion about it on stage. Along the way we have some big laughs while raising awareness. This is a fun, informative and inspiring show.
Books By Matt Bellace
Life Is Disappointing and Other Inspiring Thoughts
Pain, loss and failure give rise to tremendous inspiration. The only question is what does it inspire? Is something that boosts you and raises others up or is destructive and harmful? Great musicians, Olympic athletes, comedians and others have been demonstrating how to harness this phenomenon for years. This book uses humor and personal stories, mixed with psychological research on coping skills, to help you better understand the process of disappointment and how to use it as fuel to propel yourself forward.
A Better High
A Better High is a powerful tool that can change attitudes about alcohol and drugs. It actually teaches and encourages young people to get high — in safe, positive and natural ways. Author Matt Bellace holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and has been involved in youth drug and alcohol prevention efforts since high school. Most importantly, Matt is a passionate and effective speaker who presents his message with humor and lots of audience interaction. He captures that passion in the pages of his book. A Better High offers students, teachers and parents a positive way to talk about alcohol and drugs — and many wholesome ways to get high every day.
