FROM CASE FILES
TO PARTNERS IN HEALING.
Challenging barriers and shifting perspectives through 26 years of lived experience.
From Lived Experience to Lasting Impact
I am learning how to be a social worker from the textbooks, yes—but I am also writing the textbook on what it means to reclaim a life.
— The Year My Head Exploded
MY MISSON
A Digital Lighthouse.
Making the Invisible Visible.
I am currently a Master of Social Work candidate, with an expected graduation date of September 2029. While I do not operate a clinical social work practice, I am deeply committed to using my 26 years of lived experience to shift perspectives, challenge institutional barriers, and connect with others navigating similar paths.
This website is a digital lighthouse: a space for open dialogue, shared insights, and collaborative thinking with those who want to change how the system treats the “invisible” among us.
LET’S CONNECT
Experience Can Change the Conversation.
I welcome thoughtful conversations with students, community organizations, healthcare professionals, and fellow survivors. Here are the core areas of focus I bring to the table:
Expert by Experience
Shifting the paradigm from viewing individuals merely as “case files” to recognizing them as active partners in their own healing.
Navigating Hidden Disabilities
Discussing the practical, day-to-day realities of managing profound physical changes, such as progressive hearing loss, while working or studying.
The Intersection of Mind & Body
Creating honest dialogue around the dual navigation of chronic physical illness (NF2) and complex mental-health diagnoses (Bipolar Disorder).
Bureaucratic Resilience
Exchanging strategies on how to survive and thrive within rigid institutional environments, informed by decades in hospital settings and the public service.
COLLABORATION
How We Can Connect and Collaborate
Insight Sharing & Dialogue
Engaging with academic circles, community groups, or student cohorts to offer a peer-level perspective on accessibility, coping strategies, and systemic inclusion.
Advocacy Consultation
Contributing a unique “expert by experience” lens to organizations or networks looking to improve communication, support structures, and genuine accommodation for people with visible or invisible disabilities.
Community Connection
Exchanging stories and strategies with fellow “invisible employees” or parents navigating their own internal minefields. You are not alone in the quiet spaces.
Maisquellevie
•
Marie-Claire McKelvey
•
Maisquellevie • Marie-Claire McKelvey •
LET’S CONNECT
Start a Conversation
Whether you want to collaborate on grassroots disability advocacy, discuss the “expert by experience” perspective, or simply share a mutual “Pffft” at rigid bureaucratic systems, Marie-Claire welcomes the conversation.
Let’s exchange stories, share unique insights, and bring warm light to the quiet spaces together.