Each month, we will be talking to a member of staff and finding out a bit more about them and what their role is within the charity.
Name: Heather Stabler
Job Title: Bank Counsellor
What is involved in your role?
Providing one to one counselling to a diverse client base for Kelly’s Heroes. Establishing a positive therapeutic relationship, allowing the client a safe space, to express their thoughts and feelings of grief, loss, trauma, whatever they need to bring to the session.
What is your background?
Having lived in the Unites States for many years, where therapy is accepted as a part of daily life, upon my return to the UK, where therapy was not considered part of everyday life. It was a not recognized as a healthy process, led me on my path to being a therapist. I started to volunteer at the local hospice with bereaved children and young people, both pre and post bereavement.
I have worked in placement within the drugs and alcohol field which brings its own set of grief and loss. I work with offenders and non-offending partners, where I started in Placement and have continued to work within that field, and which has led me to gain and BSC in Criminal Psychology.
I Worked with Child bereavement UK as a Practitioner. I believe that loss and bereavement is a natural part of life, and we cannot shy away from talking about it. During COVID and the lockdown, I was working with children and parents who were front line staff in the NHS, encouraging those parents to have the difficult conversations about loss and what plans were in place for the children, if they were to succumb to COVID. I work with grief and bereavement, as well as a diverse client base in private Practice.
What motivates you?
The belief that we are doing all that we can to encourage everyone to have positive mental wellbeing. That no matter how they think or feel about any situation, that they will come through it. In our field we are wounder healers, poof that you can, and will survive.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Knowing that we offer a non-judgemental, safe space for our clients to express their thoughts and feelings. Allowing them to see that they will learn to live with their grief. That they can rebuild a life around the grief.
If you could send a message out to the entire world, what would it be?
Love thy neighbour- in a world of turmoil, I feel that this is more important that ever.
This month’s random question: What is one item on your bucket list and why?
I don’t have a bucket list, I have a ‘too live list’. Top of that list is to return to live in Scotland, where I feel so much more at home.
