August 2017
Today after a session with a particularly lovely client, I realised just how much this therapeutic work means to me and it made me think about how I got here and the other jobs I did along the way.
Looking back on my working life I have done many varied jobs; in what feels like a previous life, I worked as a bank clerk for a well known high street bank. I left there and escaped to London, where I was a nanny, for a brief time, to 3 young children. In my mid 30s I retrained as a teacher and I worked for 12 years in a F.E college as an Art Tutor. With each job came new challenges and life lessons. But my role now as a Loss & Wellbeing Specialist is so special and it provides me with, for the very first time something I have never felt before. Fulfilment.
I am quite amazed at times, with the difference I see in my clients over the 7 session programme. Sometimes the client sat in front of me has changed so much it almost seems unreal. Naturally at the beginning my clients experience a level of nervousness and can be very angry or incredibly upset, or any of the other feelings we experience when we have suffered a loss. They share their concerns and feelings and I listen. Some clients initially feel change is impossible or perhaps they feel strongly that they will never get better. I have listened and watched in wonder as they DO change, as they let go of the unresolved issues. Those that felt they couldn't leave the house or go away, find the courage to book one holiday after another...Those that felt they couldn't escape the pain or anxiety over a divorce look forward to the future with genuine enthusiasm and hope.
The power of really truly listening must never be under estimated. This is a fundamental lesson I have learnt from this work. I thought I 'knew' it before, but I physically see the impact time and time again and it is, simply put, incredible. My clients can come into the session with their emotions weighing them down, to see them leave with a 'lighter step' is priceless.
I am so grateful that I found the training course or perhaps it found me? After several years of volunteering with 2 children bereavement charities, as a maker of cloth Keepsakes (in memory of those we have lost) and in my role as an Art & Grief workshop facilitator (mainly in schools) I felt this training was the icing on the cake. Since becoming a trained specialist in 2016 I have not looked back and this Saturday I will be launching my Grief Recovery business at the 1st Hereford Health & Wellbeing Fair. I am so excited about this, my first public opportunity, to promote and share my passion for this worthwhile supportive service.
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