PETER HEATH

Curriculum vitae:

RECENT WORK & STUDY HISTORY

January 2016 through lock-down to date:

Studying the Person-centred Approach has changed me. Who wouldn't it change? More than knowing the talk, you have to walk the walk. Theory underpins the path and following the path makes for a change in self. At City College, we're committed to Carl Rogers' six conditions: not just the three most popular conditions generally attributed to the PCA. And using those six conditions effectively offers the client fertile ground for growth. The power of the PCA is impressive and the experience of seeing it work personally supports the positive theory of human potential.

In my preparatory years at Brock I studied several approaches but in most cases the therapeutic relationship as the most significant common element won hands down. So in the end to hone in on that element and to become proficient seemed to me to be the most sensible option.

So, here I am.

Events immediately prior to 2016: In November 2015, my wife, my daughter and I were shipwrecked during an unexpected Caribbean hurricane. After a short pause for reflection, we decided to give up ocean sailing and embark on a more sheltered lifestyle. A little soul searching followed and I decided on the caring professions. There was a need. Counselling, I thought, would be a more useful occupation. But, I needed to re-train. I missed the September start of a course at our local college and whilst waiting for the next intake I put the gap to good use and studied Adult Social Care and Dementia Care.

I was influenced by the prescribed works of Tom Kitwood (Dementia Reconsidered). In particular, Kitwood calls for Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR) in dementia and adult social care: a term credited initially to humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers. Kitwood was leader of Bradford Dementia Group and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Bradford. Practising unconditional positive regard means accepting and respecting others as they are, without judgment or evaluation. Consequently, I felt hands-on experience working in the field would be beneficial during my study of counselling and I applied for a position caring for an elderly gentleman living with dementia in Christchurch. The post involved discreet care and companionship.

My next post was as a health care assistant at Hillyfield Rest Home, Milford on Sea, Hampshire. It’s a small, mixed home with vulnerable adults, some of whom live with dementia. However, I felt I still needed more experience in dementia care so after several months I moved to a semi-industrial facility in Lymington. The approach to care was not person-centred and I was uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I was able to be person-centred in my own approach and I managed to practice some skills: in particular, the use of unconditional positive regard and advanced empathy. I also experienced advanced empathy and communication at relational depth with an individual living with perpetual chronic disturbing hallucinations whom I was asked to ‘feed’. I entered the hallucination with her permission. Consequently, I was able to successfully assist her with eating and managed to help her achieve some inner peace and to get some resolution within the hallucination.

At this time I was offered a position in private care in Lymington. This enabled me to further my experience in private dementia care and allowed me to practice therapeutic relationships at relational depth. I gained a lot more experience in the successful use of advanced empathy with dementia in its later stages.

After the passing of my client, I returned to Hillyfield and their subsiduary company, Serendip.

CERTIFICATES

• Certficate to Practice
• AIM Level 3 Certificate in Counselling
• AIM Level 2 Award in Counselling:
  • Skills Aquisition and Practice
  • Working with Children and Young People
  • Working with Grief and Loss
• NCFE Level 2, Principles of Dementia Care
• Preparing to work in Adult Social Care

My previous life in Manhattan:
 
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