Piers Heaney
What my Clients have to say
The way you guided us all through and beyond the minefield of emotions and experiences was inspirational. Also the way you kept our attention (riveted in fact) the whole time!! Thank you Piers. Your work is an art form I think, perfectly crafted and allied with compassion and understanding.
Workshop participant
We have had Piers Heaney run a training workshop for our workers on grief and we unanimously agreed that it was one of the most informative and beneficial training groups we have ever had. Piers’ delivery of his material was sensitive, creative, informative and totally professional.
Anglican Methodist Family Care Centre, Dunedin
Personally you should be very proud of the amazing contribution you have made to our National Diploma and to the integrity that this already holds within our building industry. It has been a real pleasure working with you on this project and I have really appreciated the humility you have displayed in fronting this work and the learning I have gained from our interactions.
Keith Smith, CEO Alpha Building Consultants
Piers Heaney is a deceptively unassuming person, who is a skilled and competent practitioner, educator and supervisor. He is a person who has owned his wisdom and authority without leaving behind his humanity. He is a rare gift and I have no hesitation in recommending him to you.
The Reverend Storm Swain, Hospital Chaplain and Pastoral Educator
Piers’ particular strengths are his warmth and charisma, his ability to work with members of different cultural groups and his adherence to the highest and ethical standards. Piers is also a good team member and is able to foster positive and harmonious relationships through his own positive outlook and keen sense of humour. He is honest, even when that entails stepping apart from the majority.
Connie Hassan, Manager, Maori Health Services, Healthcare Otago
Piers, ...... We have had marvellous feedback regarding all sessions and we sincerely thank you again for providing such good learning forums for us all. The way you present such important information in an understandable, enthusiastic way has aided us all in our working lives as well as our personal stuff too.
Lucille Ogston, Co-ordinator, Alzheimers Canterbury
Piers was both remarkably involved in and detached from the wide variety of counselling and grief situations in which he was professionally involved. I note this because he had an excellent aptitude for counselling people under traumatic circumstances and pressures. At the same time his ability to combine compassionate involvement and professional discretion was very notable,
Dr. A.J. Russell, Dean of Theology, University of Otago
Piers provided grief education workshops for three Palliative Care short courses. He did a superb job. He did this by providing an emotionally safe environment and developing a sense of group cohesiveness where people felt able to self-disclose, learn from and support each other. The evaluations completed by students at the end of the course consistently rated Piers’ workshops as the most valuable content.
Ramona Clark, Nursing Lecturer, Otago Polytechnic
When our bereavement support service felt the need to establish grief recovery groups we had no hesitation in asking Piers to lead these groups. We have had ten very successful groups over the past three years, and I cannot speak highly enough of Piers’ excellent leadership. His preparation is meticulous and thorough, and his approach to our clients is extremely gentle but also totally empathetic and understanding of each individual’s needs. Our Company has had tremendous positive feedback from the participants in all ten groups.
Tricia Warwick-Naziris,
Bereavement Support Services, Hope & Sons Ltd, Funeral Directors, Dunedin
I am frequently called upon to provide testimony to the skills and attributes of workers in the helping profession. Infrequently, am I able to speak without some reservation and in the most glowing terms – when speaking of Piers I can.
Donna Neill, Manager, Dunedin Victim Support Group
Firstly, everyone felt safe, relaxed and prepared to seek and share information during the workshops, a result of your facilitation skills and respect for others. Secondly, the information you delivered relating to grief and the grieving process was exactly what staff wanted. Many people wished you could have facilitated more workshops than you had time for Piers.
Tricia Russell, Staff Development, Healthcare Hawkes Bay
I did not realise then, just how important his non-judgmental acceptance of me was. Here was a listener prepared to hear, and a speaker with things to say. His ability and readiness for communication mark a time of great value in my life.
Hospice family client
The work is wonderful in its simplicity and focus and is of a very high quality. I am so very impressed. It could only have come from Piers’ deep reflection processes through each aspect of the work ...... the revision is explained in the language of work rather than academia. I think what Piers has done is a very significant piece of reflection and development that lifts the credibility of our organisation.
Kris Bennett, Manager Capable NZ, Otago Polytechnic
"It's all about Developing People Potential"