The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Stacey Withington.
In this case study, Stacey provides a short account of her life and is then interviewed by Jerome.
Stacey details how she was able to transform her life, despite the traumas experienced in her life.
Although many of us will not have experienced the difficulties that Stacey has, we are all able to empathise with her story. We now have the gift of her story, to borrow the phrase from Dr Julie Leibrich (Leibrich, 1999).
How many times must people complain about the delay in accessing counselling and mental health services before something is done to tackle the problem?
A mother, a partner and a son, backed up by wonderful tutors and friends, helped Stacey find the strength and talent that she possessed within.
Stacey is the first person featured in this series to be called a SHEro. In truth and as Patricia Deegan has stated, “try and see the person with mental health problems that you are working with as a hero” (Deegan, 1996). As Pat also says, “Could you have survived what that person has survived?” Stacey has not just survived, she is now flourishing!
