Kiri McLaughlin

I am a mental health facilitator, delivering awareness sessions, suicide prevention and Mental Health First Aid training across various organisations and in a private capacity. I am a counsellor working in private practice based in Newtownabbey and have a young family and two energetic dogs that keep me active.

I am a counsellor and mental health facilitator. I work privately as a counsellor and as a freelance facilitator – passionate about raising awareness and developing skills. I have been delivering training for almost a decade and working in private practice for 2 years. My work in the area of mental health has been inspired from my own mental health difficulties in childhood and adolescence and a desire to support people and spread kindness and goodness in the world.

I will be delivering suicide prevention skills and promoting the work of a wonderful charity whose ethos aligns with mine. I hope to use the hard work and dedication of the FME team in the creation of education and resources to empower the people, families and public to identify distress and connect those who are experiencing it to the right interventions at the right time.

I adore the ethos that the charity holds – that we all have the capacity to look after each other as humans walking this earth – that we can all do a little part to support each others emotional distress. I draw from my own personal experiences of distress but recognise that no two experiences are the same – I believe in reducing the stigma attached with distress and bereavement (there is no right or wrong way to experience it) and believe in the magic of kindness. This motivates me in every part of my life and work. I find those ‘lightbulb’ moments the most rewarding – whether those are moments of “I can do this” or “that makes so much sense” or “I can see how much of a difference I can make to myself / others”

When I’m not working I enjoy spending time with my family, connecting with nature, sea swimming. It can be hard to get the balance right – and sometimes I don’t achieve that but we are all human beings doing our very best.