About
Heather Karasch, RN, CCC
In previous years, she has trained as a competitive track runner, a triathlete and an Ironwoman, a mountain biker and an avid mountain explorer who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
Heather has worked in Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units, and as a nurse in Africa and in Haiti during the Cholera outbreak.
Heather has accumulated that 'wisdom' which can only be learned through lived experience, including being a mother of two outstanding daughters, navigated a divorce, and also having grieved the heavy emotions associated with facing significant medical and mental health diagnosis of immediate family members.
She is proud of herself for having clawed her way back from many challenging and overwhelming times. Heather has reached a place where she is thankful for those journeys, and those experiences, which now allow her to meet her clients' deepest hurts, with a truly genuine appreciation for the struggles that trauma can bring.
With over 15 years of experience in the mental health field, Heather holds a Master of Nursing and also a Master's of Arts in Counselling Psychology. She brings a deep, integrative perspective to her work with individuals, youth, and families, drawing on her extensive background in family systems, trauma informed care and clinical practice.
Having trained at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre and employed as a family counsellor on child and adolescent mental health units for Alberta Health Services, Heather aims to support clients navigating complex concerns as well as relational and family dynamics, while drawing from trauma informed and attachment-based interventions.
She has been employed as an instructor at both Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary. As an outcome of having worked so closely within our medical system, Heather seeks to incorporate those holistic aspects of well-being into her work, which are perhaps lacking in mainstream models of care. Her counseling approach is therefore guided by evidence-based models while being simultaneously grounded in spirituality, compassion, collaboration, and a strong respect for each client’s inner resilience.
Heather has a particular interest in Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a framework for healing and self-understanding. She draws from mindfulness, DBT, CBT, ACT, Somatic based and spiritually based therapeutic approaches when working with individuals facing depression, anxiety, post traumatic symptoms, ADHD, stage of life and relational concerns.
She has worked for completed certifications with ATMA Cena and also has basic ART certification. Whether working with individuals, youth, parents or entire families, Heather seeks to create space which nurtures personal growth, as she believes we all possess the capacity to heal and change.
Credentials
Certifications
Psychology
I hold two mental health care related Masters degrees, and have worked as a counsellor with Alberta Health Services for nearly 15 years. I have fostered the necessary skill base to support individuals and families during times of crisis.
Therapy
I am a certified counsellor who seeks to foster personal growth and nurture resilience with her clients, through a compassionate and collaborative relational therapeutic approach.
Expertise
My work is guided by a variety of evidence-based models including trauma informed care, attachment-based, mindfulness, DBT, CBT, ACT, Internal Family Systems and Systemic Family Therapy. I maintain current by continually engaging and learning from evidence based courses and trainings.
Affiliations
I am an active member of CCPA and ACTA. Being an affiliate of these of professional associations allows me to stay connected with ethical standards, best practices and industry advancements.
Approach
My holistic approach weaves together diverse therapeutic models in an effort to bridge all dimensions of an individual’s well‑being. By honoring the connections between our spiritual, emotional and nervous systems state, I aim to cultivate healing and meaningful personal growth.
Achievements
My decades long commitment to working in this field, and my ongoing pursuit of learning is purely due to feeling deeply passionate about one's abilities to improve their mental health. I am honored to be a part of the positive changes that emerge through therapy, and those healing journeys that individuals pursue towards improved well-being.