Gemma Edkins
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
The discovery of “me, here and now” Carl Rogers (1951).
Welcome, I’m Gem (she/her) and I’m a qualified counsellor, psychotherapist and coach.
I work from a person-centred perspective and that means that I believe no-one can know you better than you – even if it doesn’t feel that way for you at the moment. By gently holding up the mirror for you to reflect on your circumstances, together we can be curious and work out what is going on for you.
I will listen to you, possibly in a way that you have never been listened to before, compassionately, without judgement, holding the space for you to be unapologetically you. Anger, sadness, hurt, fear, guilt and shame – all emotions and all life experiences, you are welcome.
I'm curious and patient and able to gauge the right time for encouragement, helping you explore what is preventing you from living your life to your potential.
Some form of change, or lack of, seems to be at the heart of most people’s reasons for seeking therapeutic support, whether that be internal change (i.e. something going on internally to you, such as feeling stuck, confidence, identity, feeling depressed, anxious, messy emotions, a feeling you can’t quite put your finger on etc…), or external change (such as bereavement/loss, career/work, marriage/divorce, family circumstances, life transitions etc…) which may or may not be within your influence or control. If this resonates with you, let’s talk.
Arrange a free introduction (15 mins call) and we can go from there.
Training, qualifications & experience
My Experience:
I have over 25 years’ experience working in a variety of past paced industries, coaching people and organisations through change, so I am very familiar with the challenges of juggling the demands of work and life, and how the lines are increasingly blurring for some, particularly after COVID where many of us spend a lot of our working life at home where it can be difficult to put boundaries in place and switch off in an always on world.
I have experience working in mental health services for children, young people and adults, and fully understand the demands of School and College environments on staff and pupils alike (having worked in education settings as an employee, a service partner and a trustee). I’ve provided therapeutic support for young people 16+ and adults, and social and emotional coaching for children from 4 upwards.
I am passionate about how we can work with our surroundings and spend time in nature to help support our mental health and wellbeing.
Training and Qualifications:
- Current - placement supervisor, Training through Counselling Tutor
- CAMHS Community Autism Training - National Autism trainer programme, a collaboration between Anna Freud and AT-Autism
- Transactional Analysis 101
- Accredited personnel - Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS): Therapeutic Route
- Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (including telephone and online) (Level 7) – MBACP (reg)
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Level 7 Certificate (ICS)
- Graduate skills in Counselling
- Advanced Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Level 4
- Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Level 3
- Mental Health First Aider Course (MHFA England)
- NLP Coach Trainer
- NLP Trainers Training
- Trainers Training NLP Hypnosis
- NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Master Coach/Practitioner, Hypnosis and Timeline Therapy
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Reiki Master
- Certificate in Clinical Hypnosis
Memberships:
- British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) – MBACP (Reg)
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - Associate Member CIPD (Assoc.)
- European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) – Professional Member
- General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC), Registered Hypnotherapist on the General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR)
Member organisations
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Some examples (not limited to the list) of areas where I have supported my clients, please contact me to discuss if we can work together.
- Anxiety,
- Depression,
- Big Emotions,
- Career,
- Feeling stuck,
- Exploring Neurodiversity,
- Family and Relationship Issues,
- Grief,
- Suicide ideation,
- Trauma,
- Abuse,
- Transitions (Life, sexual)
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
£50 per 50 min session (up to an hour).
(I do offer a small number of concessions).
Payment required in advance of the session.
Please note, this is the fee for counselling services. Please contact me if you are interested in coaching / supervision.
When I work
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Monday to Wednesday - online/telephone.
Thursday I work from my office in Halifax and online/telephone.
Saturday/Sunday: Based Halifax/Cragg Vale (Walk & Talk) and online/telephone.
Further information
To get in touch: Call me, leave a voicemail, text, or email me. I will get back to you as soon as I can (usually within 24 hours) to arrange a 15 min appointment.
During the 15 min appointment, we can decide together if we would like to progress to therapy sessions – and we will arrange our first session.
Meetings: Meetings can be in person at the office in Halifax or outside as a ‘walk and talk’ (Cragg Vale), on skype/zoom/Whatsapp, or phone. For 'walk and talks' feel free to bring your pooch :).
Appointment time: Sessions are 1 hour.
Space, Halifax: I have a confidential space in Halifax that is warm and comfortable, the kettle is always on/refreshments at the ready. The space has several chairs, of varying degrees of firmness/heights. There are blankets and cushions to wrap yourself in and a huge rug to sink you feet into. The room is light and airy and with ample space for you to walk around, sit down, stretch out – whatever makes you comfortable.
I will come and meet you when you arrive, and the room is a short walk from reception.
Access: There are stairs in the building. Please ask me about access arrangements if required.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking around the building, most roads around the building offer 2 hours free. There is also a large car park nearby called High Street Car park (fee applies).
Space Walk and Talks: Various routes available, to be discussed if this is an area of interest for you.
