About me
Hi I'm Gemma! Thank you for checking out my profile. I am a qualified integrative counsellor which basically means I use a blend of 3 modalities of therapy. I draw upon Person Centred Therapy (PCT), Transactional Analysis (T.A), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Ultimately though I place a great importance on a relational approach to therapy which means creating strong and meaningful therapeutic relationships. I am quiet, calm and empathic in manner and strive to meet you with a 'humanness' and compassion so we can meet each other as our genuine selves.
The counselling process is not about being given advice or being told what to do but about exploring what brings you to therapy and gently unpacking this together to uncover your inner resources and hopefully enable you to feel more balance, a sense of peace and more empowerment in your life.
I welcome you to talk about the things that are important but might feel to hard to say out loud to friends and family. I can help you to navigate your way through difficult feelings and emotions and to help you to understand your own thought processes, self and relationships around you. It can be challenging to work through this exploration of self and be true to ourselves however gaining self awareness can be empowering and hopefully enable you to develop greater confidence and value of yourself.
I hold a passion and specialism on the impact and pain that infertility issues can bring. It can be a very lonely, complexed and devastating time whether you are at the start of your journey and coming to terms with the realisation of infertility , going through tests, having failed cycles of treatment or perhaps considering ending treatment. Its a heart wrenching experience that brings along complicated feelings and emotions. It might feel difficult to speak to those you are closest to and often people can feel misunderstood and unsupported. This can all have a significant impact on your wellbeing both emotionally and physically and can often bring a sense of isolation, loss and loneliness. My professional experience includes working within a HFEA registered fertility clinic supporting individuals and couples. I am a member of the BICA (British Infertility Counselling Association) I have also completed specialist training in miscarriage and infant loss.
Upon contacting me I then offer an initial phone call where we can make contact and talk briefly about what brings you to therapy, what you are hoping to gain and most importantly for you to get an idea of how I work so you can decide if I am the right therapist for you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I come from a background in healthcare working closely with people who are going through very challenging and difficult times in their lives. This ranges from anxiety, depression, eating disorder related issues, and fertility struggles. Over the last few years I have worked with people to help them with their self esteem issues, feelings of overwhelm, confidence, relationship issues, grief and loss. I am a member of the British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA) and have completed training to develop my skills to help individuals manage the emotional impact of infertility investigations and treatment. I am also an individual member of the BACP and abide by their ethical framework.
- BICA Foundation Course for Fertility Counselling
- Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills
- Level 2 Counselling Concepts
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 per session
