Gemma Louise Coaching

Author, Speaker, Coach, and Researcher - Gemma Margerison

When it comes to resilience, recovery, and wellbeing Gemma Margerison is a busy girl.

As an Author, Speaker, Coach, and Researcher, Gemma divides her time between delivering training, providing one-to-one support to individuals, and promoting her first book Connected: The 12 Ways of Wellbeing for a Holistically Healthy Life, which launched in October this year. Oh, and completing a Doctorate, of course.

Gemma’s interest in wellbeing began when she took a short course in Counselling in 2014, but when she received her own PTSD diagnosis just a year later, she began to focus her attention on researching and working specifically within the area of trauma and recovery. After starting a Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring at Oxford Brookes University a few years later, Gemma knew that this was the role for her.

“I am first and foremost a coach, specifically The Resilience and Recovery Coach for Gemma Louise Coaching, a company I began in 2019 as a side-hustle,” says Gemma. “From the feedback I received and the passion I felt for coaching, I took the business fulltime from January 2020 after leaving a role within an engineering company. I really enjoyed my time in the corporate world but what I loved most about my role was the one-to-one interactions I had with people who needed to talk.”

Since going self-employed, Gemma has supported numerous clients who have been through trauma and difficulty from historic abuse to toxic relationships, from marriage breakdowns to surviving critical illness and injury. The purpose of sessions through Gemma Louise Coaching is to help these individuals rebuild their lives; to improve their strength, confidence, and wellness so that they might overcome their fears and reach their full potential.

“I have seen some incredible outcomes for the clients I have worked with. Their sheer determination and growth has resulted in gaining the confidence to leave unhealthy relationships or start new healthy ones, to go back to university or to gain new employment, to move to the other side of the country or to simply believe in and love themselves. My role in all of this has been to be a sounding board and provide tools when required,” she says.

“There is not a session that goes by that I do not learn something about myself or something I can do to improve the services I offer. I am proud to have been able to walk alongside these individuals for as long as they have needed me, and then be able to see them reach a level of independence and go it alone. Coaching is a short-term, future-facing, goal-oriented intervention, which helps you to realise that you already have everything you need, and I love being able to bring that out in people.”

Feedback from one of her clients says, “Having had some time to reflect since our last session I am even more satisfied with the experience I had. I feel so much more confident, not only in my everyday interactions but also in my belief that I can cope with whatever comes my way. I am able to now prioritise my self-care and I am able to do it without the guilt I once felt. Having been through one cycle I know I would benefit from more.”

Gemma’s coaching begins with a complimentary consultation, followed by a block of five sessions approximately an hour each and usually two to three weeks apart. Gemma’s sessions follow a set structure based on her unique model of resilience and recovery. You can read more about her particular coaching style and book a free chemistry session via her website www.gemmalouisecoaching.com or by contacting her via Instagram @gemmalouisecoaching.

“My second business is Trauma Resilience and Recovery for Uniformed, Care, and Emergency Services, which can thankfully be shortened to TRUCE. TRUCE provides resilience training, trauma debriefing, and follow up coaching for anyone who lives in service of others, and I have had the privilege of working with the NHS, police, local authority adult services, care homes, and youth workers in addition to the military,” says Gemma.

“I began working with armed forces veterans in late 2013 and have done so on and off ever since. The individuals that I met were not only fantastically supportive of me as I went through my own mental health struggles, but continue to be a source of inspiration, motivation, and instruction. I have been additionally fortunate in that I have also worked with serving personnel and military spouses and aim to dedicate my second book to this community.”

In this capacity Gemma has designed the My Resilient Service Masterclass training package, which, to date, has added value to the work that is already being done to support staff within these organisations, and an outsider perspective has proven to provide a new and different way of looking at things. As someone who defines resilience beyond of the usual ‘bounce-back’ thinking, Gemma’s course aims to work in the preventative and proactive space.

“Resilience, to me, should not be measured by how well we are able to just keep going regardless of the situation or circumstances. Sometimes taking a break, looking after ourselves, or saying no to things can take just as much, if not more courage, especially within the healing and helping professions where patient care often takes priority over everything else. This requires a knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of who we are as individuals,” she says.

Feedback from one particular session says, “Excellent delivery of a thought provoking and under valued subject. We should do more of it and it was great to hear our guys opening up in front of us which a testament to the atmosphere that Gemma created throughout… I feel better placed to improve my own resilience and support others to improve theirs, not just as a reactive measure but as a proactive one ahead of any future challenges that might arise.”

While TRUCE is not yet as established as Gemma Louise Coaching, it has enormous potential. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of our frontline, care, and uniformed services, and now is the time for positive change, for more support, and for the recognition of the sacrifices being made to keep the rest of the population safe and well. For more information, please contact Gemma on gemmalouisecoaching@gmail.com or via Instagram @truce.trauma.resilience.

Finally, Gemma is a writer and a speaker. “Over the past few years, I have travelled across the country for guest speaking engagements talking about my personal recovery journey, my work in wellbeing, and also my unique model of resilience. Sharing real life experience is where the connection happens, and it usually only takes someone to be brave to spark much needed conversation in this area,” she says.

Earlier this year Gemma spoke at an event for International Women’s Day. Here is what the organiser had to say about her. “Your talk at the Warrior Women event was amazing. You were open and honest and that helped the attendees feel connected to you and more able to share their own stories and vulnerabilities. The conversation and honesty showed that we were in a safe space… The way you speak is engaging and creates a sense of connection and trust.”

Gemma’s speaking engagements have seen an increase since the release of her first book, most notably is her return to the #YesSheCan Skills Development Day in December. Here she will be talking about the book, which was released at a World Mental Health Day Book Launch and Wellbeing Fair on 10th October 2021. However, this is not the first time Gemma has seen her name in print, and she hopes it will not be the last.

“I have always loved writing and was first published in a collection of poetry gathered from local primary schools in the area I grew up in. Reading, writing, and stories got me through those awkward teenage years of too many emotions, and I went on to complete an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and English Literature. Being a published author was always the dream,” says Gemma.

That being said, her writing career initially took her into journalism, working for a small national newspaper in Auckland, New Zealand. Gemma describes herself as being fortunate enough to interview politicians, sports stars, music legends and upcoming artists, charity workers, thought leaders, and professionals of all kinds. While it became clear that she did not want to continue in the profession on her return to the UK, it taught her a lot of the skills she still uses now.

“Journalism, like coaching, relies heavily on the use of effective questioning and building relationship. My love of story and people combined with a natural curiosity around lived experience meant that I was able to meet a lot of other wellbeing professionals and gather all of their wonderful journeys to where they are now. This gave me an idea for a book, one that would be a cross between self-help and a wellbeing directory,” says Gemma.

“When I went selfemployed, I began to work on Connected: The 12 Ways of Wellbeing for a Holistically Healthy Life, so it was over 18-months in the making before its release in October 2021. It has been a real learning curve, but I am so grateful to have met, worked with, and been supported by so many interesting, talented, and passionate contributors who were so willing to share their information, advice, and guidance around the topic of wellness.”

In the book Gemma introduces us to her unique model of wellness, The Four Spheres of Connection. “I believe we need to have a connection to ourselves, others, the world, and our purpose in order to live a well-round life.

We explore each of these four sections through three sub-chapters; breaking them down into 12 bitesize and easy-to-understand chunks,” she says. The book, which is an entry-level introduction into the world of health and wellbeing, features 45 other UK-based contributors.

Just before the first lockdown in 2020, Gemma was also published in a collaborative book called Unzenable: A Guide to Stress Less & Be More and both of these books are available to purchase via Amazon, with £2 from the sale of every copy of Connected being donated to support the work of Lancashire Mind. You can follow Gemma’s writing and speaking journey on Instagram

@gemma.margerison.

You can also hear more about the book and its contributors through Gemma’s YouTube channel and podcast also called Connected. With new content released weekly, the Connected YouTube and podcast aims to further showcase the work of contributors to the book and other wellbeing professionals doing amazing things in the health and wellbeing space. The podcast is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, and TuneIn.

While Gemma’s hats all seem very different, there are three distinct and important threads weaving them all together: trauma, resilience, and wellbeing. “I absolutely love what I do; every day is unique. I am always meeting people from all backgrounds and walks of life and using both my own experiences as well as my studies to support in the best way I can. If you have any questions or would like to know more, I would love to hear from you,” she says.