Make Your Mind Your Best Tool
There is more to what you see this rings true for me now as it did back then. - Gemma Watson
Gemma's back and personal story
Her adversity started in childhood, and the conversation around mental health was never healthy, informed or progressive. Snapshot: My biological mother suffered poor-ill mental health, and from an early age she learned the language of silence.
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Homelessness, abuse, academic struggles, low self-esteem, as well as a lack of belonging, fuelled shame, guilt and fear. This didn't change until her early 30s.
Understanding Context and Inspiring Internal Change
Gemma is a proud auntie and a lover of life, embracing the adversities that come with it. Her educational journey much like her life was fractured which has changed through her own connection to being the best version of herself. She has strong Caribbean roots, embraces her culture in ways she never thought was possible due to the biases and discrimination she faced growing up.
Passionate about development and learning professionally, she supports individuals, teams and sectors to change the way they perform and their well-being. Using facilitation and mentorship, she breaks down achieving mental agility and safety, both in practices and outcomes, which is a fresh perspective on embracing safeguarding in your life and work. Her work is grounded in building connections but primarily connecting with yourself.
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Agility Performance = Mental agility (the ability to adapt and adjust with accountability & resilience). What underpins this is emotional intelligence. She created MINDFUL BRAINSTM after fine-tuning and forging her own path in striving for mental agility herself.
The impact of childhood adversity made dysfunctional relationships seem normal so she covered most things with a smile. As she got older, work was where she thrived, but for many, around her, this was not the case. Her work accolades are made up from achieving three 100% ABA mystery shopper awards, a leader award for outstanding impact supporting young people and much more however, parallel to that, she watched people engage in drug use and other risky behaviours and when questioned, she was told everyone does it. She knew something needed to change, but everyone was doing the same thing, and for the most part, she felt like the odd one out. But everyone had one thing in common: pretending that everything was okay. Then one day.....
A student changed her life without him even knowing it. Working with him, she found a mirror of my life and language for many unexplained thoughts, feelings and reactions to various aspects of my life. At the time, she was working in education, holding a DDSL (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) title but carrying out DSL responsibilities, which allowed her to understand "the why" behind behaviours that are seen. Here she grew her understanding of trauma leading to understanding herself and others more.
Credentials
With her new-found learning, she was set on a therapeutic journey, learning about adverse experiences and the impact they have on the mind and body. While making sense of stress and trauma responses allowed her to make healthy and progressive choices to choose healthier choices, both personally and professionally.
Gemma brings a combination of challenge and compassion to others, ensuring that individuals and sectors thrive. ​​​​
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While my adversities didn't stop, I developed different tools, techniques and awareness that supported my recovery after contracting sepsis.
Qualifications
CMI Level 7 Diploma in Leadership in Coaching and Mentoring
Level 5 Diploma in Psychology
NCFE Level 3 Diploma in Counselling Skills
NCFE Level 2 Understanding Mental Health First Aid & Workplace Advocacy
Mental Health First Aid 2020/2022
All qualifications are Ofqual-regulated
​Coaching Certifications
Trauma-informed Coaching
Neuroscience Coaching
Mindfulness Practitioner level 1,2,3
CBT Practitioner level 1,2,3
Elite Performance Coach
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Awards
Outstanding leader award - Jack Petchey Foundation - Recognised for my ability to build trusted and meaningful relationships and outcomes during my time in education
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Certifications​
WAVE Training - Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement
Level 5 Facilitation Skills
Trauma-Informed Practice (Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards – Nicola Lester
Level 4 Behavioural Neuroscience
Level 4 Counselling: Anger Management
Mental Health First Aid
Mindfulness in Schools Project (MISP – b·e·g·i·n 12-week programme
Safeguarding Level 3
All listed certifications are regulated by a CPD Certification Service
As a Member of the Association for Coaching (AC) and Association Business Mentors I am professionally regulated and committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and ethical practice in line with their Code of Ethics.
Excellence can be maintained; it needs agile individuals who adopt agile thinking and habits. My approach is to challenge you compassionately but challenge you nevertheless, because nothing changes when you're comfortable.
Sepsis, my biggest adversity
After surgery - I woke up with a stoma and could hardly breathe.
On the 1st of November 2023, I woke up at home unable to walk but due to not making the threshold for an ambulance, I ended up with heavy sepsis infection from a perforated appendix that also perforated my bowel.
I didn't learn this until after surgery, also discovering I lost 30% of my lung capacity and gaining a stoma.
After 12 hours of surgery, and not being able to breathe my mindful habits kicked in.
​Mediation in very small bursts, switching off my thoughts to allow the brain the best chance to recover while under so much pressure and stress as I still was infected.
The recovery was hard for so many reasons but I was filled with so much gratitude because surgeons didn't think I would pull through.
The mental demand in recovery outweighed the physical and without the tools I had, I'm not
sure how I would have managed in my recovery and still having a positive mindset.
Having worked in social care for seven years, I was all too familiar with the battle I was about to face: the stigma, the pity, and the cultural shame. My aim of why I share any adversity is to show that having the personal responsibility to keep yourself mentally agile is a personal journey, but one that should not be underestimated.
I became a brand advocate for Salt's Healthcare, which was a decision close to my heart. I wanted to show others, in particular within the Caribbean community, that it's not your adversities that make you, it's how you respond to them. The time is now for better care, standards and practices. Let's work together if you want to improve things.