The Healing Space

The Healing Space Hi, I’m Gemma 👋
Helping families build resilience 💬 I offer therapy for children (7+), teens & adults, plus 1:1 parent coaching. Based in Cheshire & Manchester. In person, online & walk-and-talk.
🔗 https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/412047/gemma-brown/

15/03/2026

Belonging is survival.

If a child has to choose between
“I am wrong”
or
“You are unsafe”
they will almost always choose
“I am wrong.”

Because self-blame protects connection.

That is how shame begins.

If this stirred something,
my blog “Understanding Disorganised Attachment”
offers a gentle place to explore how fear and connection can become tangled.

You might also find the
Visualising Boundaries Worksheet helpful for strengthening secure patterns.

Available via my website.

Teens resist when autonomy feels threatened.Control activates defence.Collaboration reduces it.Boundaries still matter.B...
14/03/2026

Teens resist when autonomy feels threatened.

Control activates defence.
Collaboration reduces it.
Boundaries still matter.

But how they are communicated determines whether they escalate or stabilise.

We talk about stress like a fleeting state,but exhaustion is lived in the nervous system.It doesn’t go away with rest al...
13/03/2026

We talk about stress like a fleeting state,
but exhaustion is lived in the nervous system.

It doesn’t go away with rest alone.

It softens with safety.
Lowering threat.
Rebuilding capacity.

Regulating first, then reasoning.

That’s how bodies recover.

I’ve just launched the first training in my ADHD Therapy CPD Series for counsellors and psychotherapists.Over the years,...
13/03/2026

I’ve just launched the first training in my ADHD Therapy CPD Series for counsellors and psychotherapists.

Over the years, working with children and teenagers with ADHD, I kept noticing something. There is a lot of information about diagnosis and symptoms, but far less about what ADHD actually looks like in the therapy room and how we adapt our work in response.

Many of the things we see in sessions can easily be misunderstood. What looks like avoidance, lack of motivation, or disengagement is often cognitive overload, executive functioning struggles, masking, or shame from years of feeling misunderstood.
So I created a training that focuses on the in-room perspective.

This first course explores how ADHD presents during therapy sessions and how we can adapt pacing, expectations, and structure so therapy becomes more accessible and supportive for neurodivergent clients.

This course stands alone, but it’s also the first in a three-part ADHD Therapy CPD series. The next two trainings will focus on creative approaches and relational work with ADHD in therapy.

You can find out more here:
https://thehealingspacetherapy.co.uk/courses⁠

Psychotherapists ChildTherapy TeenTherapy TherapistTraining MentalHealthProfessionals

“I don’t know” usually means “It’s too big.”Cognitive demand shuts down when the nervous system is flooded.So I lower th...
12/03/2026

“I don’t know” usually means “It’s too big.”

Cognitive demand shuts down when the nervous system is flooded.

So I lower the demand.

Drawing.
Scaling.
Externalising.
Mapping.

Creativity isn’t extra.

It’s regulation.

And regulation opens language.

Teen anger often looks deliberate.It rarely is.Adolescence intensifies everything.Hormones. Identity. Belonging. Fear.Wh...
11/03/2026

Teen anger often looks deliberate.
It rarely is.

Adolescence intensifies everything.
Hormones. Identity. Belonging. Fear.

When connection feels threatened, behaviour escalates.

Staying regulated does not mean tolerating disrespect.

It means responding from safety, not threat.

Parent support sessions are not about judgement.They are about clarity.We slow down one real situation and explore:• Wha...
10/03/2026

Parent support sessions are not about judgement.

They are about clarity.

We slow down one real situation and explore:
• What your child is communicating
• What your nervous system is doing
• What attachment pattern may be active
• What language shifts the dynamic
• Where repair can happen

This is a standalone service.
It is reflective. Practical. Contained.

If you’d like to explore this, get in touch via my website to arrange a session.

ADHD doesn’t sit outside attachment.Heightened emotion. Faster threat detection. Stronger response to perceived rejectio...
09/03/2026

ADHD doesn’t sit outside attachment.

Heightened emotion. Faster threat detection. Stronger response to perceived rejection.

This can look volatile.

But volatility often masks vulnerability.

When relational safety increases, intensity reduces.

Steadiness matters more than strategy.

08/03/2026

Shame does not begin with language.
It begins with felt experience.

A look.
A sigh.
A tone shift.
A comparison.

Children internalise long before they can articulate.

“I’m too much.”
“I’m difficult.”
“I’m wrong.”

By the time they have the vocabulary to say “I feel ashamed,”
they may have already built their identity around it.

If this stirred something,
my blog “What Is Generational Trauma? The Patterns We Pass Down”
offers a gentle place to explore how shame forms and how it can be repaired.

You might also find the
My Brave Heart Workbook helpful in building emotional confidence over time.

Available via my website. Link in bio

Those four words can sting.“You don’t get it.”It is easy to respond defensively.To correct.To minimise.To explain why th...
07/03/2026

Those four words can sting.
“You don’t get it.”

It is easy to respond defensively.

To correct.
To minimise.
To explain why they are wrong.

But underneath that sentence is often something else.

I feel alone.
I feel misunderstood.
I feel exposed.

Validation does not mean agreement.

It means acknowledging emotional reality.

When someone feels heard, their nervous system softens.
When they feel dismissed, it braces.

The scripts in this post work because they reduce threat.

Curiosity builds safety.
Safety builds communication.
And communication builds trust.

Parenting while healing yourself is layered.You notice your triggers.You catch your tone.You question whether you are re...
06/03/2026

Parenting while healing yourself is layered.

You notice your triggers.
You catch your tone.
You question whether you are repeating or repairing.

There is no flawless formula.

But there is intention.

I don’t aim to remove all distress from my daughter’s life.
I aim to make sure she does not face it alone.

That she learns:

• Feelings are allowed.
• Repair is possible.
• Conflict doesn’t equal withdrawal.
• Boundaries don’t equal rejection.

We don’t need to be perfect parents.
We need to be repair-capable ones.

ADHD doesn’t mean a child can’t reflect.It often means they can’t hold everything at once.Working memory fatigue can loo...
05/03/2026

ADHD doesn’t mean a child can’t reflect.
It often means they can’t hold everything at once.

Working memory fatigue can look like:
“I don’t know.” Silence. Changing subject. Restlessness. Creative tools reduce load. Externalising reduces shame. Movement increases regulation. Visual mapping improves access.

Therapy has to match the nervous system. Not the other way around.

Address

11 Eagle Brow, Lymm
Lymm
WA130LP

Telephone

+447359459004

Website

https://linktr.ee/the.healing.space.therapy, https://www.counselling-directory.org

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