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/

Book now: https://portal.therasee.com/the-healing-space/booking

Coming out of Christmas and heading back into routine is a huge shift for children.Their bodies are still recovering fro...
28/12/2025

Coming out of Christmas and heading back into routine is a huge shift for children.
Their bodies are still recovering from late nights, sugar, excitement, noise, family overwhelm, social pressure, and a complete break in structure.

Then suddenly we expect them to slot straight back into “normal.”

If your child is clingy, tearful, irritable, anxious, shut down, or refusing school — it makes sense.
Their nervous system is tired.
Their routine is unfamiliar.
Their body is still coming down from a lot.

These scripts help you create safety in the transition, not pressure.

Try slowing the pace, offering extra reassurance, giving simple steps to follow, and staying close while their system recalibrates.

They don’t need you to fix everything.
They need you to be their steady place while everything else feels wobbly.

Save this for the night before school starts.
Share it with someone who needs a softer January.




27/12/2025

For many adults, Christmas isn’t just lights and memories.
It’s the echo of what was missing.
The tension.
The walking on eggshells.
The pressure to smile.
The pretending everything was fine.

Being back in old family dynamics can reopen wounds you thought had healed.

If you feel yourself bracing, shutting down, over-accommodating, or shrinking yourself — you’re not “overreacting.”
Your nervous system is doing what it learned to do around the people who taught it how to survive.

Go gently with yourself.
Choose peace over performance.
Leave early if you need to.
You’re allowed to protect the adult you’re becoming.

Share this if Christmas feels complicated this year.




Boxing Day can feel strangely heavy.The noise drops. The distractions fade.And the things you’ve been holding together a...
26/12/2025

Boxing Day can feel strangely heavy.

The noise drops. The distractions fade.

And the things you’ve been holding together all year can suddenly feel louder.

For parents, this is often when worries about your child surface.

For adults, it can be the moment you realise how tired you really are.

If you’re thinking about getting support in the new year, my January diary is open as I reopen in my new Lymm space.

You don’t need to be in crisis.

You don’t need to have it all figured out.

You’re welcome to explore therapy, parent support, courses and free resources via the link in my bio.

This is the reality for so many parents.Crying quietly.Holding everything together.Trying hard not to pass their pain do...
26/12/2025

This is the reality for so many parents.
Crying quietly.
Holding everything together.
Trying hard not to pass their pain down.

But the truth is: children don’t need parents who never struggle.
They need parents who show them that feelings are survivable.

Emotionally honest homes raise emotionally honest kids.



25/12/2025

Growing up feeling “not enough” doesn’t stay in childhood.
It follows you into parenting, relationships, boundaries, work, and even rest.

These steps aren’t quick fixes — they’re slow rewiring.
And every gentle choice you make is a small act of rebellion against the voice that taught you to shrink.

You deserve more than survival.
You deserve ease.



Pretending is heavy.Children and teens often mask their feelings to avoid burdening others or to keep the peace at home....
24/12/2025

Pretending is heavy.

Children and teens often mask their feelings to avoid burdening others or to keep the peace at home.
But their silence doesn’t mean they’re fine.

Ask twice.
Listen fully.
Hold the space gently.

You don’t need perfect words.
You just need to show up.



Christmas can feel full of warmth and togetherness… or it can feel painfully quiet, overwhelming, or complicated. For ma...
24/12/2025

Christmas can feel full of warmth and togetherness… or it can feel painfully quiet, overwhelming, or complicated. For many people, it is a mix of all three.
If today or tomorrow feels hard, please know you are not failing at Christmas. You are human.

These helplines remain open over Christmas Day for anyone who needs support, a listening ear, or someone outside their immediate world to talk to. You do not have to be in crisis to reach out.

Whether you are surrounded by people or feeling very alone, you matter, and support is still there.

Wishing you a gentle Christmas, whatever it looks like for you. 🎄🤍

Save or share this post in case someone you care about needs it.

Christmas looks different when you’re raising a teen who finally trusts you enough to say,“I don’t feel safe around that...
23/12/2025

Christmas looks different when you’re raising a teen who finally trusts you enough to say,
“I don’t feel safe around that person.”

And the truth is…
Most of us were raised to ignore those feelings.
To stay quiet.
To be polite.
To keep the peace.

But our teens are braver than we ever were.

When they tell you something feels off, that is not drama.
It’s not attitude.
It’s not trying to “get out of” family time.
It’s their nervous system speaking before they have the words.

This is how cycle breaking happens:
you listen.
you believe them.
you protect them without making them carry the fallout.

Because safety > tradition.
Always.

If this hits home:
you’re doing better than you think.
Your child feels safe enough to be honest with you —
and that means you’re already giving them what you never got.



Teenagers don’t open up because they’re pushed.They open up because the room feels safe enough for their guard to drop.M...
22/12/2025

Teenagers don’t open up because they’re pushed.
They open up because the room feels safe enough for their guard to drop.

Most teens stay quiet because they’re overwhelmed, not because they don’t care. They need slowness, gentleness, and opportunities to talk without the pressure of “so what happened?”

If you want your teen to talk more:
• soften your approach
• validate before you ask
• choose moments that feel less intense
• stay curious, not controlling

What looks like avoidance is often self-protection.
What looks like indifference is often exhaustion.

Save this post so you’ve always got these prompts on hand.
Share it with a parent who needs reassurance that quiet teens aren’t unreachable.



21/12/2025

When children miss someone at Christmas, they often try to protect the adults around them by staying quiet.

These scripts do three things:
• validate the pain
• keep the person’s memory alive
• show your child their sadness is not a burden

You cannot fix their grief.
You can make sure they never have to carry it alone.



Struggling with boundaries often isn’t about not having them.It’s about not being sure where they sit.This free workshee...
21/12/2025

Struggling with boundaries often isn’t about not having them.
It’s about not being sure where they sit.

This free worksheet is designed to help you pause and reflect on: • what feels manageable and what doesn’t
• where your energy is being drained
• how boundaries show up in everyday situations
• feelings that are hard to name or explain

There’s no pressure to change anything straight away.
It’s simply a tool to help you understand what’s going on.

You can download Visualising Your Boundaries for free in my Resource Library.

https://thehealingspacetherapy.co.uk/m/login?r=%2Ffree-resource-library

Save this for later or share with someone who might find it useful.

traumainformed parentwellbeing adulttherapy healingjourney
Warrington Lymm Cheshire Manchester Altrincham Urmston Sale

20/12/2025

Children rarely fall apart in a straight line.
They usually mask right up until the moment they can’t any more.

And what looks like:
– being “good”
– being quiet
– being no trouble
– being independent
– being “mature for their age”

Is sometimes a child who is tired of being misunderstood…
or scared to be too much…
or terrified that asking for help will make things worse.

The “fine” phase is often the final phase before overwhelm.
It’s the last bit of emotional oxygen before the collapse.

If you’ve noticed your child becoming extra quiet, extra compliant, extra “good,” pay attention.
That’s not resilience.
That’s survival.

Look beneath the behaviour.
Stay curious.
Stay present.
Stay open.

Read my blog Creating a Safe Emotional Space to learn what children actually need before they feel safe to open up.
Link in bio.



Address

Warrington

Telephone

+447359459004

Website

https://linktr.ee/the.healing.space.therapy

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