Meet Gemma Gilewski – Experienced CBT Therapist in Swansea
Gemma Gilewski, BSc (Anrh), MSc, PGCert, PGDipCBT, BABCP
BScHons Seicoleg (Prifysgol Swydd Hertford)
MSc Iechyd Meddwl Fforensig (Prifysgol Birmingham)
Triniaeth Seicolegol Seiliedig ar Dystiolaeth PGCert (Prifysgol Darllen)
Therapi Ymddygiad Gwybyddol PGDip (Prifysgol Royal Holloway Llundain)
BABCP Wedi'i achredu gan Gymdeithas Seicotherapïau Ymddygiadol a Gwybyddol Prydain
Fy enw i yw Gemma ac rydw i'n Therapydd Ymddygiadol Gwybyddol cymwysedig ac achrededig gyda Chymdeithas Seicotherapïau Ymddygiadol a Gwybyddol Prydain ( BABCP ). Rwyf wedi bod yn gweithio ym maes iechyd meddwl o fewn y GIG ers dros ddeng mlynedd ac rwyf wedi cael y fraint trwy gydol fy ngwaith yn CBT, nid yn unig i weithio fel therapydd ond hefyd i oruchwyliwr, tiwtor a darlithydd CBT.
Mae fy nghysylltiadau agos yn ifanc ag iechyd meddwl, yn golygu fy mod wedi bod â diddordeb ym mhrofiadau’r meddwl dynol a phobl ers blynyddoedd lawer cyn penderfynu bod yn therapydd. Arweiniodd hyn fi at fy rolau proffesiynol cyntaf ym maes iechyd meddwl fel mentoriaid a gweithwyr cymorth pobl ifanc ar gyfer troseddwyr ifanc ag anhwylderau iechyd meddwl difrifol a pharhaus. Yma, y gwelais y budd o ddefnyddio celf a dulliau creadigol eraill fel modd i fynegi emosiynau a phrofiadau anodd a chymhleth.
Parheais i weithio o fewn y GIG ym maes gofal sylfaenol ac eilaidd, gan ganolbwyntio ar ddatblygu fy ngwybodaeth a'm sgiliau mewn therapi. Roedd hyn i ddechrau fel Ymarferydd Lles Seicolegol, yn arbenigo mewn grwpiau a hunangymorth dan arweiniad (yn seiliedig ar egwyddorion CBT) ac fel Therapydd CBT Dwysedd Uchel ar gyfer IAPT (Gwella Mynediad at Therapïau Seicolegol). Yma, cefais brofiad o drin oedolion ag ystod eang o anawsterau cymhleth gan gynnwys iselder ysbryd a chyflwyniadau pryder amrywiol. O fewn y rôl hon, roeddwn yn gallu cysylltu fy mhrofiad teuluol o gyflyrau tymor hir â therapi, gan ddod yn brif therapydd ar gyfer Cyflyrau Tymor Hir, gyda fy niddordeb penodol mewn defnyddio CBT wrth reoli COPD a Diabetes.
Dechreuais y CBT Practice yn Abertawe bum mlynedd yn ôl, ar ôl symud i'r rhan hyfryd hon o'r byd o Lundain brysur iawn. Penderfynais ganolbwyntio ar hyn yn unig, yn dilyn fy ngwaith fel Therapydd CBT o fewn Gwasanaethau Iechyd Meddwl Arbenigol Plant a Phobl Ifanc (CAMHS) a chymryd fy nghyngor fy hun o sicrhau gwell cydbwysedd rhwng bywyd a gwaith. Mae byw rhwng y môr a'r mynyddoedd yn bendant wedi gwneud hynny'n haws i mi ac nid wyf yn caru dim gwell na threulio'r diwrnod ar y traeth, beicio trwy gefn gwlad hardd a mynd am dro hir (gyda chymorth trît ar y diwedd!).
Ochr yn ochr â fy mhractis preifat cyfredol, rwy’n parhau i weithio i Brifysgol Caerdydd fel darlithydd, tiwtor a goruchwyliwr ar Gyrsiau Tystysgrif Ôl-raddedig a Diploma Therapïau Gwybyddol ac Ymddygiad yn ogystal â Darlithydd achlysurol yn CBT ym Mhrifysgol De Cymru. Mae hyn yn caniatáu imi fod yn rhan o addysgu a chefnogi gweithwyr proffesiynol iechyd meddwl sydd â diddordeb mewn gweithio gyda CBT a symud ymlaen i fod y genhedlaeth nesaf o therapyddion CBT. Mae hyn hefyd yn trosi i'm rôl ym maes cyfathrebu fel aelod etholedig o Gangen BABCP De a Gorllewin Cymru ac fel aelod o CBT4Wales, gan fy ngalluogi i fod yn weithgar wrth lunio datblygiad a hyrwyddiad CBT o ansawdd uchel yn ein hardal leol yn y dyfodol a Cymru yn ehangach. Rwyf hefyd yn aelod bwrdd golygyddol o'r Journal of Psychology and Behavioural Therapy.
Mae fy null gweithredu yn anffurfiol, cyfeillgar a hamddenol ac rwy'n cynnig lle diogel a thosturiol i archwilio a meddwl am ffyrdd defnyddiol o newid gyda'n gilydd. Rwy'n hyblyg, yn gweithio gyda phlant, pobl ifanc a theuluoedd, yn ogystal ag oedolion, sydd hefyd yn cael ei adlewyrchu yn y ffordd rydw i'n gweithio - gan ddefnyddio siarad traddodiadol ond hefyd ddulliau eraill i fynegi anawsterau os yw'n briodol.
I’m interested in understanding the difficulties you are experiencing in the context of your life: where they may have begun, what has shaped them, what keeps them going and, importantly, why they make sense.
Our thoughts, emotions, behaviours and physical responses don’t appear from nowhere. They are influenced by what we have experienced and learned, our relationships and environment, and even by the way our brains have evolved to respond to threat, uncertainty and the world around us. It all comes from somewhere. In therapy, it is for us to make sense of what is happening together. Sometimes, understanding why your mind responds in a particular way can completely change how you see yourself. Instead of asking: “What is wrong with me?” we can begin to ask: “Why does my mind respond this way?” That is a very different question.
Understanding doesn’t mean spending therapy endlessly looking backwards. It means making sense of what is happening now — including what may have shaped it — so that together we can work out what needs to change. With adults, we may discover that something happening now has roots much further back. With children and young people, we may be looking at experiences as they are unfolding through family life, school, friendships, neurodevelopment and the wider world around them.
And understanding the whole picture also means recognising what is happening physically, not just psychologically. My experience working with people with long-term health conditions has given me a particular understanding of how closely the mind and body influence one another, and how physical health, psychological wellbeing and life circumstances can become intertwined. For me, therapy is about making sense of all of this in the context of the individual.
And there’s another part of choosing a therapist that matters too: the person you’re actually going to spend your time talking to.
The person behind the Therapist
There is, of course, a professional side to me. I take what I do seriously, I care about doing it well, and after 17 years I still find psychology genuinely fascinating. But I’m not a therapist 24 hours a day. Outside the therapy room, I’m just Gemma. I love spending time with my family, getting outside, walking and cycling, being by the sea or in the countryside, and enjoying good food. Having previously lived in London, I’m very happy to now have the beaches, mountains and countryside of Wales on my doorstep.
I’m naturally quite informal, too. I don’t believe therapy needs to feel stiff, clinical or full of complicated psychological language. Nor do I think therapy has to look exactly the same for everybody. I want you to feel comfortable talking to me, to be able to be yourself, and to feel that you can say things as they are.
That’s how I am as Gemma, and it’s how I am as a therapist.
Because when you choose a therapist, you’re not simply choosing a qualification or a list of letters after someone’s name. You’re choosing the person you are going to spend time with, trying to make sense of things that may feel difficult, confusing or hard to put into words. I think it matters that you have some sense of who that person is.
I’m genuinely curious about people: how our experiences shape us, why our minds learn to respond in particular ways, how those responses may once have helped or protected us, and what allows those patterns to change.
One of the most rewarding parts of my work is seeing someone begin to understand themselves differently — when something that previously felt confusing, frightening or like a personal failing starts to make sense. And we can work from there. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you get in touch. You don’t need to know exactly what is wrong, have the right words to explain it, or know what type of therapy you need. We can start with where you are.