The Preston recovery coach offering free resilience classes to front line workers who battled through pandemic

Gemma Margerison, 32, has worked as a resilience and recovery coach for the past 18 months and said she wanted to give something back to the front line workers and organisations who had continued working throughout the pandemic.

Offering courses to the military community, including serving personnel and veterans, Gemma said she had "seen the positive impact it has" in helping people make time for self-care and reflection.

And to further expand her courses, she wanted to offer the same therapy sessions to all front line care and uniformed service staff who battled through the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year.

She said: "As we got this announcement that we were on a roadmap out of lockdown, I felt it was an important time to challenge what resilience means and how people will start to return back to some normality.

"I don't subscribe to this 'bounce back' mindset, I think it is much more individual and personal than that, and I know what impact courses like mine can have on people who have dealt with trauma or difficult situations.

"From my work with the military community, I wanted to offer my course to all front line staff to help them as we shift into this new normal because they have been through so much over the past 12 months that many will need that help in adjusting into where we go from here."

Gemma will be offering a four-hour masterclass to individuals or up to 20 employees at front line organisations or businesses to help them adjust back into normality, giving tips on how to look after themselves and reflect on their experiences during such unprecedented times.

She will split her sessions up into four parts; self-care, self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-empowerment, all aimed at encouraging the hard-working front line staff to adjust to normality again following the easing of lockdown.

Gemma added: "It is about helping people realise how they recover from the craziness of the past year and how they increase their resilience for what the future might look like for them.

"For front line staff, the reality is they probably haven't had time to take care of themselves or make time for themselves because they have spent so long putting others first - now is the time for them to invest in them.

"It gives people have an understanding of the positives and negatives to take from the past year, recognising what their strengths are and how they have contributed and succeeded over the past year and encourages people to be empowered and know they are making the right decisions.

"Care staff have been real heroes over the past twelve months and we would be nowhere without them and their sacrifices."

Organisations or qualifying front-line essential workers can enrol on the free course by getting in touch via her Facebook page.

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