(she/her)
New to Grow
I'm Gem Coleman, a Licensed Professional Counselor. My practice and professional journey of over 15 years is rooted in the belief that rest is a birthright and ease is something every person deserves, not something they have to earn. My path to this work was not a straight line. It was shaped by lived experience, personal healing, and a deep calling to create the kind of therapeutic space I once needed myself. I understand what it means to appear capable and composed on the outside while quietly carrying more than anyone around you knows. That understanding is not just clinical for me ,it is personal, and it informs every room I create for my clients. I am relational, warm, and direct. I believe in going beneath the surface , not to excavate pain for its own sake, but because real healing lives in the places we haven't yet had the courage or the safety to explore. I draw on a range of evidence-informed approaches, including CBT, ACT, EFT, and somatic therapy, always tailoring my work to the whole person in front of me. My Caribbean roots, my faith, and my commitment to equity shape both who I am and how I practice. I am especially passionate about serving communities where the stigma around mental health has too often stood between people and the support they deserve. If you've been waiting for a sign that it's finally your turn ,this is it.
Our first session is less about diving straight into the deep end and more about beginning to build the foundation of something real. I want you to leave feeling seen. We'll spend time getting to know each other , I'll ask about what brought you to therapy, what's been weighing on you, and what you're hoping life might feel like on the other side of this work. I'll also share a little about how I work so you can get a sense of whether it feels like the right fit for you. Your comfort matters to me from the very first moment. By the end of our first session, my goal is for you to feel a little lighter than when you logged on, not because we've solved anything, but because you've finally had a space to say it out loud to someone who was truly listening.
One of my greatest strengths is my ability to create a space where people feel genuinely safe not just comfortable, but truly held. Many of my clients have spent years being the strong one, the capable one, the one who holds it together for everyone else. What stands out most about my work is that I meet people in that exhaustion without rushing them past it, while also gently holding them accountable to the healing they came for. I am deeply intuitive. I listen not just to what is being said, but to what is underneath it , the grief inside the frustration, the fear beneath the people-pleasing, the longing living quietly inside the overachievement. My clients often share that they feel understood in ways they didn't expect, sometimes in the very first session. And perhaps most importantly, I bring my whole self to this work. My lived experience, my humor, my faith, my cultural identity, and my personal healing journey are not separate from my clinical practice, they are woven into it. That authenticity creates a depth of connection that I believe is one of the most powerful ingredients in meaningful therapeutic change.
We may be a good fit if you look like you have it all together ,but you're exhausted from keeping up the appearance. You're the helper, the one everyone else leans on, or maybe you haven't found your village yet. You show up fully for your job, your family, and your community while quietly running on empty, wondering when it will be your turn to feel okay. Many of my clients are navigating anxiety that hides behind productivity, depression that doesn't look like what they expected, chronic stress that has settled into the body, or transitions that have left them questioning who they are outside of what they do. Maybe you've carried these things for so long that you've normalized the weight of it. If you're ready to finally make space for yourself, know that you will be met with warmth and without judgment. Whether you're navigating faith alongside your healing or have simply wondered whether therapy is really for someone like you . It is. You are exactly who I would love to support, and I would be honored to walk alongside you.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT not as a checklist, but as a tool for liberation. Many of my clients carry deeply internalized beliefs that they must earn rest, that slowing down is dangerous, that their needs are too much. CBT helps us slow down, name those patterns, trace their roots, and intentionally shift them. We examine the thoughts and core beliefs that have quietly been running the show, and we build new ways of thinking that align with the life and peace you actually deserve.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use ACT to help clients develop psychological flexibility , the ability to feel difficult things without being consumed or controlled by them. We work on noticing thoughts without fusing with them, making room for emotions without letting them dictate every decision, and getting clear on what truly matters so that your actions start reflecting your values rather than your fears.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I use EFT to help clients identify and reshape the emotional patterns and attachment wounds that show up in their relationships and their relationship with themselves. Many of my clients present as self-sufficient and capable ( and they are ) but beneath that independence is often a longing for genuine connection and the quiet fear that they are too much, not enough, or fundamentally unlovable.
Somatic
I integrate somatic approaches to help clients develop body awareness, recognize how stress and trauma show up physically, and begin to gently release patterns of tension, shutdown, or hypervigilance that have become their baseline. This is especially meaningful for clients who have been high-functioning for so long that disconnection from their body feels normal, even safe. Somatic work creates a bridge between the mind and body, helping clients build a sense of internal safety that no amount of insight alone can create. In our work together , ease isn’t just a concept, it’s something we work toward in the fullest sense, including helping your body finally exhale.