Meet Gemma Garcia | MSW Candidate and Mental Health Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gemma Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gemma, what do you want your legacy to be?
Thinking about my death and contemplating what it is that I want to leave behind as my legacy has probably been one of the smartest things I have done in the last couple of years. At the end of 2021, I gathered with a few friends while we completed an extensive exercise during which we reverse-engineered our lives. This exercise allowed me to discover exactly what it is that I want out of mine. When I do eventually die (ideally a long, long time from now), I would like to leave behind a community; a space for women to find safety and strength to heal and move forward in their own lives. I want to be remembered as a loving mother, partner, and friend, as well as a prolific writer in my field. And, of course, if you’ll indulge me… I want to be remembered as a lot of people’s favorite psychotherapist, haha.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My whole situation is kind of a funny story, actually; one too long for this whole article, I believe, so I’ll give you the cliff notes; I currently hold a full-time position at a pharmaceutical company, and while I am very grateful for my job and what it provides, it is not my career nor does it belong on my long-term goals.

When I was first contacted by Shoutout HTX, I was in graduate school pursuing an MSW (Master’s in Social Work) as well as a practicing confidence and mental health coach. After a stint in the hospital due to some severe health concerns, I had to shut down my practice as I was not in a position to serve my clients how they deserved.

When I was 22 years old, I began noticing what I would call the ‘waves’ of emotional states that I would go through. Even then I knew something was up, but as a bartender and student in the heart of Chicago, I was too broke to do anything about it, and so I simply… let it happen. At the age of 27 years old, I was finally diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. Even though I had been interested in the field of psychology since university, it was my diagnosis and the subsequent events that solidified my resolve to follow this true passion.

Although I had to shut down my mental health and confidence practice, my long-term goal to become a licensed psychotherapist has not changed. It is still my ultimate goal to, not only open my own private practice but to also create a brand of group practices in which I will be able to donate a large percentage of my own time to provide pro-bono-psychotherapy for young women like my 22-year-old self. As of today, I am on track to graduate in Summer 2025.

What lessons have I learned… I think the easier question would be what lessons HAVEN’T I learned! Along with simply living through my 20s (SO many lessons there!), starting my first two businesses and having them fail, and also the learning curve of accepting that my brain works differently than most of my peers (so I always need to take that into account), I think I’ve bit the dust quite a few times in many different aspects, haha.

The biggest lesson I’ve yet to learn, however, is that defeat is only true if you refuse to get up again. And you can take THAT to the bank!

I think what will make me a better psychotherapist than a lot of others is that I have been on both sides of the room; I have sat in a psychiatric ward with a name-clad band on my wrist. But I have also coached many out of those states. I understand better than most what my clients are going through, and that allows me a level of empathy that, in my opinion, is imperative to true healing, and it gives me life to be able to help others in that capacity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh my gosh, there is SO much going on here in Austin that I wouldn’t even know where to begin! Let’s see, when I’ve had friends visit, my favorite bars to take them to are The Roosevelt Room and HereNorThere. Roosevelt Room is a prohibition-style cocktail kind of bar with a very nice vintage feel to it, while HereNorThere is an actual speakeasy! You have to have reservations way ahead of time and it is in a hidden spot in the city (unmarked, it’s almost creepy!), it’s underground, super cozy, and the drinks are killer. If we’re going dancing, I’d take you to Barbarella, a cavernous, low-ceilinged, big-patio, dance club. It’s dingy, sticky, and so much fun! Alternatively, we’d go to Coconut Club, on 4th street, which is the most FUN dance club you’ll find in Austin, they have like six different dance floors, it’s crazy. Food, we’d have to have Terry Black’s bbq of course, as well as some Tex-Mex at ATX COCINA, and Teji’s Indian food. So good! During the summer, we would be either on a boat on Lake Travis, or paddle boarding at SandBar on Lady Bird Lake. That’s probably a whole weekend for ya 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to one of my dearest friends, Jaiana Francis, who is, not only a powerhouse and perpetual inspiration but also one of my biggest fans, even on days when I don’t quite believe in myself. I don’t know what I would do without you, girl. Love you to the moon and back X3.

Website: https://thebipolarbossbabe.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegemmaisabell/

Other: https://linktr.ee/thegemmaisabell