Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class John Owen | NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (August 26, 2022) Gemma Philage, counseling, advocacy and...... read more read more
Gemma Philage is the counseling, advocacy and prevention program (CAP) supervisor and family advocacy representative (FAR) at Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) Rota, Spain.
“On an average day I could be doing a mix of overseeing a program or working directly with one of the programs I supervise,” said Philage, who oversees the family advocacy program (FAP), domestic violence, child abuse, SAIL case management, clinical counseling, and new parent support home visitor program. “I have a very small caseload of clients, so my day may include seeing an individual or couple for a session, or FAP treatment.”
She enjoys the diversity of her daily duties, particularly providing clinical supervision to counselors, doing prevention work with commands, and collaborating with her FFSC Rota colleagues.
Philage, from Miami, Florida, has not always been involved in counseling. Her undergraduate degree was in international relations and business/economics, and she worked in finance and accounting for non-profits, restaurants, and sports/entertainment industries after graduation.
“I realized I really wanted to do some work that helped people,” said Philage. “So I decided to go back to school for my masters in counseling, specializing in mental health and couples & family therapy, which then led to my doctorate in counselor education & supervision.”
Philage’s father retired as a chief with the Navy Reserve, and she had always wanted to work for the Navy. When she was offered the opportunity at Great Lakes, she took it and that eventually led her to Rota. As she prepares to return to Great Lakes, Philage considers the Rota community her favorite part about being stationed here.
“It is an honor to help people discover their strengths, figure out their path (or the next step in it), or work with someone on healing from an experience or improving a relationship,” she said. “The pace and population of Rota continues to change, and being able to support its change, as well as advocate for the community means a lot to me.”
The changing dynamics of the installation throughout the past few years – as well as a worldwide pandemic – has allowed Philage to expand her knowledge on how best to support active duty, civilians, and their families.
“Professionally, I’ve really enjoyed working with the installation and a variety of tenant commands and service members here in Rota – from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Marine Corps to the DDGs to HSM-79,” she said. “I have learned so much.”
From a personal aspect, Philage loved living near the ocean and the sunshine.
In her free time, Philage enjoys traveling, keeping up her Peloton app streak, cooking, reading, and training her new Spanish Water Dog. This is in addition to completing her doctorate dissertation on “burnout” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I've constantly been thinking about how to burn bright and not out,” she said. “And as my time in Rota comes to a close, I'd like to acknowledge that there have been some really amazing high points and some really difficult low points over the past three years. I arrived in May 2019 and by May 2020 the world, and Rota, was a completely different place than I expected. The community, my CAP team and FFSC colleagues, really rallied to support one another and that helped carry me through so I could help others continue on for the duration.”
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2022 05:30 |
| Story ID: | 428797 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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