Huddersfield-based accredited psychotherapist and maternal mental health coach, Laura Greenwood, is celebrating two years of her psychotherapy practice Laura Greenwood Therapy.
Throughout her career, including over 10 years in the NHS, Laura has discovered patterns in the ways that people respond to mental health difficulties, and has made it her mission to help clients overcome these difficulties, realise their full potential, and live the life they love.
She made the decision to set up her own specialist psychotherapy clinic in February 2022, to reach and support more mothers and parents than were being helped by mainstream services.
Laura has noticed a huge need for more expert mental health and wellbeing support for mothers, as both a preventative strategy for reducing the chance of developing more significant mental health challenges, and when those challenges reach clinical levels.
As a result, she has grown her team of therapists to cope with this demand, reduce waiting times and help to fill this gap, with mainstream services being so overrun.
As reported by the Guardian, nearly 20,000 women annually experience mental health challenges stemming from pregnancy or childbirth are not receiving adequate support from the NHS.
Those seeking support often face significant delays, with wait times of up to 19 months in certain regions of England, as overstretched specialist services struggle to meet demand.
Specialising in perinatal mental health, motherhood, matrescence, emotional regulation and trauma, Laura is passionate about sharing everything that she has learned as a clinician, coach, wife and mother.
She uses this experience and evidence-based psychotherapies such as CBT, EMDR and Compassion Focused Therapy, to support clients to reach their therapy goals.
Laura says: “I am honestly so proud of how the business has grown over the past two years, which all started with a knowledge that there was a gap that needed filling, a drive to change that and a self-belief that I could do it.
“I am a clinician at heart, not a natural businessperson, so I have certainly learned a lot during this time.
“But one thing that has always supported me, is following my heart, gut instinct, and the whole purpose behind why I am doing this, to help as many mothers, parents, as possible, which I know, will have an impact on the mental health of children, which in turn, benefits our whole society.
“Maternal mental health issues are believed to incur an annual cost of £1.2 billion for the NHS and £8.1 billion for society overall.
“My team and I provide support to women both individually and through group sessions. Additionally, we collaborate with organisations to offer corporate maternal and paternal wellness programs for their employees.
“While we’ve made significant progress in two years, our growth journey continues! Personally, I’m thoroughly enjoying every moment of this journey.”
New team member, CBT therapist Elspeth Campbell, said: “I’m thrilled to have joined Team LGT. I’m so passionate about our mission to help parents overcome the difficulties that come with the transition to parenthood, improve their wellbeing and help them show up as the best versions of themselves for their children and families.”
Laura added: “I have carefully chosen a team of outstanding therapists and professionals who employ a variety of evidence-based therapies, including CBT, EMDR, and Compassion Focused Therapy.
“This enables parents to tackle the unique challenges that come with parenthood. Each member of the team, who are all parents themselves, bring their own personal experiences to the table.
“I take pride in welcoming them to my team, as they provide crucial and highly sought-after support to women and parents.”
