Laurie Ganberg, LICSW, PMH-C
​Seattle, Washington perinatal mental health therapist, supervisor & consultant

pronouns: she/her/hers

My social work career started over 20 years ago providing pregnancy options counseling, birth control education, and HIV testing and counseling to patients of a Planned Parenthood clinic. I thought I wanted to be a nurse midwife, but realized that I preferred talking to the folks who came into the clinic, rather than dealing with bodily fluids! I eventually made my way to graduate school and obtained my Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Smith College School for Social Work in 2006.

In the time since then, I've provided supportive, nonjudgmental counseling for people seeking abortions; been welcomed into families' homes to offer in-home family therapy, parenting assessments, and crisis intervention services; coordinated services provided under the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative in Massachusetts; facilitated groups for new moms and new dads; built a private practice in Cambridge, MA and now in Seattle, WA; and been part of the team leading and growing an innovative partial hospitalization program specifically for women in pregnancy and postpartum in Seattle at the Swedish Center for Perinatal Bonding and Support. I feel deeply honored to have been a witness and support to the resilience of each of the clients with whom I've worked. ​

When we work together, you are always the focus of our time together and, because we all bring all of us into the room, I think it’s worth sharing a little bit more about me. I am a white, cis, queer, fat, currently able-bodied woman. I believe where we’re from – our families, communities, cultures, places – shapes our experiences and the ways we make sense of the world and our place in it. I’m deeply appreciative of the years I lived outside the United States and the experiences of immigration within my family. As a former New Englander, I think I will always be in awe of the mountains and the water here in the Seattle area where I work and reside on the traditional territories of the Duwamish, Snohomish, Suquamish, and Stillaguamish people. 

Toby, who you might hear on zoom

Yes, I am a parent. For me, parenting has been a humbling exercise in patience, connection, sleep deprivation, failure, laughter, and remembering I can only be "good enough," as well as profound grief. My outlets include almost anything that's creative. These days, I practice imperfection and mindfulness by tap dancing, knitting, and relearning instruments I used to know how to to play. I relish our PNW summers for opportunities to hike and camp with my family and I'm learning to appreciate the rain.

I've trained multidisciplinary professionals on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), facilitated groups for professionals in the field of perinatal mental health, and led workshops and trainings for clinicians. I was also a presenter at the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Postpartum Support International Annual Conferences and am a trainer with Perinatal Support Washington. I enjoy making talks and trainings participatory and applicable so that participants leave feeling energized in their work and supported.

Education & Selected Postgraduate Trainings

• Tufts University, BA in Environmental Studies and History
• Smith College School for Social Work (SSW), Masters of Social Work
• Postpartum Support International, Perinatal Mental Health Certification
• Smith College SSW, Advanced Clinical Supervision certificate

• Circle of Security Parenting
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing), certification in process
• Health at Every Size®
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
• Intro to Embodied Recovery for Eating Disorders
• Body Trust® Certification Training​, in progress 

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I'm also a proud co-founder of the Every Mother Project with three other multidisciplinary perinatal colleagues. In our individual work with pregnant and postpartum women and new families, we recognized that many women struggle with emotional complications in pregnancy and early parenthood in silence and often encounter barriers receiving appropriate care and support. Recognizing the need for systemic change, we decided to take action. We created a toolkit and facilitated trainings for birth, postpartum, and lactation professionals. 
As of 2022, the Every Mother Project is largely inactive, though the toolkit is still available to download.

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Professional Bio:
Laurie Ganberg, LICSW, PMH-C (she/hers) obtained her MSW from Smith College in 2006 and has had the privilege of working with individuals and families in their homes, medical settings, community agencies, and in private practice. She moved from the Boston area to Seattle to join the Swedish Center for Perinatal Bonding and Support’s Day Program, a perinatal partial hospitalization program, when it opened in 2016 and worked as the lead therapist there until 2019 when she returned to private practice to offer therapy and supervision, continuing her specialization in perinatal mental health. She brings a social worker’s focus on systemic context and social justice to her clinical work, supervision, and trainings. Laurie writes, speaks, consults and facilitates trainings for multidisciplinary professionals with a goal of destigmatizing perinatal mental health complications and ensuring all professionals who work with families understand perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and can respond compassionately using effective, trauma-informed interventions.​ 

​Download my CV here

Photo of Laurie by Lindley Ashline of Body Liberation Photos