Laurie Ganberg, LICSW - Seattle perinatal mental health therapist & supervisor
(pronouns: she/her/hers)
My social work career started 18 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 conducting medical examinations! 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 after completing internships providing home-based child and family therapy and in the OB/GYN department of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston where I worked with women with high risk pregnancies, pregnancy loss, babies in the NICU, and postpartum adjustment challenges.
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. My work has always straddled the worlds of supporting individuals negotiating different facets of their reproductive lives and supporting children and families; ultimately, it's my belief that they are intertwined issues. I feel deeply honored to have been a witness and support to the resilience of each of the clients and families with whom I've worked.
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. My work has always straddled the worlds of supporting individuals negotiating different facets of their reproductive lives and supporting children and families; ultimately, it's my belief that they are intertwined issues. I feel deeply honored to have been a witness and support to the resilience of each of the clients and families with whom I've worked.
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My graduate and post-graduate training has included topics such as complex trauma and dissociation, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, solution-focused supervision, attachment, brain development, couples therapy, and mindfulness. I completed advanced training in perinatal mental health with Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW at the Postpartum Stress Center's Post-Graduate PPD Training. I've trained multidisciplinary professionals on perinatal emotional complications, facilitated groups for professionals in the field of perinatal mental health, and led workshops for therapists on breastfeeding and perinatal mental health and on postpartum psychosis. I was also a presenter at the 2018 and 2019 Postpartum Support International Annual Conferences. I enjoy making talks and trainings participatory and applicable so that participants leave feeling energized in their work and supported.
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I'm also a proud co-founder of the Every Mother Project with three other women's health 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.
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Bio:
Laurie Ganberg, LICSW 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. Laurie also writes, speaks, and facilitates trainings with a goal of destigmatizing perinatal mental health and ensuring all professionals who work with families understand PMADs and can respond compassionately using evidence-based interventions.
Download my CV here.
Laurie Ganberg, LICSW 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. Laurie also writes, speaks, and facilitates trainings with a goal of destigmatizing perinatal mental health and ensuring all professionals who work with families understand PMADs and can respond compassionately using evidence-based interventions.
Download my CV here.