About

Laura Newman is a Registered Speech Therapist Specialising in Attachment and Trauma.

I provide consultancy and training in child and adolescent mental health, drawing on a rich and diverse professional background. My journey began with a degree in Biology and evolved through a longstanding clinical career in Speech and Language Therapy. Becoming a mother deepened my interest in attachment and trauma, ultimately inspiring the development of the LEAD approach—a unifying framework that integrates these strands.

The LEAD approach is deeply influenced by the work of renowned Clinical Psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld, PhD. It also reflects on and adds my own expertise in social communication, and my understanding of both the education and healthcare systems, along with the practical challenges families often face.

I value collaborative work with parents and Multi-Disciplinary Teams across health and education. Using this developmental relational approach, we can unpack complex presentations and reveal patterns that drive behaviours and mental health.

At the heart of my work is a shared goal with many parents: to support children in leading healthy, fulfilling lives, building strong relationships, developing resilience, and discovering their passions and place in the world.

My Journey

I’ve always been fascinated by relationships and what helps people truly connect. My own experience with anxiety has shaped a gentle, reflective approach that’s rooted in understanding and compassion.

Nature has always been a powerful inspiration for me, particularly how each stage of child development unfolds in its own time, given the right environment. Nature is also a source of deep connection and relaxation for me.

In the last 2 decades of raising a child independently, I’ve been navigating many of the common challenges we face in the Western world. The LEAD approach is the fruit of my achievements, an alchemy of my personal and clinical experience, embedded in a rich theoretical landscape.

My hope is to help children grow in confidence, feel safe to be exactly who they are, and have the courage to follow their own path and dreams. Supporting parents to feel more confident, connected, and hopeful is one of the greatest privileges of my work—and something I care deeply about.

UK Qualifications

Trauma Informed Schools (2023): Level 5 Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Practice
Trauma Informed Schools (2024) Advanced Practitioner Certificate in Parent-Child Therapy
Centre for Child Mental Health (2025 current): Certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Centre for Child Mental Health (2024): Working therapeutically with parents and children using the Dyadic Developmental Model and PACE
The Neufeld Institute (2012 – 2024): multiple trainings in Neufeld’s Developmental Attachment Model: Intensives I, II & III; Play Series, Adolescence Series; Attachment Puzzle; The Science of Emotions; Making Sense of Marriage; Making Sense of Preschoolers;
Teachability Factor; Making Sense of Therapy; The Art and Science of Transplanting Children; The Alarm Spectrum; Making Sense of Aggression; Alpha Children; Making Sense of Anxiety; Making Sense of Attention Problems; Bullies, their Making & Unmaking; Making Sense of Counterwill; Making Sense of Discipline; The Natural Roots of Empathy; Making Sense of Hypersensitivity; The Resilience Riddle.
Multple trainings (2018 – 2023): Course Beetle, Understanding & Supporting Attachment Diﬃculties & Complex Trauma
Intandem: Levels 1-4, Supervision Skills for Speech and Language Therapists
City Lit: Counselling skills for Speech & Language Therapists
Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Mate
Touchbase: Know Me to Teach Me with Louise Bomber
Keena Cummings, Verve Child Interaction Therapy
Emotion Coaching UK
Exeter College, Level 3 Counselling Skills
Divergent Perspectives: The Neurodiversity Paradigm; Emotional Safety
Sharpham Trust: Mindfulness and Meditation
Hand in Hand Parenting (2010 – 2012): Parent Coaching