About Emma

I’m Dr Emma Svanberg, I’ve worked with parents and families for over 20 years, and qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 2009. I’m also known as the ‘Mumologist’, because my work is predominantly with mums and mums-to-be (although I do work with dads and partners too!)

I’ve worked in a number of different mental health settings but specialise in the perinatal period – the time around pregnancy, birth and the early years of parenthood. I have a particular interest in attachment, trauma and the intergenerational roots of our problems

I trained at UCL, London and have done further training with organisations such as the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, the Anna Freud Centre and the Institute of Psychoanalysis. My interest in perinatal psychology has led me to places as near as Tower Hamlets and as far as Calcutta.

I’ve been interested in working with parents since my teenage years, when I met the developmental psychopathologist Dr Patricia Crittenden at my kitchen table. My dad, P.O. Svanberg, pioneered an early intervention programme to promote secure attachment relationships,  and the conversations I had with him and his colleagues over this time sparked a lifelong awareness of why parents matter so very much and our need to support this intense and important time. 

I’m experienced in a range of psychological therapies.

I work integratively, with a focus on attachment and  psychodynamic approaches. I also draw from Cognitive Behavioural therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, systemic and narrative approaches and other theories.

Alongside my direct clinical work, I use community psychology ideas to offer information, support and empowerment through writing, online communities, social media and activism. I founded The Psychology Co-operative in 2019 (then The Psychology Collective), and now run it alongside clinical psychologist Dr Bekah Shallcross. Alongside my colleague Dr Rebecca Moore I co-founded Make Birth Better CIC in 2018, working to reduce the impact of birth trauma on families.

I am a firm believer that many mental health problems could be prevented or their impact minimized with better support from those around us –  from our communities to our governments.

Over recent years, I have frequently been invited to speak at conferences, events and workshops and can develop a bespoke presentation or workshop to meet the requirements of your team or organisation.

My work as a psychologist is all about community. 

As well as the communities I facilitate, I also work alongside other practitioners and under regulatory bodies.

I am an HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist, Founder of The Psychology Co-operative, Co-Founder of Make Birth Better CIC, and am also a member of the Association of Clinical Psychologists, Psychologists for Social Change and the Association for Infant Mental Health.

The Psychology
Co-Operative

The Psychology Co-operative is a collective of expert practitioners offering mental health and wellbeing support throughout your parenting journey. Whether you would like a brief chat, therapy, to join a group, attend a workshop or talk to us about working with your organisation – we’re looking forward to meeting you. 

Founded by myself, Dr Emma Svanberg and Dr Bekah Shallcross in 2023, we aim to make psychology more accessible not just at an individual level but as a whole. Whether that is offering free or low cost workshops to share psychological ideas as widely as we can – to questioning the very models that psychology is built on and their roots in systems that have been oppressive.

Visit the website
Newborn baby

Make Birth Better 

Make Birth Better started as a social media campaign raising awareness of Birth Trauma, back in 2017, followed by a meeting of 8 people in a (freezing!) room at Kings College, London. It is now a Community Interest Company, with a core team of 6, focused on reducing the impact of birth trauma. 

We offer a platform to share stories and experiences of all aspects of birth and birth trauma,  we lobby for policy change and we offer training, consultation and supervision. And we have a website with a huge amount of free resources. 

Please take a look, and join us in making birth better for everyone.

Visit the website
Newborn baby