Psychologist to open Durham Wellness Space in Coxhoe
Dr Hannah Barraclough, 38, from Durham, hopes to open Durham Wellness Space on Front Street East in Coxhoe by the end of June or July after spending 18 months transforming a former community building.
The clinical psychologist, who spent several years working in the NHS before establishing her private practice five years ago, said years of searching for suitable therapy rooms convinced her to create her own.
Dr Barraclough said: “I’ve rented lots of different rooms all over the place and none of them have ever been quite right.
“Either they were cold or not welcoming and some didn’t have that safe, nice feeling that you would want with a therapy room.
“So when I decided to leave my last therapy room because it wasn’t really working anymore, I decided that I wanted to create that space for people, the space that I couldn’t find.”
The result is Durham Wellness Space, a purpose-built centre designed to bring together therapists, holistic practitioners and wellbeing professionals in what Dr Barraclough describes as a wellness community.
She added: “We developed the wellness space as a kind of community building to bring all different wellness professionals together in, like, a wellness community, in an environment that’s purpose-built.
“We want to build that community where we can work together, maybe cross-refer and collaborate, as running your own business sometimes can be isolating.”
The centre will be run by self-employed practitioners who will rent rooms while working alongside one another and collaborating where appropriate.
Dr Barraclough said creating a welcoming environment was central to the project after years of working from rooms that lacked warmth and comfort.
Her own therapy room has been designed to resemble a living room rather than a traditional healthcare setting, adding: “Hopefully, the second you walk in the building, I want it to be a whole kind of experience.”
The building, which has previously been used as a police station and a dental surgery, was acquired around a year and a half ago.
Dr Barraclough and her husband, Andrew Barraclough, who runs AB Home Improvements, stripped the property back to brick before carrying out a full renovation, including rewiring, replastering, a new heating system, new carpets, replacement windows and doors, security systems and external rendering.
The work was completed while the couple continued working full-time jobs and raising their two children.
Dr Barraclough added: “We’ve had the building quite a long time. It’s just obviously we’ve been juggling family life, working to fund the building and then doing it around working. It’s been quite a year and a half.”
The space will also become the home of Clear Mind Collective CIC, a non-profit organisation launched by Dr Barraclough in July 2024 to provide affordable and accessible mental health support.
She hopes to use the organisation to expand free and low-cost therapy services and provide educational support and consultancy for local businesses.
She said: “I am hoping to run more community events through the non-profit, for the community, with free or low-cost therapy so that hopefully we can provide lots of accessible treatment, as we understand that the NHS waiting lists are long, so it is about breaking down that barrier, by being able to get funding to provide either low-cost or free therapy for people.
“The other strand of it is education, consultancy, and mental health support for business owners. So, specifically, targeting other business owners as well.”
A soft launch is planned once the final stages of the project are completed, with the centre expected to open later this summer.