Mum who survived car crash sets up an award-winning therapy business
MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING TREATMENTS WITH ASPIRATIONS OF SPREADING HER SERVICES EVEN FURTHER
Everybody is human and everybody needs some support sometimes. Alexis Powell-Howard - Fortis Therapy & Training
A MUM who survived a traumatic car crash now runs an award-winning therapy business to help others. Alexis Powell-Howard, who lives in the Lincolnshire Wolds with her husband and three children, was involved in a car crash aged 19 when on her way to meet some friends for a school reunion.
Her left leg was badly damaged as a result of the crash and she was later diagnosed with PTSD. Alexis turned to therapy to help but her experiences were appalling, with one therapist p making gp a pass at her and the next one falling asleep during a session.
The now 49-year-old decided to become a therapist herself and began working at a private practice and for the NHS.
In 2012, Alexis set up her very own therapy business called Fortis Therapy py & Training. g She said: “I set up p the business so I could do it the way I wanted to do it. To treat people like people rather than treating them as a number.”
Fortis provides mental health and emotional wellbeing services to businesses, organisations, schools, local authorities and private individuals. There are currently 50 people in i the team which covers Lincolnshire c and all over the country. They have offices in Grimsby, Louth, Scunthorpe and Hull, with hopes to o open another base in Lincoln soon. Alexis says she is surprised at how much the business has grown since starting on her own. She said: “I had a business plan for five years and we exceeded that plan within 18 months. It’s grown hugely. I made the decision at one point that I either s stop it or I bring in other experts and we do it together, and that’s what I decided to do.”
The Lincolnshire mum has hosted TEDx talks in Lincoln and Greece and recently picked up two awards at the Lincolnshire Business Awards 2024. At the Lincolnshire Business Awards, Fortis was awarded Community Champion and Alexis was named Inspirational Business Leader of the Year.
Alexis said: “To win Community Champions was amazing because I took quite a lot of my team with me and it’s great for them to get the recognition. We do a lot of work for charities and we try and have an impact on the community as best we can. The Inspirational Business Leader award was a complete shock. It blew me away really, I was speechless.”
Speaking about running the company, she added: “It’s a daily challenge which I enjoy. I love supporting the people we work with and developing people in the team. It is a challenge running a business, especially in the mental health business, but I love the people side of it. “I think we bridge a gap and it’s really important to have businesses that are supporting organisations with effective ways of working. “We’re there to support everyone. For example, at schools we don’t just support the children but also the rest of the team members and leadership.
“Everybody is human and everybody needs some support sometimes.”