Hello! My name is Kelly Richardson
I am a Licensed Psychotherapist as well as a Mom, hence the name “Thera-Mom”.
I live in Northern California with my husband, and our two dogs Sunshine and Fergie. I love being a therapist and offering a safe place for people to take their mask off for one hour and just be themselves. As simple as it sounds, it can be life-changing. I have the privilege every day of watching people’s lives transform as they let go of trying to be who they aren’t and start embracing all that they are. More importantly, I love being a MOM. Each of my kids is so amazingly different, it’s hard to believe they share the same gene pool.
Like most moms, I wear a lot of hats– sister, daughter, wife, friend, mother, cousin, worker. Our roles and jobs are varied and in one day we can wear five or ten different hats. As women, we represent so much within us because each hat matters and each hat allows another side of ourselves to shine.
Let’s be honest- being a Mom is a full-time job no matter how old your kids are and finding time to just do you feels impossible. It’s nice to have a place where we can do life together–unapologetically and authentically–like in my therapy office. Walk this crazy journey called life with me, as hectic and stressful as it may seem at times.
Read my blogs, comment with your thoughts, challenge my thinking, share your ideas, and help me, help you. Thank you Jerry Maguire.
Kelly
Kelly’s Latest Blog Posts
A Mom’s Prayer
My youngest heads back for her final semester of college today after being home for Christmas break. I was blessed with everyone home for a few days together. A full house and a very full heart. My house will now be quiet again. There won’t be cups and plates all...
How To Tip-Toe In To 2026
If you’re like me, New Year’s resolutions are a no-go. They feel performative, joyless, and doomed by February. They often fail because they center around all or nothing thinking. Big, sweeping changes. Total life overhauls. And most of us are already tired. So...
All Is Calm, All is Bright: What This Mom Wants for Christmas
What a year it’s been. I’m hoping I’ve stayed off the naughty list and that Santa still knows my address. So what’s on my Christmas list as a mom whose adult kids are home (briefly!) for the holidays? To fall asleep at night knowing every bed is full with the...
A Peace Plan for the Holidays
The holidays are magical. And by magical, I mean a seasonal circus that can leave us feeling half-Grinch, half-George Bailey. As moms we exhaust ourselves trying to create memories our families will cherish forever, while simultaneously trying not to lose our...
Hangxiety Happens: A Therapist’s Guide to Understanding It
I heard a new term recently from a very hip Gen Z. HANGXIETY. Of course they came up with a word that’s both clever and painfully accurate. Hangxiety is the combo of hangover and anxiety. It’s the mental and physical disruption that hits when the alcohol wears off...
What College Kids Need at Thanksgiving: More Rest, Less Plans
If your college student is coming home for Thanksgiving, here is my one piece of advice: don’t plan too much and over schedule their brief time at home. College kids are tired — emotionally, socially, mentally, and physically. Many carry invisible fatigue. They’ve...
A Job About Nothing, Taught Me About Everything
My first job-job was at Video Biz, a movie rental store tucked between a Mervyn’s and a dry cleaner in my hometown strip mall. I say job-job because before that, I’d done the usual teenage hustle—babysitting, working in the high school office, and picking up odd...
Reflections on Aging, Love and Letting Go
There I was, quietly sobbing on a plane. Exit row. No one beside me. Just a pile of damp Kleenex and the blur of tears clouding my view out the window. I had just finished “When Cranes Fly South” on my flight home from visiting my son and his fiancée. It’s a...
Choose Wisely
Last week I injured my neck- the kind of pain that takes your breath away. My husband sat with me while I cried. He massaged my shoulders, ran to the pharmacy, set up supplies next to the couch, bought a heating pad, asked the trainers at work how to help, and...
Love In Motion
The older I get, and the more I watch my kids navigate their own friendships, the more I realize how smart their generation is. They see things we sometimes forget. Recently, while at dinner for Family Weekend, one of my daughter’s besties said something that...
The Secret Sauce To Talking With Your Teenager
One minute your teenager might be talking about something random, and the next they’re declaring they want to quit cheerleading—or that they have no friends. And before we even realize it, we’ve blurted out, “What?!!” (double exclamation points and all). But here’s...
The Homesick Month
It’s October, and that means pumpkin candles, leaves turning color, and Halloween decorations on the porch. But if you’re a parent who just launched a kid to college, October also means something else — the homesick month. After the excitement of move-in day fades...
Why Does My Teenager Hate Me?
Recently, a woman approached me and asked a question I think so many moms quietly carry: “Why does it sometimes feel like my daughter hates me? She’s 16 and we used to be so close. Now, she’s mean and doesn’t like me.” I looked at her face; her eyes were holding...
Sister, I See You
Sister, I see you. I see all that you are doing. I see all those you are caring for. I see all you are juggling. I see all you manage. I see the ways you show up. I see the moments you make special. I see it all. Whether you’re a mother, daughter, wife, sister, or...
Where Is Our Humanity?
Lately it feels as if every day brings another disturbing headline. I find myself concerned, worried, baffled — and, most of all, deeply sad. We are no longer who we used to be. Just last week, I spoke on the news about the violent images our young people are...
