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
After High School, the No is as Good as the Yes
Life likes to play tricks on us. High school seniors start the year looking forward to the “Best year of high school”. They envision the joys of being the kings of the school, the leaders, the cool kids, the ones coasting into graduation. They can smell their cap...
Staying Connected To The Village That Raised My Son
There is something to be said for people who know your history, especially people who you have raised your kids with. It’s a bond, a connection, a union that reminds you of a time in your life when were exhausted, busy, and worn-down. A time in your life where...
Keeping Up With the Wiotosots
It used to be we had to keep up with the Joneses-- the fictional family who had it all. That morphed into Keeping with the Kardashians- another somewhat fictional family who capitalized on pretending to have it all and used social media to skyrocket themselves to...
Dear Middle Child
Dear Middle Child, I see you. It sucks not being the oldest (hello privileges) and not being the youngest (hello baby). You’re caught in the middle and you’ve had to carve your own title in our crazy family. You remind us often that your older brother is cherished,...
Being a Lit Parent Doesn’t Mean Pulling Out the Wine
We have the English language. We have Sign Language. We have Foreign Language. We have Unspoken Language. And then we have Teenage Language. Of all the languages, Teenage Language is the most difficult to learn. So much of what our teenager says actually means...
What Lies Beneath the Uniform
So young. So promising. So talented. Tonight, the sudden death of Washington State’s quarterback Tyler Hilinski rocked the sports world. At 21 years old, his death is tragic, devastating, and unfathomable. No death of a young person seems understandable but death...
The Forgotten Question
As someone who spent her youth moving from base to base, living in different countries or states, attending six different schools before seventh grade, not a lot in my life was constant. Change was frequent, and a new adventure was around every corner, especially...
2018: The Year you Create the Outcome you Want
I didn’t create it or think of it, but I do choose to live by it. Instead of naming off three or four resolutions for 2018 that will be broken or forgotten come February, I am adopting a mantra for the year or for the math-minded people (not me!), a formula, to...
A Mom’s Magic at Christmas
“The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads” … Every year on Christmas Eve, I read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to my kids. We all sit on one bed--usually a dog pile or WWE match occurs during the...
The Best Christmas Present I Hated
I remember it all too well, Christmas of 1977. My family was stationed in Plattsburgh, New York which during winter feels like the North Pole. Being raised in a military family, “extra money” was nonexistent. My parents were on a very tight budget but somehow,...
When Did Opening a Door Require an Apology?
Ever have one of those moments that should be so fleeting or benign but for some reason you can’t stop thinking about it? Someone says something in passing and while we usually forget those brief interactions, sometimes short-lived moments stick like gum on a shoe....
Beyond the Whistle
High school sports are the best. Unpaid athletes coming together for the sole issue of being part of a team, representing their school and community and playing a sport they love. Sure, some do it in hopes of gaining a scholarship but since the percentage of high...
More Blessing, Less Stressing
Let’s face it, the holidays are stressful. Like acne producing, can’t fall asleep, list after list, stuff-my-face-with-carbs kind of stressful. There is so much to do, so many people to remember, so much money to spend… so much of everything. It’s overkill and...
The Motherhood of the Brotherhood
Thanksgiving Day means gratitude, family, and feeding our faces all day with obnoxious amounts of food. It means morning Turkey Trots, afternoon naps, evening lounging and laughing with those you love. For high school football players, practicing on Thanksgiving...
Thank you Teachers, You Made a Difference
November is the month for being thankful, showing gratitude and having reflection on our lives and our blessings. We seem to thank and appreciate everyone and everything, so much that genuine appreciation sometimes gets lost. I laugh during the year when I see...
