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
As Our Kids Get Older, We Get a New Always
My daughter decided at the last minute to come home for the weekend. She had only been back one night since January so she needed the respite that only home can provide. We loved on her, and she loved right back. We made her favorite cinnamon rolls, had lunch with...
The Four Seasons of Marriage
There is a local church in town that refers engaged couples to see me for four sessions before they walk down the aisle. Session one is always easy– Why marriage? How did you meet? When did you fall in love? Tell me about your families? What do you appreciate in...
The Journey of Grief
I couldn’t sleep the other night. I tossed and turned all night, unsure why I felt so uneasy and unsettled. Something was off and I couldn’t put my finger on it until I looked at my photo archives and it validated what I wondered. One year ago was the last day I...
Choosing The Good Stuff is Not Always The Easy Choice
The text came on Sunday afternoon from my daughter who’s home from college. She knew I was off work the next day and needed what she calls the “basics”— solid colored shirts, t-shirts, and jeans. She asked to go shopping together, about two hours away from where we...
True Goodness Makes No Noise
When good meets good, you create magic. I took my mom to visit my Dad this weekend. It’s her first Christmas in almost 60 years without him. She wanted to visit, sit with him, share what’s been happening, and tell him how much she misses him. We arrived at the...
Casserole Sunday
Every Sunday I get the best text of the week. “Hey… Will you make me a casserole”. It comes from my middle child, the one who doesn’t ask for much. The independent one, a hard working college student, not a big talker, and the one who rarely leans on others. I call...
Small Moments are Not Small
It was the start of the 4th quarter in a highly intense football game. I was sitting at the very last row—the tippy-top —by myself. I like to pace, not sit still when things get stressful so I often sit alone during those kind of games. At one point I looked left...
What Your High School Junior Knows
Dear Parents of High School Juniors, As someone who has the privilege of working with high school students every day, hear me out on this one. Sometimes things are so obvious that we fail to take notice. Please, please, please, stop telling your precious child that...
IYKYK
In March I joined the club no one wants to be in. It’s the club for those who lost a parent. It’s for those with a loss that hits you in your bones, a profound sense of emptiness that only those who have experienced it can understand. You can’t be in it until...
Little word, Big Impact
When is life ever going to go my way? I am sorry, I don’t know that answer. Nothing good ever happens to me. Yet, I replied. What? she asked with complete doubt. Yet, I said. Over the course of the next few months anytime she would say something applicable, I would...
The Longest Shortest 9 Months
We move them in— we move them out. It’s the longest shortest nine months What happens during the dash of drop off and pick up is a different kind of growth. It’s the kind of growth you can’t predict or prepare for and the kind of growth every young person needs....
No Goodbye Is An Easy Goodbye
They prepare you for the first goodbye. You know what to expect and you feel armed with tools to get you through. Lunches with friends, traveling, remodeling a room or two, finding new interests. It helps salve the parent-heart that suddenly feels so lost and...
GREENLIGHT
Matthew McConaughey would call it a GREENLIGHT. In his book (highly recommend!!), he describes a yellow light or red light as something that slows us down– perhaps an interruption, a hardship, a failure, or a disappointment. A GREENLIGHT, though, is a sign to “go,...
2023… My Word for the Year
New year, new word. Last year my word for 2022 was ADVENTURE, and I made sure I lived that word to the fullest. I embraced an empty nest, new experiences, more spontaneity and explored new places with curiosity and wonder. I said yes to scary things and tried to be...
Master being Smart: Lessons Learned in an Uber
Sometimes we are the teacher and sometimes we are the student. Last weekend on my way home from Calgary I took a very early morning Uber to the airport. By coincidence or by fate, I got Hafiz as my driver. Twenty five minutes later, I was dropped off and felt like...
