The Mission
To educate, normalize and offer practical and easy-to-implement solutions for the many complexities step-family life naturally brings.
About Mary
Mary T. Kelly, M.A. is a marriage and family psychotherapist and writer who has been specializing in working with women who are dating, partnered with or married to men with children, step-couples and stepfamilies for over 15 years. She has a private practice in Boulder, Colorado and also works with clients through Skype or FaceTime domestically and internationally. Additionally, Mary runs support groups, both face-to-face in Boulder and online. She is a contributing writer for Huffington Post and Stepmom Magazine.
How Mary Works
Mary, an expert in the field of stepfamilies, offers solutions that are based on the latest research and over 15 years of clinical experience. Much like when you bring your car to the repair shop when you know something isn’t right, you expect the mechanic to diagnose the problem and present the fixes necessary to get your car back and running again. Mary works in a similar fashion in that she recognizes that you are looking for answers to problems you are experiencing in your stepfamily. Her style is direct, frank, compassionate, educational and expedient.
Mary has seen that when couples have their EYES WIDE OPEN and learn what works best in a stepfamily and what doesn’t, they begin to successfully figure out as a team what their roles are and how best to integrate non-biological members into a newly formed family.
Testimonials
“I don’t have children so it was very challenging to try to figure out what my “stepmother” role was. I worked with Mary through Skype and was relieved to find that I was normal and not a terrible person for struggling with my husband’s kids. My husband was resistant to working with Mary but finally agreed. Going to her opened our eyes and gave us many practical solutions for the problems we didn’t know how to handle. What was particularly helpful were her information about the need for boundaries.”
“Mary really understands both men and women. She understands the difficult position many fathers are put in when trying to balance their kids and new relationships. Mary gets the hard role of “stepmom”. She provided my wife and I research based advice and keeps it real. We will always appreciate her empathy and support.”
“For those of you who are struggling in your stepfamily or dating someone with kids, I’d like to assure you that Mary T. Kelly is an incredible step-couple therapist/coach! My husband and I had been to counseling before and it did not help. The therapist didn’t understand the different challenges we were facing in our stepfamily. Mary gave us useful tools and guidance and within a few sessions, we were on a much better path. We both believe we would be divorced if we hadn’t found Mary.”
“My girlfriend and I went to see Mary when we were about to break up. The research, information and solutions she shared were new to us. We realized we had been doing things all wrong. We left with plenty of tools and change happened quickly in our household.”
“Mary’s tools and information brought my partner and I so much closer together. She helped me learn how to define my role as a stepmom and released me from my guilt of struggling with my partner’s kids and his ex. She relates extremely well to both men and women. Mary offers down to earth, practical solutions based on research with a great sense of humor.”
“Mary T. Kelly is one-of-a-kind! Real tangible information backed with factual data. After only 6 sessions, I learned more than I did going to a traditional therapist for years. Mary taught me about the guilt and shame I did not know how to “unpack”. I absolutely endorse this amazing woman and her teachings which have changed me and my family’s lives.”
“Mary T. Kelly offers stepfamily members-particularly women with stepchildren-the understanding and compassion that is often lacking in our culture at large. Mary’s understanding of stepfamily dynamics is spot-on, informed, and can truly change lives and relationships for the dramatically better.”