ABOUT ME
“Over the past 11 years, my life has been a whirlwind of extraordinary events.”
With nearly two decades of medical experience, Mary Halsey holds board certifications in pediatrics and sleep medicine. A Vanderbilt University graduate, she completed medical school and residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005 and 2008. After two years in urgent care, she pursued a unique fellowship in pediatric-focused Sleep Medicine – a field involving fewer than 500 global experts at the time. Throughout her tenure, Mary Halsey mentored over 20 trainees, actively contributed to the Continuing Medical Education Committee, and established innovative interdisciplinary clinics, collaborating notably with neurosurgery and plastic surgery.
While Mary Halsey not only provided medical care to thousands of children, one of her own children became critically ill in 2012 and again in 2021. Between those years, she experienced a near life-threatening ectopic during Snowmageddon, a complicated divorce, a move, two unexpected head injuries, and a myriad of other random occurrences. In fact, one of her work partners used to joke that Mary Halsey should play the lottery because her life made for such a crazy story. With the support of her partners, as Mary Halsey continued building programs at work during this time, she recognized the importance of resilience in her personal and professional life. After realizing the broad implications, Mary Halsey became interested in resilience factors in patients, caregivers, and medical professionals.
As an avid lifelong learner, she researched aspects of resilience, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), and their impact on health and took continued education classes in positive psychology and motivational interviewing. She attended training in patient-centered care with Intermountain Healthcare in Utah, worked with Children’s of Alabama committees on Transition (of pediatric patients to adulthood), Wellness (among providers, especially physicians), and Customer Service (Family Centered Care) to bring resilience experience to patients, families, and co-workers. She mentored trainees and focused on teaching compassion to both self and others.
In 2022, Mary Halsey decided to shift from medicine to coaching. She draws on her experience as a divorced working mother of two children and caregiver of a child with significant, complex medical needs to lay the foundation for a coaching program focusing on resilience during challenging life events. She’s trained as a CDC(c) Certified Divorce Coach in the only program accredited in the United States by the International Federation of Coaches and recognized by the American Bar Association as a Dispute Resolution process. She’s also trained in Resilience X©, a program developed by Dr. Hugo Alberts specifically for resilience coaching with positive psychology.
Mary Halsey resides in Birmingham, Alabama with her two children and a delightfully energetic and needy GoldenDoodle who thinks the car is her crate. She loves cooking, reading, and all things art and is up for any whitewater canoeing, kayaking, or rafting trip. You can find her at Pepper Place on Saturday mornings unless she is attending basketball or softball tournaments for her children. Her doors are always open to family and friends, and she often says, “My house is never ready for company; therefore, it is always ready for company.”
What to Expect
At Forge & Flourish we coach with honesty and transparency, creating a safe and non-judgmental space not just physically, but emotionally too. With a growth mindset and adaptability, together, we will co-create effective solutions.
We are thankful to be a part of your journey to a more resilient self.
