ABOUT ME

It feels impossible to summarize my identity in a tiny box of words. The most important roles I play are Therapist, Writer, and Mom. Though there are so many more: friend, daughter, activist, woman.

I've been doing therapy for almost two decades and have been in private practice since 2020. I work primarily with women and specialize in trauma, religious trauma, divorce, life transitions, parenting, and relationships. My work as a therapist is incredibly important to me and has shaped my life in ways I can't fully articulate.

Writing is something I've done my whole life; it's my preferred method of communication. It's how I've processed my own trauma and loss, found my way in dark times, and made sense of life. But when I turned 40, I felt what Brene Brown describes as the universe grabbing me by my shoulders, pulling me close, and whispering in my ear:

Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you.
It's time to show up and be seen.

Brene Brown, Midlife Unraveling

So, in 2022, I made a commitment to get serious about my writing. In October of that year, I traveled to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York to spend a weekend learning from Cheryl Strayed and to meet Elizabeth Lesser, two women whose writing impacted and inspired me in profound ways. I started studying craft through books, workshops and seminars, set reading goals for myself, and carved out time in my weekly schedule for writing. As 2023 came to a close, I determined that 2024 would be the year I finished the first draft of a manuscript - my memoir - and that's what I'm working on now.

I'm a third-generation Californian and a Midwest transplant of sixteen years. I have two daughters, a golden retriever pup named Penny, and a cantankerous cat named Katie (named after Barbra Streisand's character in The Way We Were, one of my favorite movies). I enjoy traveling and hiking, finding new coffee shops and bookstores, and adventuring with my kids. Most of the time, though, you can find me at home in my sweatpants with a book.

CREDENTIALS

In bullet form

I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and graduated Magna Cum Laude as the Psychology Department's Outstanding Senior

I earned my Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from The Family Institute at Northwestern University in 2010

I hold a life coaching certification from The Life Purpose Institute

I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and hold active licenses in the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Arizona

LET'S CONNECT

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How is it still May? I’ve lived three months in the past two weeks.

Spring Break Part II of II: Yosemite

Introducing your kids to a place you spent time in when you were a child is so special. It’s even more special when that place is as awe-inspiring as Yosemite.

Spring Break Part I of II: Visiting the Giants.

There’s something about being in the presence of towering trees knowing they’ve endured fire and flame, seeing them bear their scars and grow stronger around them, feeling their roots beneath your feet, the way they take up space, inhaling the warm pine air to receive the breath they so generously offer. These forests are cathedrals and the holiest of spaces. We have so much to learn from them.

The desert is calling. ✨

If you’re longing to reconnect with your creative soul, carve out space for rest, and commune with other women, this retreat is for you. Join us.

Learn more and register via the link in my bio or visit www.kristinegalli.com/sedona-2025. Spots are filling fast! Don’t wait!

It’s not for the faint of heart, this three-day, jam-packed, 10k-attended conference. But it is for the full-of-feeling heart, the inquisitive, ever-curious heart, the heart that longs to understand the human condition, that speaks the language of compassion and connection, that dares to face things most ordinary people would never.

My second AWP was different than my first. I was more focused on what I wanted to learn and who I wanted to connect with. I knew more people. I gave more hugs. My picture was even on a giant poster from the writing retreat I attended! 🤩 It made me realize that, no matter how slow my writing process may seem at times, I am growing. I am progressing. Step by step.

Highlights: Meeting my writing partner and Substack co-writer, Sarah, in person for the first time. The Substack writers meetup hosted by @cindy.ditiberio. Substack writers are FUN, ps. Learning and note-taking and listening to some of my favorite authors: @amontei, @melissafebos, @joannarakoff, @ro.kwon, @i__rojascontreras. Finding new authors to follow and gush over: @natashiadeon, @genemichelbasquiat, @marie.helenebertino, @radhradke, @ginafrangello, and @amyshearnwrites whose book I bought right before the conference and will start reading immediately. Walking past the @rosebooks.co table and having @chelseahodson_ call out, “I know you!” Um, I know YOU, Chelsea. Thank you for making my whole day. Spending time with my dearest writing friends @laurenkalstad and @allisonpolidor. Reading alongside them both at the @scribentematernum event for the second year in a row (this year with a microphone, eek!). Hardly knowing my name at the end of Saturday but feeling full of ideas and inspiration. And, of course, saying hello to my beloved Pacific before heading back home. It was absolutely worth the $50 uber ride.

Thank you, @awpwriter. Thank you, LA. The City of Dreams inspired me to keep holding tight to my own.

Imagine learning how to walk again. You put one foot in the front of the other and fall. You get up, try it again, fall again. You think, all I know about walking is how to fall. But really, every time you stand, you’re teaching your body how it feels to get back up.

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ABOUT ME

Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. It's time to show up and be seen. Brene Brown, Midlife Unraveling

CREDENTIALS

LET'S CONNECT

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Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you.
It's time to show up and be seen.

Brene Brown, Midlife Unraveling