CEO of Forge and Flourish, Board Certified Pediatrician and Sleep Specialist, Certified Divorce Coach
Mary Halsey has a nearly 20-year medical career focusing on pediatrics and sleep medicine. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, she completed medical school and residency at University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005 and 2008, respectively.
After working in urgent care for 2 years, she returned to fellowship training to specialize in Sleep Medicine, focusing on pediatrics, one of fewer than 500 people worldwide at the time that focused on the pediatric side of sleep medicine. Over her years of practice, she mentored more than 20 trainees, was an active member of the Continuing Medical Education Committee, and had multiple novel interdisciplinary clinics, including neurosurgery and plastic surgery.
During her nearly 20 years in practice, Mary Halsey not only provided medical care to thousands of children, her own child became critically ill in 2012 and again in 2021. She also experienced a complicated divorce while continuing to build programs at work.
Though her partners were very supportive, she recognized the importance of resilience in both her personal and professional life. Recognizing the broad implications of resilience, Mary Halsey became interested in factors of resilience in patients, caregivers, AND medical professionals.
As an avid lifelong learner, Mary Halsey began to research factors of resilience, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and their impact on health and began taking continuing education classes in positive psychology and motivational interviewing.
At the same time, she attended training in patient-centered care with Intermountain Healthcare in Utah and 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 her patients, families, and co-workers.
She continued to mentor trainees AND focused on teaching compassion to both self and others.
In 2022, Mary Halsey decided to make the shift from medicine to coaching. Recognizing that resilience is a universal need, Mary Halsey decided to draw 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 initially became trained as a 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 also got 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 Golden Doodle. She loves cooking, reading, and all things art, and will go on any trip that includes canoeing, kayaking, or rafting.
You can find her at Pepper Place on Saturday mornings unless she attends a basketball or softball tournament. 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.”
Education
Vanderbilt University,
B.A. in European Studies
University of Alabama at Birmingham,
M.D., Pediatrics Internship and residency, Sleep Medicine Fellowship
Advanced Training in Patient Centered Care,
Intermountain Healthcare
Coaching Circles, University of Alabama at Birmingham Office of Faculty Development
Certified Divorce Coach, C.D.C., only program certified by I.F.C. in United States
Publications
Mary Halsey is a published author in numerous medical journals including Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Journal of Disease Management and Healthcare Outcomes, Neurosurgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, and more.
She co-authored the chapter on Epidemiology in Principles and Practices of Sleep Medicine. She has also been quoted in al.com, bestlifeonline.com, AlabamaPublicHealth.com, and WRBC to name a few, as well as an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, including Pediatric Research and the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry.
Awards
B-Metro Top Women in Medicine, several years in a row
B-Metro Top Doctor in Sleep Medicine, several years in a row
Castle Connelly Top Doctor, several years in a row
