Mary Jeppsen, PhD

Mary was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating from Vassar College in 1975, she married Michael, and concentrated on raising a family as a stay-at-home mom. She has 11 children. (Eight daughters and three sons ranging in age from 23 to 50). She homeschooled the children for 22 years. Her oldest daughter is adopted and her youngest daughter has Down Syndrome. Being a stay-at-home mother for all those years has been the greatest privilege of her life.

When Mary was 53, she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy from John Brown University. She and her husband graduated together. Mary went on to earn a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University.

Mary worked in Community Mental Health in Northwest Arkansas for 7 years, working mostly with children and their families as a Play Therapist. She left the non-profit sector in 2012 and bought a private practice in Rogers, Arkansas, working there for 7 years, until she and Michael started their own practice in 2020. Recently they have moved to Dauphin Island, Alabama.

While working with children Mary realized how hard it is for parents to co-parent after divorce. She saw that there was very little training or support for divorced parents in Arkansas. At that point she approached the family court judges in both Benton and Washington Counties to propose a program of psycho-education and therapy for divorced couples. She has been working with divorced parents for 7 years. In 2018 she wrote Working With Co-Parents: A Manual for Therapists, Routledge Press. This book has been used world-wide by therapists who have a heart for parents who are divorced.

In addition to working with co-parents, Mary works with married couples and individuals. She is a Certified Daring Way™ facilitator and is trained in Emotion Focused Couples Therapy. She works with clients from Arkansas remotely, and with clients in Alabama.

Mary has been a committed Christian since she was 17. Her interests besides family include travel, art and photography.