About
Hi! I’m Kate
Author, Thought-Leader, Maternal Mental Heath Advocate, Coach & Consultant
My Philosophy
Becoming a mother changes everything.
It can fill you with a kind of love you didn’t know was possible and, at the very same time, bring you face-to-face with uncertainty, discomfort, and parts of yourself you may never have had to meet before.
This can be especially disorienting when you’re used to being highly capable in the rest of your life. You know how to plan, analyze, anticipate, organize, solve problems, and make things happen.
These are extraordinary strengths. I call them strategic intelligence, and they may have helped you build much of the life you love.
But motherhood asks something else of you.
Because your child isn’t a problem to solve. Your relationship with your kiddo is something to build, and relationships require a different kind of intelligence.
Relational intelligence is the capacity to stay engaged with reality as it is—especially when it’s uncertain, uncomfortable, or different from what you expected—so you can choose responses that align with your values and the relationship you’re trying to build.
It means learning to stay present with discomfort without immediately fixing it. To tolerate uncertainty. To repair when things go sideways. And to recognize when a moment needs a solution—and when it simply needs you to stay.
This is the heart of my work.
I help ambitious mothers build the nervous system capacity and relational intelligence to access the mother they already know they want to be—even when things get hard.
This isn’t about getting rid of anxiety or becoming endlessly calm. And this certainly isn’t about becoming a perfect mother. This is about building the capacity to stay connected to yourself and your child when your nervous system wants to rush, fix, control, criticize, or pull away.
Because motherhood isn’t a project to master. It’s a relationship to build.
And you don’t have to choose between your ambition and that relationship. You can learn to bring the right kind of intelligence to both.
My Background
I’m Kate Kripke, LCSW, PMH-C—founder of Mom Fluency and the Calm Connection Experience™ and a passionate advocate for mothers thriving in both their lives and their relationships with their children.
For more than two decades, I’ve supported women through some of the most important transitions of their lives. I founded the Postpartum Wellness Center of Boulder in 2007 (now the Parent and Family Wellness Center) and served as its Founding Director and Senior Psychotherapist for more than 15 years. In that role, I built one of Colorado’s most trusted hubs for perinatal mental health, ensuring women and families had access to expert, compassionate care.
Today, my work extends nationally and internationally through coaching, teaching, speaking, and consulting. I specialize in supporting ambitious, high-achieving mothers who are deeply committed to both the lives they are building and the relationships they want with their children. I help women understand the patterns that can make motherhood feel harder than they expected, build greater capacity for uncertainty and emotional discomfort, and move through motherhood with greater steadiness, presence, joy, and confidence.
My work sits at the vital intersection of maternal and child mental health. How we experience motherhood affects how we show up in our relationships with our children. By helping mothers stay present through difficult moments, respond with greater intention, and trust themselves more deeply, I support both maternal well-being and the development of secure, emotionally healthy children. I believe mothers can flourish as individuals while raising children who flourish, too—and that neither needs to come at the expense of the other.
My background includes a BA in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder, a Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Smith College, and advanced training in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I’ve served on state and national task forces, including the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Pregnancy-Related Depression State Advisory Committee, and I am certified by Postpartum Support International as a Perinatal Mental Health Counselor.
While I believe deeply in the importance of early support, I also know it is never too late. Whether you are a brand-new mom with a fussy baby, a career-driven mother navigating guilt and overwhelm, or a parent of teens seeking deeper connection, my work is about creating lasting mental wellbeing and relational strength through every phase of motherhood.
On a personal note: my own joy is found in hiking the Colorado trails with my dog Darwin, dancing in the kitchen with my daughters (despite their eye-rolls), swapping stories with friends, planning adventures with my husband, and starting my mornings with writing and meditation.
Kate Kripke is exceptional. She combines compassion with research-based modalities for mental health and wellbeing. Through her practice and unwavering support, moms learn to take a breath and to feel their emotions. She is exactly what you want in a therapist and coach —intelligent and kind—creating a safe space to grow not only as a parent but as an individual.
— Susanne, Mom of two