What If you can be what you always wanted?

Gentle, Playful, Patient, Wise, Dedicated, or Fun?

Margot Holloman, PhD, Licensed Psychologist and Owner of Beginning to Bloom Inc. in Cary NC.

I specialize in working with women in all stages of motherhood. From making the decision to have children, pregnancy and postpartum issues, struggling to manage toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged, middle or high schoolers, to mothers who are facing an empty nest and trying to decide what is next.

I have always loved the expression “Bloom Where You are Planted”. It seems to suggest that we should all use what we have been given, not denying our weaknesses, circumstances, or challenges, but acknowledging them and using our strengths and the adversity we have experienced to make the most out of what we have and to grow and bloom as God or nature intended. As we grow, we can learn how to love and live better. No matter what our age, when we commit to focus on ourselves and how we can thrive then we are Beginning to Bloom.

Education and Licensure

B.A. in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Received the Arthur G. Bills Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.

Attended the School Psychology Doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then voluntarily transferred to UNC-G for the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program.

Graduated with a PhD from the Clinical Psychology program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Licensed Psychologist, APIT (Association for the Interjurisdictional Practice of Therapy).

Certified by Postpartum Support International in Perinatal Mental Health.

Training AND PRACTICE

Practicum at the Davidson County Mental Health

Internship at the Veterans Administration (VA) Durham, NC.

Practicum at the Baptist Hospital, Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Private Practice in Apex, NC, Fayetteville, NC, and Raleigh, NC

Professional Associations

North Carolina Psychological Association

American Psychological Association.

The Association of Contextual and Behavioral Sciences

Postpartum Support International (PSI)

Perinatal Mental Health Certification (from PSI)

Do any of these sound familiar?

You are a Mom with ADHD or Anxiety, you are grieving, or you had an unhappy childhood.

You want to be a mom, but you didn’t know it is such a hard road to get there or YOU ARE a new mother and it is not at all what you expected.

You have toddlers or preschoolers and some days YOU really need the time-out.

You have older children and/or teens and you feel like you are on a hamster wheel. You never wanted to be a witch but you feel like one. On top of that, you feel overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated.

Your kids are headed toward college or moving out on their own. You are headed toward an empty nest and you are having trouble remembering who you are and what YOU want from life.

You have adult children and they are finding careers and partners (or not) and it feels like a whole new phase of walking on eggshells and worrying about them.

You feel lonely and you need to reconnect with others, maybe your partner, your children, and your friends. In the whirlwind of motherhood you have forgotten about yourself and how to take care of you.

You Can Trust Me to Help

Together, we will work to discover what you need to feel better. You can depend on me to know how to get there. I will help you regain your confidence and find your way to greater peace and happiness. I am dedicated to these issues because they were the issues most important to me after being the daughter of a mother with mental illness. These issues continue to be the most important in my life after years of personal healing and three decades of motherhood.

I will help you put the self-help books you have read and the podcasts you have listened to into action. At first, you will likely need practical solutions, problem-solving, and support. It is essential you find a therapist who understands you so you can stop feeling like you are trying to do everything all alone. Next, we will work on your self-esteem and, if needed, work on unresolved feelings from childhood or previous relationships. Together, we will work on making long-lasting changes both in yourself and your relationships. I can help you determine what is your responsibility and, more importantly, what is not.

With Me, You Will Be Getting A Unique Combination Of Many Years Of Education, Professional Experience, And Personal Lived Experience.

My passion for mothers was born out of the stress of walking the floor with my first baby while she cried for hours. I felt so unsure if I could be both a good mother and a good Psychologist after a childhood filled with love but also rage and neglect.

Clients often tell me I am the first “therapist they could really connect with.” I want to create a therapy experience where you reach your goals in a way that YOU feel comfortable with. Often, a big part of therapy is getting comfortable with change. Change is hard, but having someone else there with you when you are trying to do something new and hard gives you the confidence you need and makes all the difference.

My approach will be tailored to your needs and your preferences.

Do you like structure and homework? Then I will give you homework.

Do you need time and space to talk and figure out what you are feeling? That is my bread and butter.

Do you need relationship or emotional coping skills, or do you need the motivation and confidence to use the skills you already have?

By the end of your time with me, you will have newfound confidence you know what you are doing, and you will finally be on the right path.