About Stella

Stella O’Malley (PhD) is a psychotherapist and bestselling author with over 20 years experience in counselling and psychotherapy.

Stella works in private practice, focusing her work mostly upon adolescents, young adults and parents. Herqualifications include a B.A. in Counselling and Psychotherapy, an M.A. in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, diplomas in Youth Studies, Psychometric Testing, and Gender Identity Counselling and a PhD in Social Work, with research focused on parents’ perceptions of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents.

Stella’s therapeutic approach is grounded in a psychodynamic, depth-oriented modality. She specialises in working with parents and young people, and her expertise is reflected in her bestselling books, Cotton Wool Kids (2015), Bully-Proof Kids (2017), and Fragile (2019). In 2023, Stella released What Your Teen Is Trying To Tell You, a comprehensive guide that helps parents support their teenagers through the storms and stresses of adolescence.

Stella co-authored When Kids Say They're Trans (2023) with fellow therapists Sasha Ayad and Lisa Marchiano, to offer a resource for parents who want their children to flourish, but do not believe that hasty medicalisation is the best way to ensure long-term health and well-being.

Stella is the founder and Executive Director of Genspect, an international organisation that advocates for a healthy approach to sex and gender. Genspect powers many other initiatives in this field such as Stats for Gender, Beyond Trans, and Pitt Parents.

She is the vice-president of the Gender Dysphoria Institute, a member of the Athena Forum Advisory Group and a founding member of Thoughtful Therapists. She was also a founding member of the Clinical Advisory Network: Sex and Gender and the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine. Stella co-founded the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) with Lisa Marchiano and Sasha Ayad in 2021; leadership of the organisation was later entrusted to Paul Garcia-Ryan and it was renamed Therapy First in 2023.

As a prominent figure in the mental health landscape, Stella delivers public talks and lectures at venues and events across the world.