Dr. Mary F Spence graduated from the Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with a double major in psychology and theater. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Clinical and Educational Psychology from Wayne State University. She completed her internship in Ypsilanti Regional Psychiatric Hospital. She is licensed in the State of Michigan.

Dr. Spence has a wide array of child, adolescent and adult training and experiences, having worked in community mental health, a correctional psychiatric setting and the state hospital system, prior to a long tenure in both regional and local school settings.  Her work involved by psychological evaluations and treatment for those with serious mental illness or disability, along with more common disorders such as ADHD, ASD, learning disabilities and emotional impairment.

Inherent in her professional life, Dr Spence has lent her expertise to several initiatives, including being a founding member of two nonprofits (The Asperger Society of Michigan and Michigan Collaborative for Mindfulness in Education) along with serving on the State of Michigan Department of Education Rule Change Committee for ASD.  She has provided numerous presentations within her field, including “Flourishing in the New Normal” in 2021 for the Oakland County Bar Association.

Dr Spence has been involved in forensic evaluation work since 2007.  Dr. Spence has performed numerous forensic psychological evaluations and has been qualified as an expert in the field in adult and juvenile courts in Michigan and Arizona. She has provided depositions and testified in court. Her areas of interest include identification and recovery from PTSD in children and recovery, well-being and resilience, sexual harassment and racial discrimination, Special Education law and Section 504 Accommodations, and diagnostic evaluations in school consultation.

Currently, Dr Spence provides outpatient therapy with clients ranging from 77-5 years of age, using a variety of evidence-based therapies to achieve successful outcomes in addition to working with couples using the Relational Life Therapy approach. She is part of the Grove Emotional Health Collaborative, which provides care that is rooted in science and current best practices. Treatment philosophy includes symptom resolution and promoting growth towards emotional wellbeing. Approximately 10 % of her professional practice is devoted to forensic evaluations.

Dr. Spence is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), Division 41.

Dr. Spence has been an independent contractor to fpamed since 2024.

References available upon request.