Julie Garten

Something brought you here — and it's worth paying attention to. I'm Julie, a clinical therapist with over 30 years in the mental health field, specializing in trauma-based symptoms, depression, anxiety, grief, and mood instability.

I started this work as a case manager three decades ago, then went back for my Master's in Social Work because I wanted to deepen my capacity to actually help people — not just manage cases. That same drive shapes how I show up today: experienced, steady, and devoted to this work as a calling, not a career.

My approach is holistic and humanistic. I treat mental health the same way I'd treat any other kind of health — because all health is brain-based — and I bring together evidence-based skills, somatic awareness, and (when it fits) expressive arts. I'm a trained visual artist myself, and I love using guided imagery and creative work to help clients picture and step into the version of themselves they're moving toward.

I believe you are the expert on your own life. My job is to walk alongside you while you figure out what matters most and clear the barriers that are keeping you from getting there.

My approach is humanistic, holistic, and rooted in a simple belief: every human being deserves love, compassion, and support to live the very best life of their choosing.

In practice, that means I don't push. I empower. We'll work together to understand what you're experiencing — what the symptoms are doing, where they live in your body, and what they may be trying to tell you — and then build coping skills and physiological tools that actually move the needle.

I draw from a variety of therapy models, depending on what fits. For some clients that's expressive arts and guided imagery (as a trained artist, I love using creative work for healing and self-soothing). For others it's somatic skills, cognitive tools, or crisis intervention when the moment requires it. After three decades, I've gotten good at meeting people where they are.

The work belongs to you. I'm here to support, challenge gently, and walk alongside — never to direct.

Most people don't come to therapy because everything is going well — so the first session is mostly about getting a real sense of each other.

We'll spend the time talking about what brought you in today, what you've been carrying, and what you'd like to feel differently in your life. I'll listen, ask questions, and start to understand both what's happening on the surface and what may be moving underneath.

By the end, we'll begin to identify what we'd work on together — whether that's processing trauma, building tools for anxiety or grief, exploring expressive approaches, or simply having steady, compassionate company while you figure out the next step. There's no pressure to commit beyond that first conversation, and if I'm not the right fit, I'll help you find someone who is.