Good Neighbor Podcast Live

Therapy isn't just for crisis—it's a sign of strength

• Garfield Bowen & Justena Kavanagh

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Ever wondered if therapy is only for people in crisis? Ready to challenge what you think you know about mental health support? Justena Kavanagh, founder of NYC Counseling and psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience, joins us to dismantle the myths and misconceptions surrounding therapy.

Justena shares her fascinating journey from corporate consulting and ABC News to discovering her true calling in psychotherapy. With warmth and candor, she explains why she finds human behavior and emotions endlessly fascinating, comparing psychology classes to "dessert" while other subjects felt like "meat and vegetables." Her story demonstrates how following your genuine interests—even later in life—can lead to profound professional fulfillment.

The conversation tackles the persistent stigma around seeking mental health support. Justena eloquently explains how many of her clients are high-functioning professionals who excel in their careers but struggle with relationships or emotional regulation. She challenges the notion that therapy is only for those in crisis, emphasizing that seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness. "Therapy can be very expensive," she notes, "but not going can be much more costly"—a powerful perspective on the hidden price we pay when avoiding emotional care.

What if a few therapy sessions could dramatically improve your relationships, well-being, and quality of life? Connect with NYC Counseling at nyccounseling.com or call 212-777-6922 to discover how accessible, targeted mental health support might be exactly what you've been missing. Isn't it time to give yourself the same care you'd readily seek for other aspects of your life?

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast Live. Are you in need of a mental health counselor? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today we have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Justina Canova, with NYC Counseling, Justina how are you? Doing today.

Speaker 3:

I'm all right, thank you.

Speaker 2:

Listen, we're excited to learn all about you and your practice. Tell us about your company.

Speaker 3:

Listen, we're excited to learn all about you and your practice. Tell us about your company. Sure, my name is Justina Cavanaugh. I've been a psychotherapist in New York for over 20 years and over 10 years ago I started a group practice named NYC Counseling and it's sort of an extension of what I was doing solo, just to be able to serve more people and have a wider variety of times and fees and specialties available. So we're pretty general outpatient mental health psychotherapy practice and we see mostly individuals as well as adults, families, both with young children, older children, couples and groups.

Speaker 2:

What brought you into this whole space of mental health? What attracted you to this field?

Speaker 3:

I've always been fascinated by human behavior and relationships and emotion, and relationships and emotion. And I went into college and I would take psych classes that I sort of thought of as dessert, but I needed to eat my meat and veggies and then I said, no, I can major in it. And despite majoring in it, I did not remotely consider working in it. So I first worked in consulting and then I worked in at ABC News and it was during a leave of absence that someone said to me all you do is read psych, why not work in it? And I thought, oh my God didn't absolutely. And it was a real light bulb moment. So since then I've been doing this for over 25 years and I'm endlessly fascinated by it.

Speaker 2:

So you just said, let me skip everything else and stick with the dessert.

Speaker 3:

And I think what's beautiful is what? What? What's my dessert is someone else's? You know, there's things I'd really rather not do that people love doing and have a profession in, and that's what some people will say how do you do your job all day? Isn't it so depressing? And I said not to me, to me, like cocktail party chatter is depressing, or keeping it super superficial. I think anything real is very alive and I don't know. It seems better than what is not discussed.

Speaker 2:

What are some of the myths and misconceptions in the industry?

Speaker 3:

Oh boy, I think there are huge myths and misconceptions about mental health and I'd say also massive stigma. I think most cultures and families I don't think there are many cultures and families that embrace sort of mental health care. It seems that it's just generally. I'm generally poo-pooed, but I think, and I think that comes from a lot of lack of awareness of what it is. I think it feels very threatening to people, threatening to the status quo, sort of threatening to the way things are. And so, god, I have so much to say but I'm struggling to think of where to go with it. I mean so generally, I think there's a lack of understanding about it and an aversion to it. In terms of misconceptions, I think the massive misconception is that you have to be in dire straits and somehow weak or vulnerable to need it, and I think that's not remotely true. I think people can benefit from it even when they're not in acute pain.

Speaker 3:

I think it's even better when you're not in acute pain, and that it's really a sign of strength to reach out for not for help, but I mean reach out for support. We get help in so many areas, whether it's taxes or exercise or the like. There's so many areas in which we're happy to consult with a professional, and yet mental health is not an area that a lot of people think it's okay to get help with, and so, anyway, I could go on and on, but that's the gist of it, I think.

Speaker 2:

Do you think more male or female will reach out first? Which one?

Speaker 3:

Definitely statistically female. I think in the same vein that we as a culture I think it's you know shows vulnerability. I think, as a culture generally, more females are. Females are more comfortable with vulnerability, but that's not to say men, don't? It's just there's statistically fewer men who reach out for it.

Speaker 2:

I guess we'll go to the gym and work it out.

Speaker 3:

In fact, I always think of all the people who are, whether it's your trainer, your hairdresser, your bartender. I mean, there's a million people that people are getting therapy with but, you know, might not be trained in it, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

But might not be trained in it. Yeah, yeah, you talked about the type of people that you treat. Just explain again who's your target audience and how are you currently attracting them.

Speaker 3:

Again, it's not so specific but I would say as a general theme. We see a lot of people who are very high, functioning in certain areas of life and that's often academic, financial, professional, maybe athletic or social and struggling in other areas of life which tend to be relationships or emotional, and by emotional I don't mean massive mood swings, but using substances to cope with certain feelings or workaholism or all sorts of behaviors, to kind of stay steady in their feelings.

Speaker 3:

So I guess you kind of give them like a mental massage, huh, so I guess you kind of give them like a mental massage huh, yes, but not always a massage. That, yeah, I mean. Sometimes it doesn't feel, sometimes you feel worse to feel better, and other times it's the other way around. In fact, what I hear more than anything is God, I wish I'd started this sooner, or I wish I had more time for it started this sooner, or I wish I had more time, for I mean most people who, who, who, weighed into therapy. They're more, they're feeling more than overdue and really wish they had done so sooner.

Speaker 2:

Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

I have in fact absolutely, and there are certain just general mental health, but also certain areas of of specialty and expertise which I've considered uh highlighting in a podcast.

Speaker 2:

I know you say this type of work is, as you would say, dessert. But when you're not so busy running your business outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

Ideally, if I have access to water and snow sports. I love them. I love sort of kite surfing, wakeboarding, skiing, those surfing anything in the water or snow I like. But I can't say I do that on a weekly basis. But those are some things I do to get away.

Speaker 2:

Justine, if we were to narrow it down to one thing, tell our listeners one thing they should remember about NYC counseling.

Speaker 3:

I was going. I mean it sounds sort of negative, but sometimes I say therapy can be very expensive, but not going can be much more costly and we really see that with relationship breakdown, with health breakdown. There's so many places in which I often say a little bit of therapy goes a long way. You don't need to embark on a massive multi-year, multiple time a week therapy or counseling to get a lot of benefit from it.

Speaker 2:

Very well, listeners now probably just have one word on their lips right now, and that's how? How can we get more information on NYC Counseling?

Speaker 3:

Sure. Our website is nyccounselingcom.

Speaker 2:

Phone number is 212-777-NYCC, which is, I think, 6924. No 6922. Info at NYC Counseling. Those would be a few roots in listen. Justina, we really appreciate you being on your show. We wish you and your business the very best, moving forward well, thank you very much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for having me thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPLivecom. That's GNPLivecom, or call 877-934-3302.