Meet Justin Keefe, B'well's First Counseling Intern
Hi, my name is Justin, and I’m B’well’s first Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern joining from The College of New Jersey!
What I bring to therapy is a rich background of lived and professional experience, and a readiness to sit alongside you through anything and everything you may be going through. Life is messy and filled with uncertainty, change, and growth. I’m here to help you embrace the uncertainty, process the change, and facilitate the growth. Whether you’re feeling stuck behind barriers that seem immovable, having trouble adjusting to a new stage of life, or looking to improve your relationships, I’m here for you.
I believe wholeheartedly in the power of the client-therapist relationship, so I first put a lot of effort into getting to know you. From there, I take an active and engaging approach to therapy. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but I’m also not here to sit back and nod my head for up to an hour. Don’t get me wrong, there will be some of that, but I’ll also speak up, and I may challenge you (in healthy and appropriate doses).
As a counseling intern, my toolbox of therapeutic interventions is constantly evolving, as is the theoretical framework from which I operate. My approach can best be described as integrative, in that I’ll pull from a handful of different evidence-based practices based on needs that arise for each individual. My work is primarily grounded in a cognitive-behavioral perspective, and I find Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) effective and applicable to lots of life’s common difficulties. I may also pull from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), or The Gottman Method for Couples Therapy, among others.
The people I work best with are those feeling stuck or exhausted by the weight of expectations placed on them by themselves or others. Maybe this happens at work, at home, in school, in sports, or in your relationships. Oftentimes this weight leads to thoughts or behavioral patterns that served you at some point, but now contribute to more harm than good. Or maybe they’ve always contributed to more harm than good, but the fear of addressing things any other way was enough to keep you in that negative cycle. You may have noticed these challenges seeping into other areas, slowly chipping away at your confidence and self-worth. So let’s address that. We may take a CBT approach to raise awareness of the interplay between your thought patterns, emotions, and behaviors, while also challenging long-held beliefs that keep you stuck. We may also look at how your culture and upbringing influence the way you show up in various roles. It’s not about judging or shaming you, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. We’ll build self-compassion and acceptance around the past that brought you here, as rocky as it may have been.
Relationships can be deeply meaningful, and sometimes deeply challenging. Working with couples and relationships is an important part of my practice. I help couples break out of negative conflict patterns, rebuild emotional and physical intimacy, navigate the impact of infidelity, and reconnect through life’s transitions. Together, we'll slow things down, better understand the patterns that are getting in the way, and develop new ways of relating that support the relationship you want to build.
I take a particular approach to working with athletes. Over the past ten years, I’ve coached athletes ranging from recreational to collegiate levels. At every level of competition, the same mental health challenges were pervasive, and too often unattended to. While my work in sports in the past focused on improving performance and reaching athletic goals, I now help athletes as a therapist to address performance anxiety, matters of self-worth, body image concerns, harmful training behavior, injuries and athletic retirement, and difficult team dynamics. Maybe your identity has become so intertwined with your sport, and your expectations of yourself are so intense that your performance at work or school is suffering. Perhaps your relationships are deteriorating because missing or rescheduling a workout doesn’t feel like an option. I believe your best athletic performances come more easily from periods of balance and wellbeing across your entire life. With that said, my work with athletes focuses on the whole person, not just the athlete. We’ll look at how intersecting identities and roles in your life affect your experience as an athlete, and vice versa. In doing so, we may find a level of acceptance and balance that contributes to more joy and longevity in sport, wellbeing outside of sport, and yeah, maybe some better performances.
You and I may be a great fit if:
you want to lift the weight of expectations placed on you by yourself or others
you’re having trouble breaking negative conflict patterns, rebuilding physical and emotional intimacy, navigating infidelity, or nurturing your relationship through life’s transitions
you're concerned about the role of masculinity in your life
you're struggling with your self-worth, meaning and purpose, or a loss in your life
Fees
To account for Justin's Trainee status, he offers a reduced tiered fee structure. His fees pay for the costs associated with his training and provision of psychotherapy services. A limited number of pro-bono and even further reduced fees are available based on individual circumstances.
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