ABOUT JULIE

I was a therapist before I knew what one was. From the playground in elementary

school to hour long phone calls in high school, my friends always came to me for

support, advice and a safe space to be heard.

 

By the time I was a junior in high school I knew that I wanted to be a therapist. I

took AP Psychology, so I would be ready to major in psychology in college. As a

freshman, I was accepted to train for the peer crisis hotline, and volunteered on

the hotline throughout college. 

 

After working a few years at an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) I went to

graduate school for my Masters of Social Work (MSW), bringing my lifelong dream

into reality. 

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Then therapy became personal

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It was during my MSW program that I fully realized the true power of therapy in

my own life. You see, I got engaged during my first semester of graduate school and spent the next year trying to decide if it was going to work out. 

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On paper, it seemed like it should, but in my actual life, it felt like it really wasn’t. He and I had been together since high school and even thinking about breaking up felt like a major betrayal. So, I denied that anything was wrong and became physically sick and emotionally exhausted. 

 

And yet I was still going to school, getting great grades, going to my internship and working part time. But for the first time, as a woman who has always held it together I found myself falling apart. What I realized was that I couldn’t just keep taking on everyone else’s problems while ignoring my own. I decided to seek help and sought out a therapist of my own for the very first time. 

 

Things I learned in therapy

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Through the process of therapy I learned a valuable set of skills:

• How to listen to my own voice

• How to take care of myself

• How to get the support I needed to do what I had to do

 

I left that relationship and it was hard. But it was in that therapy room that I gave myself permission to be true to myself and make the decision that was right for me. 

 

The therapy room is also where I realized I was not alone in my struggle. Lots of powerful, competent, have-it-all-together women do not learn this skill set because we are so busy taking care of everyone else. 

 

This is why I became obsessed with helping these women.  

 

After graduating, I returned to the Employee Assistance Program where I counseled employee’s for ten years. But something was nagging at me… while I loved helping people solve their problems at work, I wanted to go deeper. 

 

I decided to start my own private practice, to work with women who seem like they have it all, but feel like they are falling apart and are asking themselves “If I’m so great, why does everything suck?”   

 

This is my story.

 

I’d love to hear yours.

 

Contact me to schedule a call.

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Bio

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Julie Klein Montaruli is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 15 years experience. She was an EAP consultant at an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) where she helped thousands of employees to resolve workplace conflict and personal challenges so they could be proud of their work while having space for a personal life too. During her time at the EAP she provided assessments and referrals, short term therapy, crisis interventions and collaborated with managers and human resource professionals on complex employee situations.

 

Julie began working as a therapist while she was a graduate student at Rutgers University. She has provided counseling in a variety of settings including a mental health day treatment center, an elementary school, an Employee Assistance Program, and private practice.

 

Julie is passionate about helping her clients live their best life.