We had the good fortune of connecting with Monica Garty Juice and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Monica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Several years ago, I initiated a Coping Skills Program at a large pediatric private practice in South Orange County, where I proudly work as a pediatric nurse practitioner. Truthfully, this endeavor was deeply rooted in my personal healing journey and the profound impact of my own therapist. Week after week, as my life began to make more sense, I was simultaneously reading and listening to everything I could get my hands on. My personal and professional life were undergoing a major transformation, evident by the clear shift in how I was connecting with own patients. I was eager (honestly, quite obsessed) to share the knowledge and insights I had gained.

My initial goal was relatively straightforward: to help address the pressing mental health care needs of our patients and their parents during the pandemic, with the aim of simply preventing children from falling through the cracks. While I am not a therapist, I could see that offering something, even if small, was better than nothing. As the program gained traction, I quickly realized the necessity of establishing a robust referral network of skilled mental health clinicians. Therapy, I learned, is comprised of two essential components: content and process. While I was able to provide valuable content, my patients required a safe space and time for deeper, more therapeutic work—something that was out of my scope of practice. Through our work, however, people were far more open to the idea of investing in their mental health. Next goal: figure out who and how to get them where they needed to be.

Over time, the program evolved to address a wide range of mental health concerns. I worked to normalize people’s experiences, explaining the reasons behind our behaviors. I taught about brain development and the autonomic nervous system, provided coping strategies, and gave individuals the language to articulate and make sense of their experiences and emotions. I developed a keen awareness for identifying common challenges faced by highly sensitive, empathic, and gifted children, as well as those growing up with adverse childhood events. Children and adolescents were beginning to thrive. Their parents, though, felt inadequate, often blaming themselves. Next goal: help parents.

I learned to support parents who cared deeply but maybe lacked emotional maturity, self-regulation, or effective communication skills to be the parent they have always wanted to be. By creating a shame-free environment, parents learned to be vulnerable and ask for help. They learned the same material their children were learning, as well as how to repair after ruptures. Many parents were even finding themselves encouraged to start their own healing journey to finally begin to break free from their own developmental and intergenerational traumas. Parents reported feeling way less “crazy” and were validated by knowing that they were struggling for very good and congruent reasons. Next goal: grow.

As I transitioned to launch Intersection Rising, my focus remained on linking the mind and body. My overarching goal is for individuals to feel heard, seen, and connected. Like Gabor Mate said, I believe, “The body whispers what the mind can’t say.” And while it’s challenging for me to explain what it is that I actually do, I see myself as a sort of detective and travel agent meeting individuals where they are, formulating a plan, instilling hope, and guiding them confidently toward healing. Collaboration with mental health providers has and will always be integral to my approach at Intersection Rising.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Growing up was a real challenge for me. Incredibly sensitive and shy, my earliest memories were plagued with a constant need for unattainable perfectionism and desperate attempts at belonging. While I did well in school, I was riddled with anxiety, engulfed with feelings of shame and fear. In middle school (which in case you didn’t already know, it’s literally the worst), my anxiety became increasingly pronounced and I began to unknowingly cope with an array of obsessive-compulsive behaviors. My once always perfect grades became very not perfect, and I found myself in frequent conflict with my parents and teachers not out of defiance, but merely as a survival strategy. By the time high school came around, the wheels were really falling off the bus. I had begun experiencing various physical symptoms that doctors couldn’t explain or offer solutions to. I felt like I was living on an island, with no one to understand or believe what I was going through. Fortunately enough, I had miraculously developed a new coping skill: Avoidance! I just couldn’t do it any longer. I stopped going to school. I barely spoke. I hated leaving my bedroom. I was certain that things would never be okay—that I was better off dead. If only I had known just how incredibly wrong I would be…

As the years past, I started to come out of my shell in college finding myself more capable than I had anticipated. I loved learning and proving myself wrong became a sport. After college, I moved across the country to attend graduate school. I worked my first jobs as a pediatric nurse practitioner. I got married. We got a puppy! I wouldn’t say I was thriving, but I was at least doing it and checking all the boxes. As the demands of adulting continuously piled higher and higher, the dormant monster of my early childhood eventually erupted. Once again, I grew quite ill—chronic fevers, debilitating fatigue, muscle pain, a brain that didn’t seem to work anymore, and more. I don’t know how I managed to hide it from the world, but OCD silently swallowed me whole.

Around this same time, I also became a mother to a beautiful baby boy. Motherhood brought with it a new set of challenges I was grossly unprepared for. I struggled to connect with my baby, overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and shame. I found myself in a constant state of emotional turmoil, finding refuge only in my skillful ability to dissociate and stay extraordinarily busy with my forever bestie, OCD. The severity of my physical illness was insidiously creeping up on me. Most days, I could barely hold my own head and even found myself ordering a chair for the shower on Amazon. It’s actually pretty wild to think about now. Well meaning physicians wrote me off or misdiagnosed me with rather scary and grim conditions. Despite my extensive education and clinical experience in pediatrics, I didn’t even have the energy to engage with my son. Yep, I was a fraud, and utterly immobilized by the same stories I operated under as a child and adolescent. This was it though, I had to figure it all out. If not for me, for my son.

Through therapy, I began to unravel the layers of my past and confront the traumas that had silently shaped my life. I learned to reframe my narrative, embracing my flaws and imperfections. I began to discover who I was—the things that gave me energy, the things that drained me, and the things that inspired me. After all these years, I finally met myself and began to live a life driven by my passions, values, and purpose. Developing this newfound sense of compassion and understanding for myself is ultimately what enabled me to connect more deeply with my child and those around me.

Speaking up and sharing my truth still isn’t easy for me—imposter syndrome, the fear of being weird, and true belonging are a cloak that I live under daily. Lots of days I wonder what the heck I am doing and yet, I have the resources to support myself through some scary shit. I’m learning to ask for help and take pride in being the woman I needed at all stages when I was younger. My therapist has played a crucial role in integrating my challenges into a meaningful life. I’ve learned the importance of self-compassion, empathy, and continuous growth. By healing myself, I’ve created a more nurturing environment for my son and am committed to supporting others in their quest for healing and transformation. Our past experiences shape us but do not define us. Embracing our imperfections and finding valuable lessons in struggles can transform pain into wisdom and brokenness into beauty—this is the Japanese art, kintsugi.

So I guess I should answer the question you asked about what sets me apart…I don’t really know. I suppose that I am willing to show up as the imperfect and vulnerable human that I am, and am truly enthusiatic about this work. Like all of us, I’ve lived through some tough shit. I recognize my privilege, care deeply and intuitively, and believe there is so much more. It has been said by many that we are hurt in relation, so we heal in relation. None of us have to do this alone. I’m also pretty decent at pattern recognition and owning my awkwardness!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

We can safely assume that my best friend would likely be traveling with small children, so our week would be all about creating core memories together. Wherever we go, you’d find us being silly, delighting in how awesome and embarrassing we can be as moms. We’d capture tons of action photos, desperate to find humor amongst the chaos of potty accidents, overstimulated nervous systems, picky eating, and the soundtrack of whining and inflexibility (with equal contributions from both kids and adults!).

Our days would be spent exploring Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Newport Beach, and Corona Del Mar. Opting for a hotel stay would not only spare my home from undergoing utter destruction with endless laundry, but would also allow the kids to swim to their hearts’ content in a “fancy”pool. We’d scooter around the hotel grounds past bedtime, bike along the coast at Salt Creek Beach, and let the kids start splashing the moment they woke up. Lunch would likely be on the go, with DoorDash coming to the rescue for dinner. We’d eat outside by the pool or in the grass—anywhere crumbs don’t matter and bodies aren’t required to sit still. Evenings would conclude with marshmallow roasting and s’mores in jammies.

By 8:00 p.m., all the kids would be soundly asleep. It’s quite possible that our dinner would be cold because no one was hungry from a poorly timed (but imperative) ice cream run, so my friend and I would enjoy cold leftovers while marveling at our sleepy angels and our crazy lives. And, in my wildest dreams, we’d also be asleep by 9:00 p.m., ready to embrace another day filled with joy, awe, and pee inducing laughter. I suppose it wouldn’t matter where we were on a map or how much we did/saw, but rather where we were in our hearts and minds—attuned to one another, amazed that we created these magical beings, and grateful for improving health and a dear friend to share it all with.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

THERAPISTS. PSYCHOLOGISTS. PSYCHIATRISTS. SOCIAL WORKERS. An incredible group of inspiring women who continuously support and mentor me. Pediatricians at my practice who dared to see value in my crazy ideas to begin with. Brave and genius individuals who lead this path: Gabor Mate, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Stephen Porges, Richard Schwartz, Elaine Aron, Daniel Siegal, Janina Fisher, Peter Levine, Jeffrey Schwartz, Donna Henderson, Glennon Doyle, and many many more!

And finally to my therapist, who saw potential, lit a fire inside of me, and somehow managed to always be at least two steps ahead of me. It’s crazy how smart and attuned you are. Words are inadequate to express my gratitude. It’s okay if you won’t ever tell me I’m your favorite…

Website: www.intersectionrising.com

Instagram: intersectionrising

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgarty

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