Kara Justo, LCSW

Kara Justo is a licensed clinical social worker with 21 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. She supports individuals facing parenting challenges, anger and impulse issues, relationship tensions, and struggles with motivation and self-esteem. She also offers care for concerns such as ADHD, addictions, grief, eating difficulties, bipolar symptoms, and trauma and abuse. Kara aims to make sessions feel straightforward and practical. She works to build an open, nonjudgmental space where clients can talk about thoughts and everyday habits that get in the way. Conversations focus on what is happening now and on small steps people can try between meetings. Her approach centers on collaboration. Kara listens to what matters most to each person and helps set clear, achievable goals. She encourages exercises and routines that help change unhelpful thinking and everyday habits over time. Clients can expect a calm, direct style that balances empathy with practical suggestions. Kara emphasizes coping skills for immediate stress relief and longer-term strategies to improve mood and daily functioning. Over two decades of practice in Connecticut inform her work with a wide range of concerns, including disruptive mood dysregulation, postpartum depression, domestic violence recovery, divorce and separation, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and impulsivity. She guides people through the small shifts that add up to meaningful change.

Evidence-based techniques for everyday thinking and habits

Kara uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on changing thoughts and daily habits. One common approach helps people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and practice different ways of thinking. This can reduce anxiety and low mood by breaking repetitive negative thought cycles. Another approach emphasizes building small, repeatable routines. This involves identifying a single habit to change and using step-by-step practice to make that habit more reliable. People often find this useful for motivation, sleep, eating patterns, and impulse control. Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Kara will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and what feels doable. She collaborates on a plan and adjusts techniques based on how someone responds over time. Session logistics should be confirmed before booking because the biography does not list specific formats. Ask about available formats when you schedule so sessions fit your routine. Many people find online options make it easier to keep regular appointments and to fit therapy into busy days, but please confirm which formats this therapist currently offers.