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About Justine

Learn more about Justine Mastin, Owner/Founder of Blue Box Counseling and Wellness

Justine Mastin, Clinical Director

MA, LMFT, LADC, E-RYT 200, YACEP

Justine smiles at the camera wearing a blazer with a question mark broach.

Justine Mastin, MA, LMFT, LADC, E-RYT 200, YACEP (aka JustiniYogini) is a therapist, yogi, writer, podcaster, educator, and full-time rabble-rouser. As the creator/fearless leader of YogaQuest, narrated yogic adventures, and the owner/clinical director of Blue Box Counseling, Justine specializes in creating a unique healing environment for clients and students who self-identify as being outside the mainstream—such as those in the geek, secular, and LGBTQIA communities. 

Justine literally co-wrote the book on Therapeutic Fanfiction– Starship Therapise: Using Therapeutic Fanfiction to Rewrite Your Life–and is the captain/co-host of the Starship Therapise podcast. She has also contributed to numerous other books on pop culture and psychology, and regularly blogs about the healing power of fandom for Psychology Today and psychotherapy.net. 

Justine is a former board member of the Minnesota Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and is recognized as both an AAMFT and MN board-approved supervisor. Justine loves to work with other therapists and therapists-in-training on how to find their authentic voice and to question the status quo of therapy culture.

Justine is an adjunct faculty member at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in the Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s program, and is a skilled, charismatic, and sought-after speaker, committed to bringing humor and stories into the lives of everyone she serves. Justine also appears at pop culture conventions around the country (or the internet) teaching yoga and speaking on geek wellness topics. Justine takes a holistic approach to healing: mind, body, and fandom. You can find her on facebook, instagram, and twitter @mindbodyfandom.

Justine is not accepting new clients, but is taking on new pre-clinical supervisees, and is available for consultations and appearances.

My Training and Approach to Therapy

I received my MA in Addiction Counseling from the Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies in 2011, and then a post-MA certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Thomas in 2013. I am an AAMFT and MN Board-approved supervisor.

My work/training experience is diverse, including working in treatment facilities, doing drug/alcohol interventions, and working in a private practice setting. I have experience working with individuals, families, and couples, and spent significant time training in work with chemical dependency issues, adolescents, and the African American community.

My Approach to Yoga

I never felt quite comfortable in the “traditional” wellness world. Even after becoming a certified yoga teacher through CorePower in 2010, I didn’t feel like I fit in. I knew I couldn’t be alone in this feeling of “otherness,” so I set about making yoga accessible to the geek community, and YogaQuest was born. YogaQuest’s prime directive is to create a safe space for people outside the mainstream to care for themselves, while still being themselves, and to advocate for the power of self-care and self-compassion.

I am the lead trainer of YogaQuest’s Yoga Teacher Training Program as well as being the lead trainer and creator of the Yogiography™ narrative yoga training.

In order to provide an ever-more inclusive yogic environment, I’ve continued my yoga education and am certified in:

  • Street Yoga, trauma-informed yoga, with founder Mark Lilly
  • Yoga for All, body positive yoga, with Dianne Bondy and Amber Karnes

Meet the Doggos!

Thor, Pomeranian god of thunder, gazes up at the camera from a Ravenclaw carpet.

Greetings, Midgardians!

I am the mighty Thor, dog of thunder, ruler of Arfsgard! My approach to therapy follows Carl Rogers’ model of unconditional positive regard, in that you will unconditionally positively regard me! Cheesy treats, I like them!

 

Hela, Pomeranian goddess of death, smiles at the camera.

I am Hela...

…the dog of death. I will kill you…with cuteness. I am a dogtor of psychopawnalysis and believe that all problems can be traced to the mother–specifically my mother.  

Contact Justine about speaking at your next event

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