Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcel Kaganovskaya.
Hi Marcel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
• I started Mindful Cognition to reduce the long wait times New Jersey families face when seeking psychiatric care.
• I saw firsthand how patients were falling through the cracks due to provider shortages and restrictive practice barriers.
• I wanted to create a space where patients could receive timely, evidence-based psychiatric care without unnecessary delays.
• I believe mental health care should be accessible, collaborative, and stigma-free — not complicated by red tape.
• I founded Mindful Cognition to serve patients across the lifespan who were struggling to find consistent medication management and therapy support.
• I was motivated by the reality that many NJ residents were traveling out of state for care despite qualified providers being available locally.
• I wanted to build a practice that integrates compassion, clinical excellence, and modern telehealth access.
• I saw how fragmented systems created barriers for vulnerable populations — and I wanted to be part of the solution.
• I believe Advanced Practice Nurses are uniquely positioned to expand access while maintaining high standards of safety and quality.
• Mindful Cognition was created to ensure that no patient has to wait months for mental health care when they are ready to seek help.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Challenges with legislation
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a dual-certified Family and Psychiatric–Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and the founder of Mindful Cognition, a multi-site outpatient psychiatric practice serving New Jersey and New York. My work focuses on expanding access to high-quality, evidence-based mental health care through medication management, psychotherapy integration, and telehealth innovation.
I specialize in treating mood disorders, anxiety, trauma-related conditions, and complex psychiatric presentations across the lifespan, with a strong emphasis on suicide risk assessment and collaborative, patient-centered care. In addition to clinical practice, I serve in academic leadership, graduate nursing education, and health policy advocacy — particularly advancing full practice authority to improve access to care.
I am most proud of building systems that reduce barriers for patients — whether through clinical innovation, education, or legislative advocacy. What sets me apart is my ability to integrate clinical excellence, policy strategy, data-driven decision-making, and compassionate care — bridging frontline practice with systems-level change.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Athletic and curious, hard working
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mindfulcognition.com/
