Online in Connecticut, Michigan, New York
(Online Only)
Some things are hard to say out loud. Maybe you've never quite found the words, or the right person to say them to. Maybe you've been carrying questions about your body, your desire, your relationship, or who you are, quietly and for a long time.
You don't have to do that here.
I'm Paula Kirsch, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Sex Therapist, and I work with women navigating sexual health concerns, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, and people in ENM and kink-engaged relationships. Not as a specialty I added on, but as the heart of my practice. I understand your world, your language, and the particular weight of the things you may have never said to anyone.
Whatever you bring into this space, I'm not going to flinch, rush you, or hand you a formula. We'll sit with it together and figure out where to go from there. That's the work, and I genuinely love doing it. Book your Free Consultation on my website.
Client Focus
Session Format: Couple, Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult, Senior, Young Adult
Demographic Expertise: Jewish, LGBTQ+, Women clients.
Languages: engllish
Treatment Approach
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Helps people accept difficult thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, while committing to actions that reflect their values. It blends mindfulness with practical behavior strategies.
- Biopsychosocial Therapy Takes into account biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding mental health. It looks at the whole person, not just symptoms.
- Brainspotting A therapy that uses eye positions to access and process unresolved trauma. It helps release emotional and physical pain held in the body.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) One of the most widely used approaches, CBT helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and replace them with healthier patterns. It is effective for anxiety, depression, and many other concerns.
- Existential / Humanistic Therapy Encourages people to explore meaning, freedom, and authenticity in their lives. It focuses on personal growth and living in alignment with one’s values.
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy Based on decades of research, this method gives couples tools to improve communication, manage conflict, and strengthen intimacy.
Approach Description: The approaches I have selected reflect what informs my work, not a set of techniques I rotate through on a schedule. I am not going to announce that we are now doing CBT or switch into a different mode mid-session. What I do is draw from a deep clinical toolkit and let my understanding of you, your history, and what you are trying to shift guide how we work together. Sex therapy and the Gottman Method are the most central to my practice, the first as a specialty and the second as a clinical framework. The others shape how I think, how I listen, and how I understand what is happening in the room. Good therapy is rarely one thing.
Fees & Insurance
Fees
- Average Session Fee $225
- Out of Network
Education & Credentials
Paula Kirsch LCSW, CST
- Female
- License # 099402
- Licensed in New York
- Practicing Since 2014
Education: MSW — Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2014
Sexual Health Certificate, Sex Therapy and Sexuality Education — University of Michigan, 2017
PhD in Clinical Sexology (in progress) —expected graduation September 2027
Paula Kirsch Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
- Available Online for residents of Connecticut, Michigan, New York
- Online Therapy Details: I offer onlline therapy through HIPAA compliant ZOOM
Some things are hard to say out loud. Maybe you've never quite found the words, or the right person to say them to. Maybe you've been carrying questions about your body, your desire, your relationship, or who you are, quietly and for a long time.
You don't have to do that here.
This work is not a side offering for me. It is the heart of my practice. I work specifically with people navigating sexual health concerns, relationship dynamics, and identity questions that most therapists don't have the training or the comfort to go near. I understand your world, your language, and the particular weight of the things you may have never said to anyone. Whatever you bring into this space, I'm not going to flinch, rush you, or hand you a formula. We'll sit with it together and figure out where to go from there.
**Who I Work With**
My practice centers on three groups of people, each of whom deserves care that actually meets them where they are.
For LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, people in ENM and ethically non-monogamous relationships, and those in kink-engaged relationships, affirming care here is not a marketing phrase. It is simply how I practice. You will not have to explain your relationship structure, defend your identity, or translate your life before the real work can begin. I am genuinely familiar with your experience, and I hold it with care and without judgment.
For women navigating sexual health concerns, I offer something that can be surprisingly hard to find: a clinician who will talk about it directly. I work with women experiencing painful sex, low desire, arousal difficulties, and concerns about orgasm. I also work with women moving through some of the most significant physical and emotional transitions of their lives, including pregnancy, postpartum recovery, perimenopause, and menopause. These are not niche concerns. They are the concerns of a enormous number of women who have been told, in one way or another, that there is nothing to be done or that what they are feeling is just part of life. I disagree, and I know how to help.
For couples, I work with partners who are trying to reconnect, recover from a rupture, navigate desire mismatches, or figure out what they actually want from each other. Sometimes couples come in knowing exactly what the problem is. Sometimes they just know something has gone quiet and they are not sure how to reach it anymore. Both are completely valid places to start.
**How I Work**
I do not have a one-size-fits-all approach, and I am not going to hand you a worksheet and call it therapy. I work with genuine curiosity about who you are, what you carry, and what you are actually trying to shift. I draw on Brainspotting, a powerful neurobiologically-informed approach that works with what the body holds, not just what the mind can articulate. For couples, I use the Gottman Method, a research-grounded framework that helps us understand where your relationship is strong and where it is under strain, without turning therapy into a spreadsheet.
For people who want to do deeper work in a concentrated period, I also offer Brainspotting intensives. These are longer, focused sessions designed to move through material more quickly than traditional weekly therapy allows.
**My Training and Credentials**
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Michigan. I am a Certified Sex Therapist credentialed through the International Board of Sexuality Professionals (IBOSP) and the International Association of Psychosexual Therapists (IAPST). I hold a Sexual Health Certificate in Sex Therapy and Sexuality Education from the University of Michigan.
I am currently a PhD student in Clinical Sexology at Modern Sex Therapy Institutes, a program whose faculty includes some of the most respected names in sexual health and sexology. This is not background I keep on a shelf. It informs every session.
**A Note on Telehealth**
I practice exclusively online, and for this kind of work, that is not a limitation. It is often an advantage. Talking about the most intimate parts of your life is easier when you are in your own space, on your own terms. Your nervous system is more settled. The threshold to show up is lower. And a lower threshold means more people actually follow through with the work they have been putting off.
Sessions are conducted via secure, HIPAA-compliant video. I am available to clients across New York, Connecticut, and Michigan, and I can typically get you in within a week of reaching out.
**Let's Talk**
If something here resonates, I would love to hear from you. You can reach me through my encrypted contact form and I will usually get back to you within 24 to 48 hours. You do not have to have it all figured out before you reach out. That is what the first conversation is for.