Couples Counseling · New York City

Couples Counseling

In Person and Virtual in New York City

Support that strengthens your connection, not just your communication.

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✓ Licensed NYC Therapists ✓ In-Person & Virtual Sessions ✓ Virtual Across New York State ✓ Now Accepting New Clients

Understanding Your Relationship

Your Space to Reconnect

Whether the trust is broken, or the passion is lost, we engage both partners to repair the intimacy. We create a safe space where you can express your vulnerabilities, improve communication and build a solid relationship that can flourish as you grow together. Couples counseling signals a commitment to the relationship and a willingness to improve the quality of the connection.

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Self-Pay Couples Therapy In-Person NYC Virtual Across NY State

When You Are Ready for Change

You do not need a breaking point to begin couples counseling. Most of the time, it starts with a growing awareness that something feels off, or that your relationship could feel better than it does right now.

It can feel exhausting to stay in cycles of miscommunication, distance, or tension. You may find yourselves having the same conversations without resolution, or feeling misunderstood even when you are trying to connect. Trust may feel shaken, or the closeness you once had may feel harder to access.

For some, it shows up as conflict that escalates quickly or never fully resolves. For others, it is a quiet disconnection that builds over time. Even when nothing is visibly wrong, you might feel like something is missing.

Couples counseling is a space to step out of those patterns and understand what is underneath so you can move forward with more clarity, intention, and connection.

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Breaking reactive cycles and learning how to hear each other.

Repairing after betrayal, dishonesty, or emotional disconnection.

Restoring closeness, affection, and emotional safety.

Navigating change together without losing your foundation.

Understanding how your histories shape how you relate.

Creating a relationship that evolves with you, not against you.

The Shifts You Can Expect

A calmer and more secure dynamic

The ability to respond instead of react

Stronger boundaries and more fulfilling relationships

More confidence in navigating challenges together

A deeper sense of ease in your relationship

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Why Private Pay?

Why We Don’t Take Insurance

  • Insurance requires a mental health diagnosis before they’ll cover a session, and that diagnosis becomes part of your permanent medical record. We don’t think you should need a label to get support.

  • No diagnosis code, no session notes, nothing about what you’re working through gets sent to a third party.

  • Insurance decides how often you can meet and sometimes which therapist you’re allowed to see. Private pay means it’s you and your therapist deciding what you need, for as long as you need it.

  • Therapists who bill insurance often carry thirty or more clients to make the math work. Ours don’t. That’s part of how we’re able to respond quickly and be available when something comes up between sessions.

We provide a superbill for every session so you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan offers it.

One exception: we’re in-network with Wellfleet Student Insurance, available only to NYU students. If that’s your plan, your sessions may be covered directly rather than through a superbill.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Sessions are conversational but intentional. You will meet together with your therapist to explore what is coming up in your relationship, look at patterns over time, and learn tools that help you communicate more clearly and feel more grounded with each other. Sessions are 50 minutes and evolve with you.

No. Many couples begin therapy with a general sense that something feels off or could feel better. You do not need a crisis to benefit from having a space to understand and strengthen your relationship.

Couples counseling can create meaningful change when both partners are open to the process. It is an opportunity to repair trust, rebuild intimacy, and improve the overall quality of your connection.

It is common for partners to come in with different perspectives. Therapy creates a space where both of you can feel heard and understood while working toward a shared direction.

Yes, but not overnight. Therapy is a process. With consistency, most clients notice meaningful shifts in how they think, feel, and show up in their lives.

Ready to Reconnect With Each Other?

Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation and see if we’re the right fit.

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In Their Own Words

Hear From Our Therapists

Straight answers about what therapy is like at Liben, from the people who do the work.

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Our sessions are traditional talk therapy, so I like to start by checking in and asking what’s been on your mind and what feels most important to focus on that day. Through our conversation, we’ll start to connect the dots, explore internal tensions, recognize patterns and understand why the past is playing a role in your present. When it’s helpful, we might introduce skills or strategies to help you regulate tough emotions, manage stressful situations, or respond more effectively in interpersonal dynamics.

You do not need to be at rock bottom or have one specific problem to start therapy. In fact, beginning when you are not in crisis can be invaluable to laying a sturdy therapeutic foundation for when adversity inevitably shows up. Even if nothing is acutely wrong, or maybe you’re trying to convince yourself that things are fine, or you’re fed up with feeling chronically burned out, this is where therapy can help. It can help you understand yourself better, change patterns that are no longer serving you, and give you a place to slow down and check in with yourself, even when you cannot point to one specific problem.

Patients always ask this question, and I empathize with your frustration that I cannot give you a definitive answer. The reason why the length of therapy varies is because therapy is not a one-size-fits-all treatment. Our interventions are customized for each individual and evolve as your needs, goals, and circumstances change. That said, we recognize that the goal of therapy is to take what you learn as quickly as possible and bring it into your life, so you can live a vibrant life of purpose and meaning outside the treatment room.

Our therapy style is a combination of psychodynamic psychotherapy, which is traditional talk therapy, mixed with CBT and DBT skills. We find this hybrid is the most effective combination, because it allows you to have tools in your toolbox to address symptoms in the moment, while at the same time, the talk therapy can help you heal from the inside out.

I believe therapy can make a real difference when you’re willing to be curious about yourself and open to doing the work. The goal is not just to feel better in the treatment room, but to take what you learn into your everyday life so you can respond differently, feel more grounded, and create a life that feels rich with purpose and meaning.

All of our brilliant therapists share the values that guide our practice. They are trained in evidence-based approaches and bring a commitment to understanding the whole person, not just the problem that brings you into therapy. Each clinician brings their own clinical perspective and lived experience to the work, along with ongoing training, supervision, and a commitment to continuing to grow as therapists.

We also believe that finding the right therapist matters. Our clinicians are part of a practice where we can collaborate, consult with one another, and thoughtfully match you with someone whose experience and approach fit your needs. You’re not just getting a name from a directory. You’re investing in a thoughtful, personalized therapeutic experience with a team that cares deeply about the quality of the work.

We are a great fit for those who are high-functioning in most areas of life, but still feeling overwhelmed, burned out, anxious and depressed. If you’re trapped in cycles of perfectionism, compulsive productivity, or if you feel like you’re the only one who can do it right, you’re in the right place.

We’re probably not the best fit if you’re looking for a therapist who simply agrees with everything you say, or a life coach who is going to tell you how to live your life. We listen, get curious with you, and when it’s helpful, we’ll challenge unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors.

Not every therapist is the right fit for every patient, and not every patient is right for every form of therapy. Sometimes not clicking with a therapist in the beginning can actually be a sign that the treatment is going well, because therapy can bring up feelings, patterns, or dynamics that are important to explore rather than avoid. If there are ruptures, we consider that a valuable part of the work too, because learning how to talk about what feels uncomfortable, repair what feels off, and build trust is part of what therapy is about. If there is a mismatch and a different clinician would be a better fit, then we will be honest about that and help you find the right person.

If therapy hasn’t helped in the past, that doesn’t mean therapy can’t work for you. The therapist, approach, timing, or relationship may not have been the right fit, and sometimes it takes finding the right combination to make the work feel meaningful and useful.

Online therapy can feel surprisingly personal because we’re meeting you in your own environment, where you’re often more comfortable and able to bring your real life into the room. I always consider it a privilege to be invited into your home and get to experience the vulnerable spaces of your life, sometimes meeting the important players along the way, like your kids or your pets. For some people, that added glimpse into their world can make the work feel even more connected and real.

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Virtual across New York state | In Person: 85 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10003