About Paula Kirsch, LCSW, CST
Clinical
expertise.
Genuine depth.
For clients who want more than reassurances — and a clinician who won't flinch at complexity.
Who I Am
Where rigor meets real human complexity.
I'm Paula Kirsch — a Certified Sex Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and PhD student in sexology at MSTI. I run Authentic Living Psychotherapy, a fully telehealth private practice serving clients across New York, Connecticut, and Michigan.
My clients are typically thoughtful, high-functioning professionals — people whose public lives look successful while their private lives feel strained. They've often tried other forms of therapy and found them too surface-level. They come to me because they want a clinician who understands the nuanced terrain of sexuality, relationship structure, and emotional connection — and who won't flinch at the complexity.
I work at the intersection of clinical rigor and genuine human experience. That means bringing real expertise — evidence-based methods, advanced specialized training, and ongoing doctoral-level research — alongside the kind of frank, non-judgmental presence that makes it actually possible to talk about the things that matter most.
If you've been waiting for a therapist who takes both your intelligence and your inner life seriously, you're in the right place.
"I work at the intersection of clinical rigor and genuine human complexity — because that's where real change actually happens."— Paula Kirsch, LCSW, CST
Who I Work With
Therapy designed for those ready to do the work.
My practice attracts people who are serious about change — not looking for validation, but for a clinician who will meet them at the level their lives actually require.
If any of these feel familiar, we should talk.
High-Achieving Professional Women
Managing careers, households, and relationships while quietly carrying intimate struggles that don't fit neatly into a busy schedule — or a standard therapy office.
Couples at a Crossroads
Facing desire gaps, communication breakdown, or a stay-or-go decision. Looking for a clinician who can hold both partners with equal skill.
Women's Sexual Health
Often referred by OB/GYNs — addressing sexual pain, low desire, vaginismus, arousal difficulties, or intimacy after medical events or hormonal transitions.
LGBTQ+, ENM & Kink Communities
A genuinely affirming space — not one that tolerates your identity while pathologizing it. Your relationship structure and desires are the starting point, not the problem.
Mixed-Orientation Couples
Navigating orientation disclosure, evolving identity within a partnership, or the emotional and logistical terrain of sexual incompatibility.
Women Rebuilding After Transition
Processing divorce, separation, or major life shifts — and reclaiming identity, desire, and connection on the other side.
My Clinical Approach
Evidence-based.
Deeply human.
My approach integrates advanced clinical training with a genuine commitment to meeting each client where they are. These are the frameworks I draw on most — selected because they work, not because they're familiar.
01
Brainspotting
My preferred clinical modality — a brain-body technique that reaches what talk therapy alone often cannot. Especially effective for trauma, emotional blocks, and deeply held relational patterns. Available as regular sessions or intensive formats.
02
Gottman Method
Gottman Level II trained in empirically validated couples work. Focused on building friendship, managing conflict, and creating shared meaning — with proven outcomes across diverse relationship structures.
03
Sex-Positive Clinical Framework
Rooted in current sexology research and affirming of the full range of human sexuality. Nothing is off-limits clinically. Your desires, identity, and relationship choices are treated as context — not pathology.
04
EMDR
Trained in EMDR for trauma processing. Used selectively alongside Brainspotting depending on client needs, history, and goals — always in service of finding the deepest and most lasting path forward.
Doctoral Research Focus
Somatic approaches to identity-based trauma in women.
Exploring the intersection of body-based clinical modalities and the psychological and relational impacts of identity-based trauma — with an intention to expand findings to broader marginalized populations.
Advanced Academic Work
A practice informed by the cutting edge.
I am currently completing doctoral research in clinical sexology at the Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI) — one of the most rigorous sexology programs in the field. My research explores somatic-based approaches to supporting women navigating the psychological and relational impacts of identity-based trauma.
This work directly informs the care I bring to my clinical practice. Clients benefit not just from established, evidence-based approaches, but from a clinician who is actively engaged with emerging research and applying it in real time.
The result is care that is simultaneously grounded and forward-looking — meeting clients where the science actually is, not where it was a decade ago.
Credentials & Training
The training behind the work.
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) — Connecticut #011811
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) — New York #099402
- Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW) — Michigan #6801096808
- IBOSP Certified Sex Therapist (CST)
- IAPST Certified Sex Therapist
- MSW — Wayne State School of Social Work
- PhD Student in Sexology — MSTI
- Certificate in Sex Therapy & Sexuality Education — University of Michigan
- Gottman Institute Couples Therapy, Level II
- Brainspotting Trained
- EMDR Trained
- Former Adjunct Faculty — Wayne State School of Social Work
- Past Board Member — Affirmations LGBT Community Center, Ferndale, MI
Ready to Begin?
The right clinician changes everything.
My clients are thoughtful people who take their lives seriously. If you've been looking for a therapist who will meet you at that level — with real expertise, without judgment, and without flinching — I'd like to hear from you.