Couples Therapy NYC
with the Klugman Psychological team
Dr. Sam Klugman, Psy.D.
Bethany Sinclair, LMHC-D
Michael Leibenluft, LMSW
We have over 15 years helping couples move out of stuck patterns and back to connection using Gottman, IBCT & ACT therapies.
Do you feel like you’re having the same fight on repeat?
Do you feel as though your relationship is on autopilot or that distance between you and your partner is impossible to close?
Couples often reach a point where their usual communication strategies are not enough to handle major stressors or transitions in their relationship, leading to heightened conflict or disengagement and a pervasive negative climate. You might feel like you’re walking on eggshells, or that every conversation leads to criticism, shutdown, or defensiveness. Over time, intimacy fades and resentment builds in its place.
Couples don’t come in because they’ve failed or don’t care. They’re here because the ways they’ve tried to connect aren’t working.
Couples Come To Us For:
Loss of intimacy
Stuck in patterns of conflict or arguing
Emotional distance
Feeling criticized
Trust ruptures or infidelity
Differences in values like culture, finances, sexuality, religion
Working through openness and consensual non-monogamy
Major life stressors like illness, loss, career change, or family
How Couples Therapy With Us Works
Our approach to couples therapy is not about deciding who’s “right” or fixing one partner.
It is about understanding the patterns between you and learning how to shift them so the relationship can feel more stable, connected, and supportive again.
We slow things down and focus on what’s actually happening in your communication, especially in the moments where things tend to break down, so you can more deeply understand and connect with each other
Modalities We Use
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Based on decades of research on healthy and lasting relationships, this approach identifies and changes destructive communication patterns while building trust, intimacy, and repair skills.
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Helps partners stay present and grounded with each other during conflict, cultivate appreciation and acceptance of individual differences, while clarifying and acting according to relationship values.
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Helps couples foster emotional acceptance while developing new ways of responding to older, entrenched patterns of conflict.
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Addresses unique strengths and challenges experienced by queer couples including family and cultural issues, sexual and relationship dynamics, coming out and transitioning.
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Builds skills for interrupting escalation and expressing needs more clearly with minimization of harm to the relationship.
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For individuals who have histories of trauma, treatment addresses the ways trauma reactions are triggered in the relationship and find ways to establish individual safety, trust, and intimacy in parallel with relationship growth.
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Emotion regulation strategies to help both partners stay present instead of getting pulled into emotional escalation.
Rebuild Connection
The goal?
A more connected and workable relationship.
Our Couples Therapy
Has Results
More intimacy
New knowledge of themselves + their partners
Know “how to fight”
Renewed emotional connections
More calm
Better teamwork
Mutual admiration
Clarity on shared values
Optimism about the future together
Our Couples Therapists
Dr. Sam Klugman, Psy.D.
Helping couples find ways to deeply accept each other and connect in new ways are some of the most rewarding moments I have had as a therapist.
Bethany Sinclair, LMHC-D
I use ACT, behavioral, and mindfulness based approaches to help couples deepen their bonds and move in new directions.
Michael Leibenluft
In helping couples I combine concrete skills with a focus on deepening intimacy and attachment safety.
3 Steps To Get Started
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Reach out through the contact form. We will respond directly and let you know if we are the right fit.
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We’ll talk briefly to understand what’s happening in your relationship and see if our services can help.
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We’ll map out your main patterns and history as a couple and discuss a plan for our work together, including specific tools and strategies.