Terese D., LMFT-LP
Couples & Individual Therapist
Couples · LGBTQ+ · Non-monogamy · Relational dynamics · Gottman Method
Accepting new clients
Couples & Partners
Therapy for Black Couples in NYC
Some of what shapes a relationship does not come from inside it: what each of you learned about strength, about who is allowed to need help, about what a family is supposed to survive.
What you do not have to explain here
- The weight of racial stress at work and in the world, and how it comes home at the end of the day
- Vigilance and code-switching, named as work — and work has a cost that lands in the relationship
- Extended family obligation, treated as context rather than enmeshment
- Faith and church history, held as resources or wounds, whichever they are for you
- Money, generational wealth and supporting family, and the different rules each of you grew up with
- The instruction to be strong, examined rather than reinforced
Why Black couples come in
- The same argument on a loop — money, household load, parenting, in-laws
- Distance that crept in while both of you were holding everything together
- Rebuilding trust after an affair or a hidden decision
- Different expectations about roles, faith or family, sometimes across cultures — African American, Caribbean, African, and mixed families
- Interracial couples where one partner carries the race conversations alone
- Black LGBTQ+ couples who are tired of being the first queer couple, or the first Black couple, their therapist has seen
Therapy carries a history
For many Black families therapy was something you did not do, or did not talk about. Some couples arrive with one partner who has done years of therapy and one who has never been, and who agreed to come only because things got bad enough. Both are welcome. We go at a pace that lets the more skeptical partner decide for themselves whether the room is worth trusting.
What is said here stays here. Nothing is shared with family, church or employers.
How we work
The method is the same careful couples work we do with everyone — EFT-informed and Gottman-informed: map the pattern between you, slow down the moment where it goes wrong, build what is missing. The difference is that culture and race are in the room from the start rather than raised as an exception. When the fight is partly about the world outside the relationship, we say so.
Who we are
Relationship HQ was built so that the needs of people of color and the LGBTQ+ community are the starting point rather than an afterthought. Our team page introduces each clinician — their training, their approach and, in their own words, who they are — so you can decide whether the fit is right before you book.
Sessions, fees and where
Couples sessions with Terese D., LMFT-LP, run 60 minutes ($240) or 75 minutes ($300), in person at 352 7th Ave in Midtown Manhattan or by secure video anywhere in New York State. We are out-of-network with every insurer; where your plan accepts out-of-network claims, we file on your behalf, otherwise we issue superbills.
Who you would see
Questions
What people ask
Do I have to see a Black therapist to be understood?
No, but it is a reasonable preference and we will not treat it as unusual. Tell us at the consult and we will match you accordingly.
Do you work with interracial couples?
Yes. Race often shows up differently for each partner, and the work includes talking about it directly rather than around it.
Is therapy confidential from our family and church?
Yes. What is said in session is confidential, within the legal limits we explain at the start. Nothing is shared with family, church or employers.
What happens at the first session?
We ask what brought you in now, how each of you sees the problem, and what you have already tried. You will not be asked to justify your culture, your faith or your family before we get to the work. By the end of the first two or three sessions you should both recognize the pattern we are working on.
How much does it cost?
$240 for a 60-minute couples session and $300 for 75 minutes. We are out-of-network; where your plan accepts out-of-network claims, we file on your behalf, otherwise we provide superbills.
Do you work with Black LGBTQ+ couples?
Yes, and often. See LGBTQ+ couples therapy for more on that work.
Can we do sessions online?
Yes, by secure video anywhere in New York State. New Jersey couples can meet us at the Midtown office, a short walk from Penn Station.
Start with a consultation
Tell us what is going on. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right practice for it, and match you with the practitioner who fits — or point you to someone better placed.