Thérèse Kempf
Thérèse Kempf
Thérèse Kempf
New York psychotherapist specializing in couples therapy, trauma & PTSD, easing anxiety, and empowering women of color.
New York psychotherapist specializing in couples therapy, trauma & PTSD, easing anxiety, and empowering women of color.
New York psychotherapist specializing in couples therapy, trauma & PTSD, easing anxiety, and empowering women of color.
Licensed in New York State & Florida (Telehealth only)
Licensed in New York State & Florida (Telehealth only)
— As featured in —
— As featured in —
Welcome
Hi, I’m Thérèse Kempf. I’m a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and couples therapy. I believe many of the struggles people bring into therapy are rooted in trauma—and because most trauma happens in relationships, I also believe that healing can happen within a safe, supportive therapeutic relationship.
As a woman of color, I care deeply about making therapy a space that feels safe and less stigmatized for people of color.
Beyond the therapy room, I engage in multimedia work—including podcasts, television, and film—where I amplify conversations about racial trauma, healthy conflict in relationships, and concrete practices for managing intense emotions. I'm based in NYC and Miami.
Healing From Trauma
I specialize in complex trauma with individuals and couples, including the impacts of interpersonal violence, racial, intergenerational, and attachment trauma.
With individuals, I use body-based approaches such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR, guiding clients to see the body as a vital source of information and a central pathway for healing. With couples, I focus on how the legacy of trauma shapes intimacy and connection. Our work often weaves together psychoeducation, the practice of self-regulation and co-regulation, inner child work, and exploring conflict cycles or push–pull dynamics rooted in attachment wounds.
Within therapy, I create a safe space where partners can witness one another’s pain, practice new ways of relating, and move toward repair and healing together.
Modern Dating & Relationship IQ
I join the WorkBae podcast to discuss modern dating, the importance of rupture and repair cycles, how therapy-speak has shaped dating culture, and why we need stronger relational skills.
Healing From Trauma
I specialize in complex trauma with individuals and couples, including the impacts of interpersonal violence, racial, intergenerational, and attachment trauma.
With individuals, I use body-based approaches such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR, guiding clients to see the body as a vital source of information and a central pathway for healing.
With couples, I focus on how the legacy of trauma shapes intimacy and connection. Our work often weaves together psychoeducation, the practice of self-regulation and co-regulation, inner child work, and exploring conflict cycles or push–pull dynamics rooted in attachment wounds.
Within therapy, I create a safe space where partners can witness one another’s pain, practice new ways of relating, and move toward repair and healing together.
Modern Dating & Relationship IQ
I join the WorkBae podcast to discuss modern dating, the importance of rupture and repair cycles, how therapy-speak has shaped dating culture, and why we need stronger relational skills.
An Excerpt from Vogue
Welcome
“We’re all in a heightened state of anxiety. We are in a collective trauma, our baseline level of arousal is high, and we’re overstimulated in a very particular way. Working from home often means working more than ever before and we’re also more accessible than we were previously. In addition, we’re less active and under-stimulated,” explains Therese Kempf, LCSW and HealHaus therapist.
Without travel and our typical social interactions, Kempf adds, it makes sense that we’re ‘at capacity’ in our communications. “We are in overdrive in cognitive and written connection but missing out on some of the more meaningful and rich parts of connecting with others that is nonverbal,” she says. A certain playfulness we once had might be part of what is missing, she notes. We’re missing subtle interactions like comfort through hugs, flirting through eye contact, and as Kempf puts it, “simply just sharing energetic space with someone where we don’t have to say anything, yet we feel comforted and at ease.”
Hi, I’m Thérèse Kempf. I’m a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and couples therapy. I believe many of the struggles people bring into therapy are rooted in trauma—and because most trauma happens in relationships, I also believe that healing can happen within a safe, supportive therapeutic relationship.
As a woman of color, I care deeply about making therapy a space that feels safe and less stigmatized for people of color.
Beyond the therapy room, I engage in multimedia work—including podcasts, television, and film—where I amplify conversations about racial trauma, healthy conflict in relationships, and concrete practices for managing intense emotions. I'm based in NYC and Miami.
An Excerpt from Vogue
“We’re all in a heightened state of anxiety. We are in a collective trauma, our baseline level of arousal is high, and we’re overstimulated in a very particular way. Working from home often means working more than ever before and we’re also more accessible than we were previously. In addition, we’re less active and under-stimulated,” explains Therese Kempf, LCSW and HealHaus therapist.
Without travel and our typical social interactions, Kempf adds, it makes sense that we’re ‘at capacity’ in our communications. “We are in overdrive in cognitive and written connection but missing out on some of the more meaningful and rich parts of connecting with others that is nonverbal,” she says. A certain playfulness we once had might be part of what is missing, she notes. We’re missing subtle interactions like comfort through hugs, flirting through eye contact, and as Kempf puts it, “simply just sharing energetic space with someone where we don’t have to say anything, yet we feel comforted and at ease.”
Let's work together.