Marriage & Family Therapy · New York City

A space to understand yourself and the people you love

Therapy for individuals, couples, families, and teens — grounded in relational thinking, curiosity, and genuine care.

Individuals
Couples
Families
Teenagers
Parents
Why work with me
Therapy that meets you where you are

Whether you’re navigating a life transition, a rupture in a relationship, or something harder to name — this work is about slowing down, making sense of patterns, and finding more room to move.

Relational at the core

Problems don’t exist in isolation — they live in the space between people.

Curious, not prescriptive

You’re the expert on your own life. The therapist’s job is to ask better questions.

Grounded in evidence

Drawing on EFT, Gottman, IFS, CBT, DBT, and family systems — approaches with deep research.

Steven Paker, MFT Therapist
About
Steven Paker, MFT

My name is Steven Paker, and I am a Marriage and Family Therapist providing supervised clinical services to children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families seeking meaningful change.

I am especially passionate about helping clients heal from childhood wounds and family trauma that continue to impact present-day relationships, emotional regulation, and self-worth.

Unresolved attachment injuries and intergenerational patterns often show up as anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, relationship conflict, emotional reactivity, or feeling stuck in repeating cycles. I offer a safe, collaborative, and non-judgmental space where we can explore what is happening beneath the surface and understand how past relational experiences shape current challenges.

Together, we will connect thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and family system dynamics to create deeper and lasting transformation.

Therapeutic Approach
Connecting Past & Present for Deeper Healing

My approach integrates evidence-based modalities tailored to each client’s needs:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — to build psychological flexibility
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — to reframe unhelpful thinking patterns
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — to strengthen emotional regulation and distress tolerance
Emotionally Focused Therapy & Gottman Method — for couples work and attachment repair
Structural & Bowen Family Systems Therapy — to address intergenerational patterns through a trauma-informed lens
Moving Forward with Clarity, Resilience & Intention

Whether you are navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, or relationship distress, we will work together to develop practical tools while also engaging in meaningful insight-oriented work — so you can move forward with clarity, resilience, and intention.

Services
Who I work with

Each person, couple, and family brings something different. Here’s a sense of the work across the populations I see.

Children & adolescents

Anxiety, behavioral challenges, school stress, identity, and the impact of family dynamics on young people.

Individual adults

Anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and the patterns rooted in early relational experiences.

Couples

Disconnection, conflict, communication, trust, and intimacy. Drawing on Gottman and EFT for attachment repair.

Families

Intergenerational patterns, family trauma, and the systemic dynamics that shape how we relate to one another.

Teenagers

Identity, peer relationships, emotional regulation, and the hard work of growing up. A space that takes teens seriously.

Parents

Support for navigating the relationship with your child, your partner, and yourself in the middle of it all.

Sessions available in-person in New York City and via telehealth across New York State.

Approach
How I think about this work

Therapy isn’t about fixing people — it’s about creating the conditions for change to become possible.

Trauma-informed

Childhood wounds and family trauma shape present-day relationships, emotional regulation, and self-worth in ways we often don’t see.

Attachment-focused

Unresolved attachment injuries show up in how we connect, conflict, and withdraw. Healing begins with understanding these patterns.

Systemic thinking

Problems don’t exist in isolation. I’m always curious about family of origin, intergenerational patterns, and cultural context.

Emotionally focused

Drawing on EFT, I help clients access the emotions underneath their patterns — especially in attachment relationships.

Evidence-based

Integrating ACT, CBT, DBT, Gottman, and Bowen Family Systems to meet each client with the right tools for their needs.

Insight & action

Meaningful understanding paired with practical tools — so change is both felt and lived.

“Together, we connect thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and family system dynamics to create deeper and lasting transformation.”
Contact
Let’s talk

The first step is a free 15-minute consultation — a chance to ask questions and see if working together feels like a fit.

No pressure, no commitment.

LocationNew York City
FormatIn-person & telehealth (NY State)
FeeSliding scale available
ResponseWithin 1 business day
Thank you — I’ll be in touch within 1 business day.
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Client portal
Intake, appointments, check-ins, and resources.
New client intake
Please fill out before your first session. All information is confidential.
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Request an appointment
Let us know your availability and we’ll confirm a time.
Request received — we’ll confirm within 24 hours.
Check in
A quick reflection between sessions.
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Check-in received. Your therapist will review this before your next session.
Resources
Psychoeducation curated for your therapy work.
Individual

Understanding anxiety

What anxiety is, how it works in the body, and why it’s not the enemy.

Individual

Window of tolerance

Staying regulated when emotions feel too big or too flat.

Couples

The four horsemen

Gottman’s research on communication patterns that predict relationship breakdown.

Couples

Bids for connection

How couples turn toward or away in everyday moments.

Family

Family systems basics

How patterns repeat across generations and how change happens systemically.

Family

Intergenerational trauma

How unresolved wounds travel through families and what healing looks like.

Teens

Your brain on stress

Why the teenage brain responds to stress differently — and what actually helps.

Teens

Social media and mood

What the research says about screens and mental health for young people.

Everyone

How therapy works

What to expect from the process and how to get the most from it.

Everyone

Grounding techniques

Simple, evidence-based tools for calming your nervous system in the moment.

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Therapist portal
Client directory, DSM-5-TR reference, and model suggester.
Client directory
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Recommended approaches
Clinical thinking aid only — not a diagnosis or treatment plan. Always apply your own professional judgment and supervision.