I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and board-certified sex therapist with deep roots in LGBTQ+ affirming care — roots that go back to my graduate training. I completed my Master’s-level clinical internship at Affirmations LGBT Community Center in Ferndale, Michigan, one of the Midwest’s most established LGBTQ+ community organizations, where I gained direct, immersive experience supporting queer and trans individuals across a wide range of clinical presentations.

Following that training, I pursued a post-graduate Certificate in Sex Therapy and Sexuality Education from the University of Michigan School of Social Work — a program that gave me rigorous, evidence-informed grounding in human sexuality across the lifespan, including LGBTQ+ identities, gender diversity, and sexual health equity. I also served as a Past Board Member of Affirmations LGBT Community Center, a role that deepened my commitment to queer community advocacy beyond the therapy room.

I hold dual board certifications: IAPST Certified Psychosexual Therapist and IBOSP Certified Sex Therapist. I am currently a PhD student in Clinical Sexology at Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI), where my studies continue to expand my expertise in sexual diversity, identity, and health.
Earlier in my career, I served as Adjunct Faculty at Wayne State University School of Social Work, where I taught Social Functioning: Human Sexuality to graduate-level students — helping train the next generation of clinicians to approach sexuality and LGBTQ+ identities with competence, curiosity, and respect.

My clinical practice, Paula Kirsch Therapy, is a fully private-pay, concierge telehealth practice licensed in Connecticut, New York, and Michigan. I specialize in sexual health, sexual pain, intimacy, and relationship concerns, and I work with adults across a broad range of identities, orientations, relationship structures, and life stages.

I am Polyamorous, Ethical Non-Monogamy (ENM), Kink, and BDSM affirming — not just as a clinical stance, but as a genuine personal value. I understand that non-traditional relationship structures and erotic lives are valid, healthy expressions of human sexuality, and I bring ongoing continuing education, peer consultation to this work. Clients in these communities will not need to educate me or defend their choices; my role is to support their wellbeing and goals, not to pathologize who they are.

I welcome LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and people in consensual non-monogamous relationships. Whether you are navigating sexual health concerns, relationship transitions, identity exploration, sexual trauma, or simply seeking a therapist who truly gets it — I would be honored to work with you.