Dr. Kim Tassinari

I'm a licensed mental health counselor with many years of experience helping adults and couples through life's most difficult and meaningful moments. I hold a doctorate in Counselor Education from Montclair State University, and my background spans clinical practice, teaching, supervision, and presenting on mental health and wellness, grief and loss, and ethical practice.

Above all, I genuinely care about the people I work with. I bring warmth, curiosity, and deep respect for your individual experience. Starting therapy can feel vulnerable, so creating a space where you feel comfortable, accepted, and free to be yourself is central to how I work.

My style is warm, engaged, and collaborative. I listen closely, but I also participate actively — asking thoughtful questions, sharing observations, helping you recognize patterns, and gently offering a different perspective when it might support your growth. I believe meaningful change happens when you feel safe enough to be honest and supported enough to explore new ways of understanding yourself and your relationships.

With couples, I help partners move beyond recurring surface-level disagreements to the deeper emotions, attachment needs, and relationship patterns underneath them. Drawing on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, I help couples slow down difficult interactions, recognize the cycle keeping them stuck, and communicate in ways that build emotional safety, trust, and closeness. I work with couples navigating communication difficulties, life transitions, emotional disconnection, and relational injuries, including infidelity.

Clients often describe me as grounded, approachable, and easy to talk to. My hope is that you leave our sessions feeling understood, with greater clarity, self-compassion, and confidence about how you want to move forward.

My approach to therapy is warm, collaborative, and integrative. I believe meaningful change begins with feeling genuinely heard and understood — while also having room to look more deeply at the experiences, emotions, and patterns shaping your life and relationships.

I draw from a range of evidence-based approaches through a trauma-informed, attachment-focused lens, tailoring the work to each individual or couple. When it's helpful, we may explore how earlier experiences and relationships continue to shape the way you think, feel, and connect with others today.

I'm an active, engaged therapist. I listen closely, ask meaningful questions, and gently challenge patterns when doing so can support your growth. Therapy should also be practical — we'll work on strategies for what you're facing right now, while still making space for the deeper work of understanding yourself and your relationships.

Ultimately, my hope is that our work together leaves you feeling clearer, more grounded, and more connected — to yourself and to the people you love — with a path forward that feels honest and truly your own.

Your first session is the beginning of something — a chance for us to get to know one another and start understanding what's brought you to this point. I'll invite you to share what's been happening in your life, what feels hardest right now, and what you're hoping might be different. You don't need to have it all figured out or know exactly where to start — that's what we're there to explore together.

I'll ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, and help you start making sense of the patterns, emotions, or circumstances shaping how you're feeling. From there, we'll get clear on what matters most to focus on and begin building an approach that actually fits you — not a one-size-fits-all plan. My hope is that you walk away from that first session feeling truly heard, a little lighter, and with real clarity on where we go from here.