A discrete place to talk about sex, love, and your relationships.
Ari Lewis
(he, him, his) M.A.PP., M.A., Ed.M, LMHC
From kink and BDSM issues to high and low sexual desire—from opening a relationship to figuring out how to navigate polyamorous parenting—from compulsive sexual behavior to healing from infidelity or sexual trauma—jealousy issues, insecurity, existential anxieties, dating—I work with all things sex, love, and relationships. For each person who walks through my door (physical or digital), I taylor a therapy designed just for you and your circumstances so you can get better, feel better, connect authentically with the people who are important in your life, and--most importantly--live a life well lived.
Psychotherapy is a labor of love. Sometimes we will laugh and sessions will feel like a game of fitting the puzzle pieces together. Other times, you may need to cry. And often, you may just need this space to talk. I am here for it all. Together, we will explore a variety of trauma informed and empirically backed treatment methods to ensure that each session is designed to help you heal and grow.
Specialties
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Whether you’ve acted dishonestly or this is more about your own feelings about how you want to be spending your time or what sexual behaviors match up with your personal values, I am here to help you align your sexual behaviors with your values and goals. Through individual or group therapy, I can help you heal your relationship to your own sexuality so that you are only acting in the ways you want to be acting. Your goals are for you to decide, but whatever they are, my goal is to make sure you are only acting in ways you feel good about.
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Believe it or not, the data shows that non-monogamy (when it’s consensual) works just as well as monogamy. That’s a low bar, of course, but it means we can make your relationship work for you, no matter the structure you and your partner(s) have agreed to. Common structures I work with include:
-Exploring whether non-monogamy is for me/us
-Exploring what kind of non-monogamy is for me/us)
-Polyamory
-Open Relationships
-Swinging
-Monogamish
-Closed Polyamory
-We identify as monogamous, but there’s this one exception….
-Making Monogamy and Polyamory Work Together
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From mismatched sexual desire and struggling to enjoy sexual activity to erectile problems, orgasm difficulties, and reaching orgasming faster than you want to, my work with you focuses on helping you create a fulfilling sexual life. Common issues we might work on include:
-Mismatched sexual desire (desire discrepancy)
-Low Sexual Desire
-Erectile Dysfunction
-Premature Ejaculation
-Delayed Ejaculation
-Pain During Sexual Activity
-Orgasm Disorders (or Troubles Reaching Orgasm)
-Sexual Trauma
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Maybe you’re struggling to organize your life or you keep getting stuck forgetting things, perhaps overthinking the wrong issues and losing sight of the things that matter most to you. Or maybe you are having trouble understanding what people expect from you and why someone seems offended by a perfectly well-intended gesture. These are just two of the numerous examples of the kinds of things we can have a hard time with when our neurotype might be described as having ADHD, autism, identifying as a highly sensitive person (HSP), and the many other ways our brain might just not operate under the rules we were taught growing up.
Regardless what label (if any) feels best for you, what I do is I help you unwrap the gift that is your brain. For every challenge ADHD, autism, and the other neurotypes may pose, there is a corollary strength, a gift to the world and to you. We work to address the challenges that our brains and society present us while also ensuring we don’t get overly hung up in those challenges, so that, over time, we can focus more on building a life full of meaning, fulfillment, on connection.
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Including sexual trauma, childhood trauma, loss, and betrayal.
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I work with anxiety, depression, bipolar, anger, and other mood-related issues that aren’t always so easily tied to what you can identify as “reasons” for feeling the way that you feel.
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Artists & performers, therapy for therapists, and Jewish issues
Learn about our services
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Ari conducts 50-minute therapy sessions:
-In person at 333 W 57th St
-Online
-Over the phone
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Maybe you've really hurt someone--or many people--or maybe you've been hurting no one but yourself. Either way, you may be feeling a deep sense of shame. But that shame doesn't help you get better. This group really can. As some men are getting closer to graduating, we are opening two spots. Join a group of men that get it. No BS. No going through the motions. We don't tell you what better means, because that is for you to say, but, whatever better looks like for you, this group can help you get there.
Who this group is for: The group is currently 50% gay or queer men and 50% straight men. Anyone who identifies as a man (or who leans masc) is welcome to meet with me for a free consultation about the group.
What is compulsive sexual behavior: This just means any ongoing sexual behavior you don't feel good about. In some cases, it's cheating on your partner(s). In other cases, it's spending more time than you would like to engaging with sexual content online. It can also be any sexual behavior that you don't feel good about for ethical reasons. Regardless of the specifics, if you frequently experience regret over your sexual behaviors, there is a good chance this group is for you.
What the group is like: The energy is very warm and inviting. The flow of the group is varied, at times very engaging and, at others, slowing down to digest. The men in this group push each other gently, with care, but without letting one another off the hook.
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Yes, you read that right. Ari has developed an approach to group therapy that incorporates the text of the Harry Potter books into sessions. Harry Potter fans can think of this as an opportunity to engage in play therapy for adults who like Harry Potter. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. Just like any other form of play, this is serious work with serious benefits only available to those willing to invest time and energy into sessions.
Sessions are 85 minutes. Currently accepting a waitlist to start a new group.
*Harry Potter Therapy is not affiliated with J. K. Rowling or her companies and the group is very much unaligned with Rowling’s horrifying comments about trans individuals.
Publications
Ludwig, V. U., Pawelski, J. O., & Lewis, A. (2026). Reclaiming a vital dimension of human flourishing, in J. Mangelsdorf (Ed.), Textbook of positive psychology. Bertz Verlag.
Ludwig, V. U., Lewis, A., Pawelski, J. O., & Crone, D. L. (2026). Sexuality in positive psychology: Toward the integration of a neglected component of human flourishing. Journal of Positive Psychology, 22(1), 57-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2026.2619130
Ludwig, V. U., Coston, E., Lewis, A., Crone, D., Herbenick, D., Kaufman, S. B., Mitchell, K., & Clifton, J. (2025). Understanding Sexual well-being: Towards a positive and growth-oriented model. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdaf068.158
Lewis, A. (2025), Intuitive sexuality: A sex-positive model for understanding and treating compulsive sexual behavior, in E. Prior & D. J. Williams (Eds.), Positive sexuality: A promising future for sex research, education, and practice. Routledge.
Lewis, A. (2024) Pp. 207-215, in K. Labriola (Author), Love in abundance: A counselor's advice on open relationships (2nd ed.). Greenery Press.
Lewis, A. (2024, November), The good (sex) life: Toward a fulfilling sexual well-being model, MAPP Magazine.