Ian Kerner, PhD, LMFT

Ian is a licensed psychotherapist who works individuals and couples on a range of relational issues that often lead to distress. He approaches psychotherapy from an integrative perspective, which seeks to explain human behavior by bringing together physiological, affective, cognitive-behavioral, neurobiological and systemic approaches as they apply to the natural stages of human development and the wide range of human functioning.¹ Ian endeavors to create an atmosphere of inquisitive reflection, along with a sense of emotional safety and commitment to the therapist-patient bond.

Ian is regularly quoted as an expert in various media, with recent features in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Economist and NPR amongst others. Ian contributes regularly on the topic of sex for CNN. He lectures frequently, with recent presentations for the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Ackerman Institute, Tony Robbins, Goop, and TED 2021.

Ian is the New York Times best-selling author of numerous books, including She Comes First (Harper Collins) which has been translated into more than a dozen languages, as well as the recently published So Tell Me About the Last Time You Had Sex (Grand Central).

In addition to being a Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), Ian is certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and has sat on AASECT's Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) and The American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA). His practice is composed equally of heterosexual and LGBTQIA+ patients and is split between individuals and couples.

Ian has received post-graduate certification from the Psychotherapy Center for Gender and Sexuality and the Family and Couples Treatment Services of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, one of New York’s oldest and most respected not-for-profit psychoanalytic institutes. Ian has also completed a post-graduate program in Trauma Studies at ICP, where he was trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) in addition to other modalities for working with trauma survivors. Ian is the co-founder and co-director of the Sex Therapy program at ICP, where he teaches and supervises other therapists. Ian has also trained at the Ketamine Training Center and he is a member of Ketamine Psychotherapy Associates.

Ian was born and raised in New York City, where he resides with his family and maintains a private practice.