Compassionate Connections Couples Counseling

07/23/2026

We're Growing! Please join us in welcoming Elizabeth Jonas, LMSW, to Compassionate Connections! 💙

We're excited to welcome Elizabeth Jonas, LMSW, to our clinical team.

Elizabeth provides compassionate, trauma-informed therapy for young adults, adults, and couples, creating a safe, collaborative space where clients feel genuinely seen, heard, and supported. She works with individuals and relationships navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, life transitions, burnout, relationship concerns, academic and career stress, and the lasting effects of s*xual and interpersonal violence.

Elizabeth also has a special passion for working with international clients, immigrants, and those adjusting to new cultures or environments. Having lived and worked in multiple countries, she brings both professional expertise and personal insight into the complexities of identity, belonging, relocation, and cross-cultural experiences.

Her approach is warm, individualized, and evidence-based, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help clients build resilience, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful, lasting change.

Elizabeth is fluent in English, Oshiwambo, and Afrikaans, and is committed to providing culturally responsive care for clients from diverse backgrounds.

She will begin seeing clients this September and will be accepting Aetna and Cigna, with a limited number of sliding-fee appointments available.

Please join us in giving Elizabeth a warm welcome! We are thrilled to have her as part of the Compassionate Connections team. 💙

02/17/2026

✨ Please Welcome Maria Koch, LMSW! ✨

We’re excited to share that Maria has joined Compassionate Connections and is now offering evening telehealth appointments for individuals and couples.

Maria earned her MSW from New York University and specializes in supporting:

• Young adults navigating identity, anxiety, and life transitions
• Parents managing stress and shifting family dynamics
• Couples strengthening communication and connection

You may be familiar with Maria through her work with Northeast Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine or her ongoing role with Cayuga Medical Associates on the Primary Care Behavioral Health team.

She integrates CBT, DBT, ACT, and Solution-Focused Therapy in a grounded, relational approach.

Currently accepting Aetna, with private-pay options available.

Referrals welcome.

02/17/2026

✨ Please Welcome Maria Koch, LMSW! ✨

We’re excited to share that Maria has joined Compassionate Connections and is now offering evening telehealth appointments for individuals and couples.

Maria earned her MSW from New York University and specializes in supporting:

• Young adults navigating identity, anxiety, and life transitions
• Parents managing stress and shifting family dynamics
• Couples strengthening communication and connection

You may be familiar with Maria through her work with Northeast Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine or her ongoing role with Cayuga Medical Associates on the Primary Care Behavioral Health team.

She integrates CBT, DBT, ACT, and Solution-Focused Therapy in a grounded, relational approach.

Currently accepting Aetna, with private-pay options available.

Referrals welcome.

Please join us in welcoming Maria!

01/30/2026

01/25/2026

When it comes to keeping passion alive and boosting s*xual and relationship satisfaction, we often hear about the importance of introducing novelty. It’s a tried and true method! But how often do you need to try new things, and just how novel do these activities need to be in order to experience benefits?

Research finds that satisfaction increases linearly up to 12 acts of novelty per year before leveling off. So novelty seems to increase satisfaction—but only to a point. There are diminishing returns beyond once per month. But these acts of novelty don’t have to be extreme—they can be as simple as sharing a fantasy, trying a new position, wearing s*xy underwear, or trying a new toy. You don’t have to get super wild (unless you want to!).

Put simply, a mini burst of novelty once per month (or even every other month) can have surprising benefits!

To learn more about this research, go all the way back to Episode 97 of the S*x and Psychology Podcast (link in bio) for my interview with Dr. David Frederick.

*xed *xandpsychology

01/20/2026