Juliane Maxwald, LP
Psychoanalyst · Relationship & Sex Therapist · Author
I’m a psychoanalyst, couples therapist, and certified sex therapist. For over two decades, I’ve helped individuals and couples move through challenges like low desire, infidelity, anxiety, burnout, and compulsive behaviors — while also uncovering the deeper truths that shape how we love, work, and connect. My approach combines insight with action, bringing clarity and change that lasts.
In our work together, we’ll look at both the surface and the deeper layers. We’ll address the immediate issue with clarity and compassion, while also listening for what the symptom is trying to say — the parts of you that may have been silenced, split off, or shamed. Sustainable change comes not just from relief, but from understanding and integrating those hidden meanings.
I serve on faculty at the New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis and the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, where I teach, supervise, and mentor clinicians nationwide.
I’m also the author of two forthcoming books, Psychoanalytic Sex Therapy: Exploring the Unconscious Life of Sexuality: A clinician’s guide to working with erotic symptoms, fantasy, trauma, and relational repair, and Talking About Sex: A Guide to Confidence, Connection and Communication: A practical, warm companion for individuals and couples who want to feel more at ease with their sexuality and each other.
Across all of my work, my commitment is the same: to help people heal what hurts, connect more fully, and live with greater freedom, intimacy, and presence.
How I Work
My approach blends contemporary psychoanalysis, couples therapy, sex therapy, somatic awareness, and coaching. It’s emotionally attuned, theoretically grounded, and deeply collaborative.
Whether I’m working with someone facing relationship struggles, addiction, or a high-performing client feeling unfulfilled despite external success, I help people explore:
The unconscious patterns shaping intimacy, ambition, and emotional connection
The ways past attachment, trauma, or relational dynamics show up in present-day blocks
How to expand capacity for erotic expression, emotional presence, and meaningful success
When we treat the symptom and tend to the emotion beneath it, we don’t just relieve suffering, we unlock something deeper: connection, clarity, and aliveness.
Who I Work With
I work with individuals, couples, and family systems navigating:
— Desire discrepancy, low libido, and intimacy challenges
— Infidelity, trust ruptures, and communication breakdowns
— Porn use, compulsive behaviors, and emotional avoidance
— Anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or feeling “stuck”
— Recovery from trauma, shame, and identity loss
— Addiction, including substances, sex, gambling, or tech
— Professional burnout, creative blocks, and leadership stress
— Family-of-origin issues and intergenerational emotional patterns
Some clients come to therapy seeking relief. Others come to coaching seeking growth, clarity, or elevation.
You don’t have to be in crisis to want more from your relationships, your work, or yourself.
Coaching for Growth and Expansion
In addition to therapy, I offer coaching for individuals and couples who want to:
— Deepen intimacy and emotional communication
— Explore or express their erotic selves more fully
— Navigate career pivots or ambition burnout
— Move through visibility blocks, over-functioning, or performance pressures
— Align their relational and professional life with deeper internal truth
