Samantha A. Wagner, Ph.D.

Hi, I’m Dr. Samantha Wagner, a licensed psychologist. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and the services I provide. Finding a therapist who is the right match for you or someone you love is an important decision. It’s normal to be a little hesitant and oftentimes making first contact is the scariest part!

I am a generalist by training, meaning that I have worked with individuals across the lifespan, families, couples, and groups and have experience with a wide range of issues from managing everyday stressors through working with serious mental illness. As such, I know the importance of finding what works for each person and am well trained to be able to do so.

One of my areas of specialty is working with couples. I offer services for couples that span the life of the relationship from premarital counseling for soon-to-be newlyweds through couples therapy for partners who want to reconnect and establish security in their relationship. I also offer discernment therapy for couples who are uncertain about continuing their relationship, as well as divorce mediation services for spouses who choose to separate their lives and file for an uncontested divorce.

I also work extensively with adults on issues related to challenging relationship
dynamics, boundaries, anxiety, and self-esteem, which can manifest as many different mental health issues. As such, I see clients who have a wide variety of diagnoses such as anxiety, personality disorders, and mood disorders amongst others. I have extensive training in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (Couple and Individual), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as well as many other integrative approaches. You can find more information on each of my specific areas of expertise below.

Engaging in a meaningful and value-driven life can be challenging and at times we feel lost in the uncertainty of our decisions, ourselves, or our relationships. I approach therapy in a way that acknowledges that everyone’s path to obtaining a fulfilling and successful life looks different and that progress in therapy is based on understanding and respect for each person, exactly as they are. I take an empathic approach that seeks to find a balance between acceptance and change so that we can make meaningful progress towards whatever goals you define.

Individual Therapy: Adults – Together we will first seek to understand the issues that are bothering you and the personal strengths that you already have. Through this process and to guide our efforts, I will help you establish goals for therapy that can be continually revisited, revised, or added to as we progress. I aim to first provide symptom relief and “put out fires.” Then, if you choose, we will dive into deeper work that helps challenge long-held patterns (such as avoidance) that were likely exceptionally helpful at some point but have since continued to cause problems or strife. Throughout the process we will work together to ensure that each session is in service of helping you obtain the life you want to lead. In our therapy I will use a combination of interventions tailored to your specific needs including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy.

Couples: Premarital Therapy – Committing to marriage is a wonderful milestone in a loving relationship. Many couples find comfort in engaging in premarital therapy to solidify their alignment on values and readiness for this next step. Some couples do premarital therapy simply to have a set time to enjoy connection and emphasize commitment during the busy wedding-planning season. Other couples may find that there are specific issues that they want to address, such as agreement on finances or time spent with outside family, to ensure that they can begin their marriage with
consensus and a strong foundation. The premarital therapy I offer is non-religious, but topics of discussion can easily include religion if that is important to your relationship. During an initial session I will help you establish what you want to obtain from our work together and how many sessions you would like to have. Family and friends, this is an excellent gift to give your favorite soon-to-be newlyweds!

Couples: Therapy and Relationship Healing – In our romantic relationships we often feel heightened emotions – both the pleasant and the uncomfortable. Unfortunately, in our very busy lives, these can also be the relationships we forget to prioritize and can be the people we hurt or who hurt us the most. I work with a wide-range of couples issues from those looking to rekindle a flame or deal with intimacy challenges to those who have experienced betrayal traumas. I also have training in working with issues related to aging and illness in our partnerships. Even the strongest of couples can often benefit from finding new ways to connect, hear each other, and become more secure so that their relationship becomes a priority again. I work with all types of couples including dating, married, divorced or co-parenting, monogamous, poly-amorous, and LGBTQ+. In couples therapy I primarily use Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy but also include methods from Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy and Gottman’s Couples Therapy when more behavioral interventions are suggested.

Couples: Discernment Therapy – There are times when we are not sure we want to continue our relationship and we need assistance with making such a life-altering decision. In discernment therapy, I see couples for three consecutive blocks. First, I meet with each of you individually and then we spend time at the end all together discussing next steps. I will help you look at all aspects of the relationship, help you imagine what life would look like if you stayed or chose to leave, and then facilitate your decision to stay or leave across one or more sessions. The discernment process continues until either both partners are sure they want to try to stay in the relationship or when one or both partners decides they want to end the relationship. If you decide to continue the relationship, I can begin working with you in couples therapy if that would be helpful. If you decide to end the relationship, I will happily help connect you with supportive referrals for any needs you have from individual therapy to divorce mediation.

Couples: Divorce Mediation – When we decide to end our marriage it can feel as if our only choice is to involve lawyers to make sure it’s “done right.” However, this process can quickly become adversarial and result in a judge making decisions about how you will live your life for many years to come. I offer a more peaceful and healthier alternative through my divorce mediation services. I will guide you through making important decisions about childcare/custody and division of assets in a way that works for you and your family. Even if your relationship is already contentious, I will honor each of your autonomy and facilitate mutual respect for each other. Once I have helped
you make all necessary decisions, I will provide you with a document that can be used to file an uncontested divorce with the courts. Note, I do not offer divorce mediation services to couples I have seen previously for therapy but I can provide referrals if needed.

Interpersonal Effectiveness and Boundaries – Having tough conversations,
establishing clear boundaries, and creating mutually satisfying relationships (personal or professional) can be hard-work. However, relationships are not sustainable when they become fraught with resentment. Together, we can work to define your strengths and bolster or add to those to help you become more effective and confident in your relationships. When doing this work, we will focus on building social and interpersonal effectiveness skills while learning how to implement internal and external boundaries. Emphasis is often placed on communication skills, emotion regulation, establishing and
reinforcing boundaries, and making informed decisions about the relationships we want to keep in our lives. I also help each client work to understand their own vulnerabilities and points of sensitivity to facilitate a deeper insight into why certain relationships or conversations may be harder than others.

Emotional Functioning and Uncertainty/Anxiety – Regardless of how old you are or what challenges you are facing, we all have times when we struggle to manage our emotions or feel overwhelmed by uncertainty or anxiety. Oftentimes, our response to the emotional disruption is to feel as if our emotions either take control of us or we stuff them down and avoid them altogether. Both responses are normal and both responses can be equally unhelpful if used over an extended period of time. Emotions provide important pieces of information and we can get lost if we don’t feel them at all or if they are so big that they take over. Uncertainty, on the other hand, often means that we have two conflicting options or are facing a barrier we feel stuck behind. I work extensively with my clients to help them have a healthier relationship with their emotions and to clarify what is valuable to them so that they can trust themselves to make important decisions.

Kink Community – Finding a therapist who not only is non-judgmental of your
preferences but also has knowledge and understanding of them, can be challenging. I work with individuals and couples who have many ways of living, bonding, and fantasizing. I am welcoming and inclusive to all who may be living an “alternative life- style” or who are wanting to explore a different side of themselves or their sexuality. I also have extensive experience in helping couples who have open, “swinger,” or polyamorous relationships create a secure and intimate relationship with their partner while navigating the fun, tricky, or scary parts of having additional romantic or sexual partners. At our core, we all want to know that we are important and prioritized; with
boundaries and security, we can work to establish this safety with any type of relationship.

Stay at Home Parents/New Parent – Raising our little ones and taking care of family is an amazing job. It can also be isolating and create a dynamic where one’s own identity is not clear. I often hear clients tell me that they love being a parent but have “lost” themselves or don’t know who they are outside of being a parent and spouse. I help clients own the mixed emotions of being a parent without guilt so that they can redefine who they are apart from their children. Through this process, not only will you begin to feel better overall, but you will also likely find that you are able to be a more present and involved parent when you are with your children.

Aging – Unique changes come along with aging. Topics related to growing older are often not addressed or can feel stigmatizing. However, living a long life also necessitates changes and challenges. I work with older adults on better understanding and managing the changes that come including those related to health concerns, navigating decreased mobility or independence, retirement, and other kinds of loss such as death of loved ones or of identity-defining careers. Continually moving towards a value-driven life does not stop as we age. I seek to help older-adults find ways to engage with their values. Age-related changes do not have to mean only losses but can also be an amazing time for growth.

End of Life Issues – If you or someone you love are experiencing end-of-life issues, whether through normal aging or terminal or degenerative illness, facing mortality can be jarring and filled with uncertainty or dread. We are often met with questions related to the meaning of life, what happens after death, or regrets for decisions we did or did not make. We can also often feel isolated in not being sure who we can talk to or may feel as if we are a burden to others with these types of questions. On this journey, I stand beside you to be a space for all these questions. I can help you feel less alone and facilitate you feeling surer in your decisions along the way. We may even discover
answers to questions you didn’t know you had.

I am a Licensed Psychologist in both Florida and New York State who has been conducting therapy for 9+ years. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from APA accredited Binghamton University in 2021 after completing my doctoral internship at The Faulk Center for Counseling. Prior to this, I obtained my Masters in Psychology
from Binghamton University and my Bachelors in Psychology with a minor in business from Canisius College.

In addition to the extensive and multifaceted training I accomplished while obtaining my degrees, I also completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at Tampa Bay Center for Relational Psychology. During my post-doctoral training I specialized in Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy that included completing Externship, Core Skills, and all necessary supervised hours alongside continuation of my generalist work. I am currently working towards formal certification. Most recently I successfully finished the APA accredited Conflict Resolution Training where I became a nationally certified
Divorce Mediator.

My areas of research expertise relate to couples and dating and include work on attachment, relationship satisfaction, physical touch, intimacy, sexuality, as well as work on intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Both my doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis emphasized couple-related processes that impact relationship satisfaction, such as attachment, physical touch, and sexual satisfaction. I also have substantial research background in issues specific to aging in romantic relationships
and sexuality.