Gender Affirming Therapy
In New York
with Cal Klingensmith, LCSW
I’m a trans therapist who has spent nearly 10+ years working almost exclusively with trans and queer clients.
Are you stuck in your head and feeling lost in your body?
Do you feel like everyone else got a manual you never received?
Exhausted from trying to blend in or figure out how to present yourself?
Gender questioning can take over your mental space. Relationships can feel strained and the future is hard to picture. Explaining transness to a therapist can feel like work, but it’s something I understand deeply.
Clients Come To Me When They Experience
Gender questions
Identity struggles
Disconnection from others
Strain across relationships
Feel uncomfortable in your body
Feel lost when it comes to clothing or personal style
An unclear future
If you see yourself in these, you’re in the right place.
What Gender Affirming Therapy With Me Is Like
We start by saying things out loud that have lived only internally. We work toward accepting parts of you that may have felt confusing or heavy with shame. From there, we explore steps that make sense for you, at your pace, in your real life.
Therapy with me is relational, active, and grounded. We make space for gender questions, and also look at who you are outside of your gender.
Approaches I Use
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Focuses on how we connect in session so you can build deeper relationships with yourself and others.
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Helps uncover how past experiences shape the way gender, identity, and self-worth show up now.
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Supports you in accepting what’s hard while still showing up for what matters- your baby, your values, and yourself.
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Helps you understand and care for different parts of yourself, especially those carrying shame, fear, or self-criticism.
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Connect with others who are navigating similar challenges.
I am currently running a Trans Support Group. If interested, reach out for more details.
“At a certain point - gender can’t be talked through. It has to be felt and experienced. You can’t think your way through gender - it has to be explored”
Explore In Real Time
As gender takes up less mental space, we make room for dating, goals, relationships, and the life you want to build.
After Therapy With Me, Clients Report
Liking themselves
Wanting to get up
Dressing with confidence
Enjoying social life
Less shame
More joy + laughter
Space for interests
About Me
About Cal Klingensmith, LCSW
My work is grounded in the belief that therapy is not about changing who you are. It’s about helping you feel more like yourself.
I’m a trans guy and have worked extensively with trans, queer, and nonbinary clients since opening my private practice over nine years ago.
My office gives living room vibes. I bike to work most days, my desk is always a bit messy. I like to wear jeans and t-shirts, shorts in the summer. Despite my casual demeanor, I am tenacious and deeply value my work with clients. Sessions with me are relaxed, collaborative, and direct. I pay close attention to our relationship and use it as a springboard for deeper self-connection and more satisfying relationships in your life.
Outside the office, I love skiing, cycling, rec softball and playing games of all kinds. I’m a parent to a young toddler and a native New Yorker.
Availability: In-person in New York City; Telehealth available.
"Cal is exceptionally open, curious and eager in his work as a psychotherapist. He has a tremendous ability to develop and maintain therapeutic relationships.… Additionally, he is wonderfully playful in his work."
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Education, Credentials, & Trainings
New York University Silver School of Social Work, MSW
Macalester College, BA
Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia
DBT Intensive Training, Behavioral Tech
NYU Counseling and Wellness Services, Primary Therapist, DBT, Gender and Sexuality, and Eating Disorder Teams
Metro Behavioral Health Associates, Eating Disorder Clinician
Get Started in 3 Steps
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Fill out the contact form. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll help point you in the right direction.
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We’ll have a short call to see if working together feels like a good match.
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We’ll begin building trust, naming what’s been internal, and creating a path forward together.