meet our founder
Dr. Christine Romano
Founder & CEO, Next Level Mental Health Counseling
Dr. Christine Romano is a PhD-level Licensed Mental Health Counselor, AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist and Sex Therapist Supervisor, and EMDR-trained clinician. She founded Next Level Mental Health Counseling with a clear vision: to create a therapy practice where clients don't have to spend their first sessions explaining who they are before they can start healing.
Why She Built Next Level
Dr. Romano spent years watching a pattern repeat itself across the mental health field. Clients would cycle through therapist after therapist, not because therapy wasn't working—but because they couldn't find someone who understood their world.
A first-generation professional explaining family dynamics from scratch. An LGBTQ+ client educating their therapist about their identity. A polyamorous couple defending their relationship structure before they could address their actual concerns.
"That's not therapy," Dr. Romano explains. "That's cultural translation—and clients were paying for it."
She founded Next Level to eliminate that barrier entirely. Today, the practice serves clients across New York State with a team of 60+ diverse clinicians who provide culturally responsive, identity-affirming care. Through the practice's expert matching process, clients connect with therapists who already understand their lived experience—so they can get to the real work faster.
Clinical Expertise
Dr. Romano brings specialized training in areas where nuance and cultural fluency are essential:
Sex Therapy & Sexual Health
As an AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor, Dr. Romano specializes in sexual dysfunction, desire and arousal concerns, intimacy issues, and sexuality exploration. Her approach integrates clinical expertise with a sex-positive, shame-free framework.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Care
Dr. Romano works extensively with LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families, including those exploring gender identity, navigating coming out, or seeking support in non-traditional relationship structures.
Trauma Treatment
Trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Dr. Romano helps clients process trauma effectively and compassionately—whether they're navigating PTSD or the accumulated stress of everyday life.
Couples & Relationship Counseling
From communication challenges to infidelity recovery to premarital counseling, Dr. Romano helps couples build stronger connections through direct, compassionate guidance.
Academic Leadership
Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Romano serves as a professor in mental health counseling programs, where she trains the next generation of therapists in culturally competent, trauma-informed care.
Her academic research spans:
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Multicultural counseling and cultural competency in counselor education
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Sex therapy training and its impact on clinical effectiveness
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Therapeutic alliance and empathy in the counselor-client relationship
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Identity development and intergenerational trauma in immigrant and first-generation populations
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LGBTQ+ therapists' experiences in clinical supervision
This dual role—practicing clinician and educator—ensures that Next Level stays current with evolving best practices while maintaining the human-centered approach that defines the practice.
A Different Kind of Practice
Under Dr. Romano's leadership, Next Level operates differently than most therapy practices. Clinicians are hired as W-2 employees—not independent contractors—creating stability that translates directly to better client care. A dedicated marketing and client experience team handles the business side, so therapists can focus entirely on clinical work.
The practice's signature therapist matching system replaces the exhausting "therapist shopping" experience with a thoughtful process that considers identity, therapeutic needs, and personal fit. The result: clients find the right therapist faster, and therapeutic relationships start stronger.
"When your therapist already gets your world," Dr. Romano says, "therapy becomes what it's supposed to be—transformative."
