Orna Guralnik

Orna Guralnik (born 1963/1964) is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst based in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She is best known as the therapist on the Paramount+ documentary series Couples Therapy (2019–present) and teaches in the postdoctoral psychoanalysis program at New York University.

Early life and education Guralnik was born in Washington, D.C., to Israeli parents. Her mother, Nehama, trained in architecture before turning to art history and eventually became a curator at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Her father, Daniel, was an aeronautical engineer who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. The family later moved to Atlanta, where he took a position with Lockheed Martin. In 1971, when Guralnik was seven, her father was recruited by El Al Airlines and the family relocated to Tel Aviv. Her parents became U.S. citizens during the Atlanta years. She has a younger brother, Michael Roy.

As a teenager in Tel Aviv, Guralnik clashed with her father and was sent to therapy. She credits the second therapist she saw, a female psychiatrist, as someone who changed the course of her life. She also read widely in Freud, Carl Whitaker, and R.D. Laing during this period.

Couples Therapy

In 2016, a colleague introduced Guralnik to the filmmakers developing Couples Therapy. She initially offered to consult on the project; co-creator Elyse Steinberg and the team convinced her to appear on camera. The series debuted on Showtime in 2019 and is now in its fifth season on Paramount+ with Showtime.

The project originated over conversations at Café Regular, a coffee shop in Park Slope. She appeared on Michelle Obama's podcast in 2025.

After the show's debut, Guralnik became an unexpected subject of fashion interest, with fans on Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram identifying and tracking down pieces from her wardrobe.

Personal life Guralnik has lived in Park Slope for more than twenty years and resides in a brownstone there. She has two children: an adult daughter, Ruby, and a son.