Esther Perel

Overview

Esther Perel is a Belgian-born psychotherapist based in New York whose work on relationships, desire, and connection reaches millions of people at home and at work. Raised in Antwerp by parents who survived the Nazi concentration camps, she studied in Jerusalem before coming to the U.S. for graduate school, and spent the first two decades of her career working with couples and families in cultural transition, including refugees and intercultural, interracial, and interreligious families (estherperel.com).

Her first book, Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, grew out of a viral article and has since been published in 30 translations. She followed it with The State of Affairs, and brought real couples' sessions to the public through her podcast Where Should We Begin?. She also draws on more than 40 years of organizational consulting to help companies with trust, conflict, and communication at work.

Her current live show, Strangers, Friends, and Lovers: A Night Out with Esther Perel, is an immersive evening about reviving the rituals of connection in an age of isolation. It tours Australia in December 2026, Europe in February and March 2027, and North America in April and May 2027 (tour dates).

Why SUCCESS readers care

Relationships are the quiet engine behind every career and every life goal, and Perel is one of the clearest voices on why connection feels harder than ever and what to do about it. Her tour is a ticketed, theater-scale evening rather than a clinical workshop, which makes it an easy night out to share with a partner, a friend, or a team.

Proof points

• Psychotherapist with a decades-long practice in couples and family therapy (estherperel.com)
• Mating in Captivity published in 30 translations
• Author of The State of Affairs; host of the podcast Where Should We Begin?
• 40+ years of organizational consulting on connection, trust, and conflict at work
• 2026–2027 world tour Strangers, Friends, and Lovers across Australia, Europe, and North America, at venues including the Dolby Theatre, Beacon Theatre, and The London Palladium