What Is Sex Therapy?

Sex therapy is a specialized form of talk-therapy aimed at helping people reach psychosexual health by addressing the physical, psychological, and relational aspects of sexual functioning.

Common goals addressed in sex therapy include

*Healing from psychological trauma and coping with post-traumatic stress symptoms, such as feeling detached from one’s body and having difficulty showing affection, feeling unsafe and having trouble trusting others/sharing wants and needs, feeling shame and fearing abandonment from intimate partners, and having trauma memories triggered during intimacy

*Treating sexual dysfunction or coping with a partner’s sexual dysfunction, such as low or high sexual interest/arousal, pain during sex, premature or delayed ejaculation, and difficulty having an erection or orgasm

*Refraining from unhealthy/harmful sexual behaviors, such as past sex offending, sexual risk-taking that causes distress, or pornography use that interferes with daily living

*Coping with the impact of current or anticipated life changes/events, such as pregnancy, menopause, and medical illness/injury/disease, can have on intimacy, sexual functioning, and relationships