You might be wondering what Sex Therapy is, and if you want to seek out a Sex Therapist. Let’s talk about it.
Sex Therapy is talk therapy (Sex Therapists do not touch you sexually as part of our practice) with a trained mental health professional who has has taken more training or courses outside of what is required for clinical licensure. However, you do not only discuss sex during sessions! Sex Therapy also involves addressing mental health (depression, anxiety, environmental factors) and how it impacts sexual functioning or dysfunction. This is incredibly important, because one’s sex life does not exist in a vacuum; we are all deeply impacted by our environments, our upbringings, our physical bodies, our mental states, our culture, and a plethora of other factors. That is why it is so important to talk about the other factors in your life, and not just your sex life.
Sex Therapists work with individuals or couples, helping clients to address issues impacting their sexual functioning, relationship dynamics, and aim to help clients reach greater satisfaction in life. However, we don’t only work on topics or issues related to sex and sexuality; I am also your “regular therapist.” It is important to note that if I see you as a couple, I will not meet with you regularly for individual sessions; in that case, you would need to be seek a different outside therapist for individual work.
You might seek out a Sex Therapist for a variety of reasons - you want to reconnect with your partner intimately, you and your partner have been fighting and you would like help addressing the deeper issues, there has been a breach of trust in the relationship, you just had a new baby and now you’re not having sex, you would like to improve your sex life, you are starting your journey of Queer sex and love and would like professional support, you are going through a breakup, you are a survivor of sexual trauma or sexual abuse and would like support moving through these experiences, you want to feel more confident in your sexuality and yourself - the list is endless! If you are looking for professional mental health support with someone who specializes in the topics of sex and sexuality, or maybe you just like that therapist in general!, you might want to work with a Sex Therapist.
It can be challenging to find the right therapist fit from just a few pictures, so here’s a little about my background! I have always been obsessed with how relational dynamics play out and what made a relationship “work.” Every job I have ever held had to do with working with people - from summer camp counselor to retail to working with college students - and I feel so lucky to have the honor of speaking with people about their deepest truths every day. For many years I have dreamed of becoming a Sex Therapist, and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience to finally realize this career path and serve my community virtually across California, and in person in San Francisco and Oakland.
My educational path to becoming a Sex Therapist began as an undergraduate when I studied psychology. Several years later, I earned my Master’s in Social Work and began working towards clinical licensure. During this time, I moved to the Bay Area and worked as a school-based clinician for K-12 students in public high schools in Pittsburg, California and San Francisco. After earning my LCSW, I completed the Sex Therapy Certificate course through California Institute of Integral Studies, and soon began my career as a full-time Sex Therapist in private practice.
If I sound like someone you’d like to work with, I’d love to get to know you during a free 20 minute phone consultation. Let's connect.
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