

What is Somatic Sex Therapy?
​Sexuality is a subject many folks do not feel they are allowed to explore or have questions about. Many of us experience shame or confusion surrounding our sexual experiences, and do not know where to turn or who to confide in. Sex therapy is a place that we can discuss complex sexual topics without feeling stigmatized or judged. The term "somatic" means relating to the body. My approach is grounded in understanding the nervous system's impact on our relationship to sex and sexuality. Have you ever felt like your brain "knows" something intellectually, but it does not translate to your body? Have you ever felt like theres a disconnect between your mind and body? This is where somatic sex therapy can come in. Gaining a deeper understanding of your nervous system can help you explore what you want or desire, and better communicate this with partners. My approach helps individuals and couples create self-compassion, self-regulation and co-regulation, and more effective communication skills.
​
What to Expect
To start, we take an extensive history of family, relationships, and sexuality. This can include assessment of values surrounding sexual behavior, sexual fantasies, discussing desire, arousal, or orgasm, coming of age experiences surrounding sexuality, and attitudes/beliefs around sex. This will all happen at your pace, my style is to meet the client where they are at.
​
During this process, we are able to explore your individual relationship to sex while also exploring outside systemic factors (culture, family dynamics, trauma) that may influence you. We will take a deeper look at what you are looking to get out of therapy and create goals that align with you. We use different techniques drawn from somatic psychotherapy, internal family systems, developmental model of couples therapy, and EMDR. A sex therapist is a trained sexuality and mental health professional – there is no touch or sexual activity involved in the therapy.
​
What We Can Talk About in Sex Therapy
-
LGBTQ+ topics (gender dysphoria, transitions, “coming out”)
-
Sexual desire (different desire than partner, or “low desire”)
-
Sexual functioning
-
Sexual shame
-
Kink/BDSM
-
Polyamory/non-monogamy
-
Sexual anxiety
-
Sexual trauma
-
Out of control sexual behavior (sexual compulsivity, porn addiction
-
Infidelity
​
I am an AASECT certified sex therapist. If you are curious about the requirement for this certification, they are at this link: https://www.aasect.org/aasect-requirements-sex-therapist-certification​