With more than 15 years of experience as a sex therapist, I’ve had the privilege of engaging in countless conversations about sexuality. One pattern is unmistakable: our culture tends to be deeply uneasy about sex while simultaneously fixated on it. This tension creates a paradox—people are surrounded by conflicting messages that often lead to confusion, shame, guilt, and internal conflict. Influences from media, family, religion, and peers frequently shape our understanding of sex in ways that are incomplete or inaccurate, leaving many to spend years trying to sort through and make sense of those narratives.

For many clients, having the opportunity to talk openly about their sexuality in therapy can feel profoundly freeing. Some share that they have never spoken about their sexual thoughts, behaviors, or fantasies with anyone before. Others recall attempts to do so that were met with misunderstanding or negative outcomes. The personal histories and formative experiences that influence sexual development often hold important insights—insights that can support meaningful growth when explored with care, intention, and a sense of safety within the therapeutic process.

In therapy, we explore how these challenges are rooted in real emotional and relational experiences. We may look at how early messages, religious or cultural beliefs, or past trauma shape how you see yourself sexually. For couples, we work to understand how emotional closeness (or distance) impacts physical intimacy. Sometimes sexual concerns are really communication concerns, or symptoms of stress, anxiety, or burnout.

Because sexuality involves both mind and body, I use an integrative approach that draws from evidence-based frameworks like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), emotionally focused therapy (EFT), the Masters & Johnson model, somatic awareness, and mindfulness-based practices. I often assign home-based exercises that clients complete in private, such as communication exercises, intimacy-building activities, body awareness work, sensate focus, or values clarification tasks. These help reinforce the work we do in session and bring it into your real-life relationship or experience.

Additionally, we may need to work in concert with your general practitioner, psychiatrist, or other medical professionals along side our talk-based interventions. Talk-based sex therapy addresses the emotional, psychological, and relational roots of sexual concerns, creating deeper and longer-lasting change than medication or medical interventions alone. While psychiatric or medical treatments can bolster our work together and may offer short-term symptom relief, sex therapy fosters insight, connection, and sustainable growth by targeting the underlying patterns that shape sexual well-being.

Sex therapy requires specialized training, and it's important to work with someone who understands the clinical, relational, and physical complexities of sexual health. As a Ph.D.-level psychologist that also has a Masters in Marriage and Family therapy, I have had focused expertise in this area for over a decade. I bring both scientific knowledge and a deeply compassionate approach to each session. Whether you’re navigating trauma, differences in desire, religious or cultural conflicts, or the loneliness that can come from feeling disconnected from your body or your partner, you don’t have to do it alone.

Sexuality is a core part of who you are. When something in this part of life feels stuck, painful, or out of reach, it can impact your sense of self. But with support, healing is possible—and so is reconnecting with your sense of confidence, intimacy, and pleasure.

Sex therapy can help you with:

• Healing from sexual trauma
• Low libido or no interest in sex
• Difficulty reaching orgasm
• Re-defining what healthy sexuality means to you
• Sex "addiction," porn "addiction," risky sex, or other addictive challenge affecting your sex life
• Sexual dysfunctions (ED, vaginismus and more)
• Sexual shame, guilt or repression
• Understanding your sexual orientation
• Sex during pregnancy and after childbirth
• Sex during perimenopause and menopause
• Sexual confidence
• Kink, BDSM, and fetishes
• Sex-work concerns
• Erectile dysfunction + early (premature) ejaculation
• Painful intercourse or other pain during sex
• Concerns about arousal or mismatched libidos
• Sexual desire & improving sexual satisfaction
• Improving communication about sex
• Differences in sexual preferences