The top five reasons to seek individual sex therapy
Sex therapy isn’t just for couples. Individual sex therapy allows solo people to ask questions and learn that their problems aren’t that strange and are, in fact, treatable.
We’ve spent some time exploring WHY so many individuals and couples resist seeking help for their sexual problems. It’s all about fear — fear of judgment.
We established that a Certified Sex Therapist has probably “heard it all” before. Individuals experiencing lonely, painful sexual problems are almost always not alone in their suffering.
Individual sex therapy is talk therapy. There is no physical contact between the therapist and the client.
First, your sexual problem doesn’t need to be a devastating experience in order to rise to the level of needing the help of an individual sex therapist. Simple curiosity about a particular aspect of sex can be addressed by a licensed counselor.
Of course, an experienced sex therapist can treat trauma and the results of sexual abuse and assault. But sex therapists are also qualified to answer questions and share insights about topics such as kinky sexuality, personal sexual preferences and problematic sexual preoccupations.
Here are the top five signs you should seek individual sex therapy:
When you feel ashamed, embarrassed, not at ease with your own sexual preferences.
You’re not weird. You’re not that different from a lot of people. Everybody has sexual preferences. And if we’re honest, some of our sexual interests can seem pretty “out there.” An individual sex therapist can put you at ease about your sexual preferences and help you understand how to think about and act on your preferences in a healthy way.
When you want some accurate information about your own personal sexual behavior.
Maybe you’d like to explore the kinky side of sexuality. Perhaps you’ve read or heard about a different approach to sex. If you have a special fetish, how do you find others who share your preference?
A Certified Sex Therapist can help you navigate your own sexual desires and even find communities that celebrate your own tastes, giving you the knowledge and confidence to satisfy your personal preferences.
When you’ve experienced sexual trauma and want to work through it.
A Certified Sex Therapist is, first, a mental health professional with training and experience in helping clients understand their trauma and find comfort in a world that often seems hostile or indifferent to their experiences.
Sexual trauma is manageable with the right professional counselor. You can have healthy, satisfying sexual relationships, even if you’ve experienced sexual assault or abuse.
When your sexual behavior feels out of control and you want to stop, but you’re having difficulty doing so.
An experienced sex therapist can provide insights about your sexual behavior and help you understand and control its unhealthy aspects.
Whether it’s excessive masturbation, an over-reliance on pornography or an unhealthy obsession, a sex therapist can provide a safe place to communicate, learn about, and treat problematic sexuality.
When you aren’t in a committed relationship, but you are having problems with sexual performance.
You don’t have to be with a partner to have a sexual performance problem. In fact, sometimes being solo is the best time to address sexual dysfunction.
A trained, licensed sex therapist works with individuals and couples to understand and resolve sexual performance problems in a professional, therapeutic environment.