Understanding Sex Therapy

Sex therapy is a type of psychotherapy that’s designed to help individuals or couples talk about their sex life in a safe space. Sexual satisfaction can be impacted by a variety of factors including medical, personal, interpersonal, and psychological. Making improvements in your sex life involve confronting or address these factors, with or without an expert.
Many people feel alone and ashamed because of their sexual identity or traumatic life events, such as sexual or emotional abuse. And while it’s true that every person’s sexual life is shaped by their own experiences – they’re not alone in their desire to reach out for help.
At Sex Therapy Perth, we provide a safe, confidential and non-judgmental ‘free-zone’ to our clients so they can freely explore and reconnect with who they really are. We believe everyone deserves assistance in overcoming challenges that prevent them from experiencing a healthy sex life and forming empowering relationships from a place of unconditional self-love and intimacy.

Understanding How Sex Therapy WorksSex therapy is specially designed to help people address matters that relate to sexual intimacy, attraction, identity, addiction, and trauma, among other things. A sex therapist is trained to help you:

• Understand your sexual identity
• Identify the root causes of problems
• Get a handle on stress
• Effectively handle compulsive sexual behaviour
• Become comfortable with your sexuality and have more satisfying sex
• Develop sexual curiosity and desire
• Find a solution for sexual difficulties
• Working through emotional and psychological trauma resulting from encounters of a sexual nature

Many people are terrified of the mere suggestion of seeing a therapist and jump to the incorrect conclusion that something is wrong. But the truth is, individuals and couples can learn a thing or two from sex therapy – even if there’s nothing inherently wrong in the bedroom. A sex therapist can unearth things from a unique perspective – an outsider’s perspective that can help you find answers and get the professional guidance you need.

How Can Sex Therapy Help?Sex therapy can be an effective mode of treatment for individuals of any age, gender, or sexual orientation. A typical sex therapy session starts by talking with a mental health professional. You can address many concerns about your sexual feelings, intimacy, and sexual function, in individual, couples or family therapy.
And despite what many people may believe, sex therapy is relatively tame. It’s not about learning new kinks or tricks in the bedroom. It’s about working through a range of issues from intimacy to sexual dysfunction.
We understand that sex therapy can be a frightening experience for the uninitiated – you’re entering into uncharted territory and talking about your sexuality and experience. This may leave you feeling vulnerable and exposed – but a sex therapist can provide you with the tools you need to make ground-breaking improvements in the quality of your life, not just your performance behind closed doors.         
The term ‘sex’ itself refers to a broad set of physiological characteristics that we are born with. Sex isn’t always as simple as categorizing people into males and females – researchers show that gender exists on a continuum and varies from person to person.
Sex therapy can help a person navigate through the unique challenges they face in identifying their unique sex by:

• Providing motivation and emotional support
• Tackling sex addictions and other compulsive behaviours related to sex
• Finding reasons behind their inability to get orgasms
• Processing reactions from society, loved ones, friends, coworkers, etc.
• Accepting one’s unique sexuality and comfortably incorporating it into their daily life

Understanding GenderGender refers to conventional roles in society which dictate how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, girls are generally expected to dress in feminine ways and be polite, nurturing, and accommodating. Similarly, men are expected to be assertive, competitive, ambitious, and assume ‘dominant’ values.
These gender roles are not helpful to people because they might not agree with the gender assigned to them when they were born, e.g. being born with male anatomy while experiencing being female. Some people identify as gender-fluid, in which case their gender orientation exists on a spectrum and can change over time.  Gender diverse is a term that someone may use to describe their gender identity when it doesn’t align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Understanding SexualitySexuality is a term that refers to feelings of arousal and attraction. Like sex and gender, sexuality is more complex than scientists previously thought. Every person has their own experience of sexuality, and each person has a right to choose if and how they wish to express it. Sometimes it can take quite a bit of self-exploring to define your sexuality, and even then it can still change.
You don’t have control over who you’re attracted to. Some people desire exclusively monogamous relationships, and others prefer to be polyamorous (having several intimate relationships) – and that’s just as natural as the former.
As such, issues arising from sexuality include sexual performance, sexual abuse, and abnormal sexual behaviours that can be addressed with sex therapy.
A professional sex therapist can help you address your sexuality by:

• Creating a safe space to discuss their sexuality openly and freely
• Manage crippling addictions arising from sex
• Minimize feelings of shame about their specific kinks
• Improve performance behind closed doors

Every person has their own unique problem that needs a unique solution.
If you or your loved one is struggling with issues related to sex, sexuality, gender, the dating field (improving self-confidence when meeting potential partners), or experience a lack of sexual confidence, it’s crucial to reach out for help to the right professional.

HOW Does Sex Therapy Perth Fit? At Sex Therapy Perth, we provide evidence-based counselling services to our community in Perth. Our sessions are non-judgmental and completely confidential, which means you can freely speak about your sexuality without fear of judgment.

Is sex therapy for you?

Schedule an initial consultation session with one of our experts to get to know us better and start to experience how sex therapy can help.
 
If you’re ready to book an appointment, then click here and we’ll find a time that works for you.