Q: Does sex therapy work?

<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7496638/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yes</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681994.2014.915705" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sex therapy works</a>. While it can obviously be difficult to open up to a stranger about some of the most intimate parts of one’s life, sex therapy <a href="https://psychotherapy.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1981.35.4.481" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has proven to be effective</a> in treating several common forms of sexual dysfunction.

Question 1

What are different types of sex therapy?

Accepted Answer

Sex therapy can employ any number of therapeutic modalities. Some sex therapy is simply talk therapy, whereby a therapist asks questions about a client’s concerns and about their health and personal history.

Often, sex therapy will take a page from cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, in that the the therapist will assign homework that is designed to strengthen skills or techniques learned in a therapy session. Another tack sex therapy may take involves learning mindfulness practices to employ in sexual situations.

Question 2

Can single people go to sex therapy?

Accepted Answer

Yes, single people can absolutely go to sex therapy. Some of the most common reasons people seek sex therapy are issues that have nothing to do with their relationship status, including inability to orgasm, recovering from a traumatic sexual experience, or performance anxiety.

Just like people have sexual experiences on their own (such as masturbation or fantasy), sexual therapy isn’t limited to those who have partners.

Question 3

How does sex therapy work?

Accepted Answer

Like in other talk therapy, sex therapy works mostly through the vehicle of conversation.

A client will report the experience or thoughts and feelings that led them to seek help. The therapist will help the client work on recovering from or moving past those issues to have a happy, healthy sexual life (whatever that means to the client).

A common aspect of sex therapy is “homework.” To help the client practice the coping skills, implement the techniques, or act on the insight learned in therapy, a sex therapist may give their client assignments to work on at home. These assignments may include using mindfulness techniques in sexual situations, changing communication styles between partners, or other exercises.

Question 4

How do you fix relationship problems?

Accepted Answer

Fixing relationship problems depends on many factors such as the size of the actual problem, how long it has existed, if both parties want to fix the problems, etc.

There is always the option of couples counseling, which is the best method to ensure the relationship survives, assuming the problems are relatively new. However, for those who cannot afford therapy, there are some other things that may fix relationship problems.

For example, new research has found that simply envisioning the future may help overcome relationship problems. Other research has found that taking a step back and adopting a disconnected, fly-on-the-wall-type outlook can also be an effective way to help resolve relationship conflict.

By taking on this third-person mentality, the person may be better able to see if he or she is reacting to the situation in a way that is reasonable.

Here are some three tips that may help to fix relationship problems:

Treat your partner with kindness. It’s very easy to be critical of a person if they have certain habits you find annoying. However, when you pick a person apart and catalog their flaws (either in your head or vocally during an argument), you risk the chance of your feeling snowballing. Instead, it’s best to act with kindness. Accept your partner, flaws and all. Lead with love, not with disdain. So, whenever you find your mind beginning to count all the things that drive you nuts about your spouse, refocus your thinking.
Be quick to forgive. Holding on to a spouse’s past missteps is a recipe for disaster. It’s best to deal with problems as they arise and then move on.
Avoid using absolute words like “always” or “never”. These words tend to cause pointless arguments that rarely fix relationship problems. Why? Because they are used in statements that most likely aren’t true. For example, you may say, “you never help with the dishes“. However, has he or she really never helped, not even once? Most likely they have, just not as consistently as you would prefer. A likely response may include a laundry list of every time they did the dishes. Instead, to better address this issue, it’s more productive to say, “While I appreciate when you help with the dishes, on most days, you don’t help. Could we agree to a more equal division of this chore?”

Regardless of how you approach fixing relationship issues, it’s important to understand that there is no such thing as a conflict-free relationship. Whether it’s about doing the dishes, having enough sex, or financial disagreements, conflicts are simply part of being in a relationship.

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As with those who practice in other forms of therapy, like trauma-focused therapy or psychodynamic therapy, sex therapists will ask their clients to describe their concerns and use conversation to find root causes and practical solutions to these concerns. Many sex therapists will also assign homework to clients.

Question 6

What happens in sex therapy?

Accepted Answer

Sex therapy is like every other talk therapy or counseling, just focused on sexual health and function. A sex therapy session will look much like sessions of other kinds of therapy: A person or couple meets with their therapist, either in-person or via telehealth, and discuss the concerns and challenges they encounter in the course of their sexual experiences.

The sex therapist, in turn, offers guidance and counsel, working with their client to uncover causes of and solutions to sexual dysfunction or afflictions.

Importantly, sex therapy does not involve sexual activity between the therapist and the client(s), or any physical contact of any kind. It is a talk-based therapy just like analysis, psychodynamic therapy, or any other mental or behavioral health talk therapy.

Clients who feel uncomfortable with any part of therapy should speak up or stop seeing that particular therapist.

Question 7

What is sex therapy?

Accepted Answer

Sex therapy refers to the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders by a licensed mental health professional.

William Masters first used the phrase "sex therapy" in a study proposal in 1958, and fully emerged in the 1970s as a form of psychotherapy. Initially, it appeared to be nothing more than a practical method to help people with sexual performance issues by providing various education and behavioral treatments.

The field has advanced since then, however there is no cohesive underlying theory, distinct collection of methods, or effective therapeutic result that defines Sex Therapy. Although there are certain common therapeutic techniques that are useful for helping men and women who are experiencing sexual issues, there is no uniform strategy that can be classified as Sex Therapy.

Question 8

Does sex therapy work?

Accepted Answer

Yes, sex therapy works. While it can obviously be difficult to open up to a stranger about some of the most intimate parts of one’s life, sex therapy has proven to be effective in treating several common forms of sexual dysfunction.

What are different types of sex therapy?

Related questions about sex therapy

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