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Welcome to the world of sex therapy

Sex therapy is a type of talk therapy that’s designed to help individuals and couples address medical, psychological, personal, or interpersonal factors impacting sexual satisfaction.

The goal of sex therapy is to help people move past physical and emotional challenges to have a satisfying relationship and pleasurable sex life.

Sexual dysfunction is a problem that can happen during any phase of the sexual response cycle. It prevents you from experiencing satisfaction from sexual activity.

The sexual response cycle traditionally includes excitement, plateau, orgasm and resolution. Desire and arousal are both part of the excitement phase of the sexual response. It’s important to know women don’t always go through these phases in order.

While research suggests that sexual dysfunction is common, many people don’t like talking about it. 

What are the types of sexual dysfunction?

Sexual dysfunction generally is classified into four categories:

• Desire disorders: lack of sexual desire or interest in sex.
• Arousal disorders: inability to become physically aroused or excited during sexual activity.
• Orgasm disorders: delay or absence of orgasm (climax).
• Pain disorders: pain during intercourse.

Who is affected by sexual dysfunction?

Sexual dysfunction can affect any age, although it is more common in those over 40 because it’s often related to a decline in health associated with aging.

What are the symptoms of sexual dysfunction?

In men:

• Inability to achieve or maintain an erection (hard penis) suitable for intercourse erectile dysfunction.
• Absent or delayed ejaculation despite enough sexual stimulation (retarded ejaculation).
• Inability to control the timing of ejaculation (early, or premature, ejaculation).

In women:

• Inability to achieve orgasm.
• Inadequate vaginal lubrication before and during intercourse.
• Inability to relax the vaginal muscles enough to allow intercourse.

In men and women:

• Lack of interest in or desire for sex.
• Inability to become aroused.
• Pain with intercourse.

Can sex therapy help with erectile dysfunction?

If the issue isn’t physiological, then yes! Always ask your general practitioner’s advice first to make sure you don’t have an underlying medical condition.

While they cannot treat them, sex therapists have a greater than average understanding of the physiological processes that impact human sexuality. Performance issues, such as erectile dysfunction, can be dealt with from a place of knowledge and consideration.

Sex therapy can help with erectile dysfunction for a person with a penis who experiences erections during sleep, with normal results on their blood test and physical exam, and who is in good health overall.

It can also assist those whose erectile dysfunction stems from stress caused by work, financial trouble, relationship conflicts, and poor communication between sexual partners.

How to know you need sex therapy

Knowing when to see a sex therapist can be difficult. If you’re stuck wondering if you should go or not, take a look at the following statements:

• I’m not satisfied with my sex life
• Sex causes tension, anxiety, or trouble in our relationship
• I don’t think my partner understands my sexual needs, wants, or fantasies
• My sex life negatively impacting other aspects of my life, such as work, and/or mental health
• My sex life causes me unhappiness, anxiety, or shame
• I struggle with arousal, and/or orgasm
• I experience erectile dysfunction, pain during sex, or libido issues
• Has past trauma negatively affected my current sex life?

If any of the above sounds like you, it’s a good idea to see a sex therapist. 

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