As a trained psychosexual therapist, I offer what is more commonly called sex and relationship therapy. The psychosexual therapy I offer takes a more holistic view, as opposed to the medical model of psychosexual therapy offered at most NHS clinics.
I look at the whole person and do not over medicalise your issues. We will of course look at the organic factors that might be affecting your sexual issues, of which I can psychoeducate or if necessary refer you back to a GP. However, the focus of therapy is to explore how these concerns affect your whole life and that is going to include relationships – relationship to self and others. The training I undertook encompasses an integrative approach. This means I have strategies and resources that are quite diverse. Psychosexual therapy is a lot more directive than most counselling / psychotherapy. This is purposeful as there can be a experiential exercises and homework tasks involved.
Partner psychosexual therapy
I also work with couples/partners who may wish to work with their relationship and / or sexual relating. This can include many other relationships, such as close friendships, business partners, or relationships outside of cisnormativity, monogamy and coupledom.
What to expect
Unlike general counselling/psychotherapy, psychosexual therapy can be a lot more involved. I begin by sending the client/s an intake form/questionnaire to fill in their own time and return before our first session. This can be quite daunting for some people as it is quite long and the questions have a sexual/relationship content. They may seem quite invasive, as they are not usual questions asked by a professional. However they are necessary and relevant as the client is coming to explore/heal their sexual self. If you don’t feel comfortable answering the questions on paper, that is fine, as we can do this in a session.
The first session is an initial assessment where we will go over the client/s questionnaire and uncover more clarity as to what you want the psychosexual therapy for. We can establish some goals/aims for the therapy. I recommend that the first session lasts for 90 min.
After the session, I will ask you to consider (in your own time) if I am the right therapist for you before you wish to commit to further sessions. If you know immediately, that’s fine, or let me know later. Once you have decided that, we can contract for 6 sessions and review after that. Please note that you are not obliged to commit for all 6 sessions. You can leave at any point, but it is good to set some intentions for the work.