Sexual well-being is part of overall well-being, and online sex therapy can be a great way to get support from a professional in creating a healthy and positive relationship to your sexuality. Ahead, three sex therapists answer all your questions about sex therapy and recommend the best online sex therapy services that could help you and your partners. “The main focus is helping people solve for their sexual challenges and find ways to enhance their sexual satisfaction and sexual functioning,” she tells mbg. People can attend sex therapy as a single, couple, polycule, or any other relationship structure where they’d benefit from troubleshooting sexual issues, which might include erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, sexless relationships, low libido, anorgasmia, dysparenia, and much more, she says. Other issues like healing from sexual trauma, shame, or infidelity can also be addressed in sex therapy. In order for someone to be a sex therapist, they must become a licensed mental health professional (i.e., licensed psychologists, therapists, or clinical social workers) and have received specialized training that enables them to treat clients with sexual issues and concerns, says Mintz. Once you connect with a therapist you like, you’ll meet regularly over some kind of video call for your therapy sessions. Your first session with a sex therapist will start just as any first therapy session: with some basic intake questions. “The therapist will get a history of the specific concern that brings you in, asking questions about how long has it been going on and whether or not any specific event precipitated the concern,” explains Mintz. In future sessions, the therapist will help the client work through the issues through a combination of verbal processing, visualization, and hands-on homework assignments. You read that right: homework assignments. “Often, sex therapists give their clients sex therapy assignments to practice on one’s own outside of session,” she says. Typically, those homework assignments are sexual in nature, such as looking at your genitals in the mirror, masturbating, or saying a set of affirmations about your body in the mirror, for example. “Sex therapists will also often help clients by providing realistic science-based information about sex,” says Mintz. For instance, they might tell a client what the research shows about how many people with vaginas need clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm, she says. “They might also try to reduce shame with science-based information,” she says. For instance, they might share statistics in order to help a client understand just how normal their turn-ons are. BetterHelp can provide high-quality sex therapy to people all across the gender and sexuality spectrum. However, because BetterHelp is the world’s largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced therapists, they have more gender-affirming and queer-informed therapists on tap than any other provider on the list. “[My BetterHelp therapist] has created a safe, judgment-free zone for me to talk out what’s weighing me down while also celebrating the good,” wrote one reviewer. From the get-go, queer and questioning individuals will be thrilled by how inclusive the platform is. Even the intake questions are surprisingly inclusive, giving patients the opportunity to select from a wide variety of genders, sexual orientations, and pronouns. Price: Varies based on where you live but about $60 to $90 a week Price: Varies based on where you live, but about $60 to $90 a week While Talkspace does not specialize in sex therapy, it does have certified sex therapists on its roster. To get started, you’ll select the kind of care you’re looking for (online therapy, psychiatry, or couples therapy), and then answer a handful of questions about your concerts. The intake form is not sex-specific, but there are a few slots for you to type-in your specific concerns. In addition to being a good fit for people on a budget, Talkspace is a good option for people who have Zoom and video fatigue. While there is a video-based option, the chat- and phone- based options are an accessible option for the more introverted amongst us. Price: Varies based on where you live, but rates start at $260/month Price: $150 to $300 per session With experts who specialize in a variety of problem areas ranging from low libido to infidelity, Couples Therapy Inc. is for any couples who want (or need) to heal their dynamic in and out of the bedroom. They also have special private sex therapy retreats. Price: $3,500 to $6,500 per three-month intensive Price: $150 to $250 per session (sliding scale available) With that in mind, here are three tips for finding a local sex therapist: If that feels too close to home, you could ask your pal for the name of the office their provider works at—they might have a colleague who’s currently accepting new clients. “The goal of sex therapy is to improve your relationship to sex, your body, intimacy, and your sexual identity,” says Schenk DeWitt.
