A lot of couples face sexual problems and do not ask for help because they feel embarrassed. Instead of feeling embarrassed, sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling provides a sense of sexual freedom, sexual confidence, and hope.
What are the benefits of sex and intimacy therapy?
For one, sex and intimacy therapy sessions in Southeastern Connecticut allow you to have a safe place to talk about your sexuality and your sexual health. And, you can start communicating with your partner about sexual needs and desires. A variety of topics are part of intimacy and sex therapy that are specific to each couple. Some couples experience sexual worries, insecurities, and have anxiety about sexual performance. One person might feel insecure about their body image and not want to be naked. So, they reject their partner sexually. As well, couples may struggle to reach an orgasm. Some people may feel they have an inability to orgasm and want to feel what an orgasm is like, and seek the help of an intimacy professional. Additionally, sex and intimacy therapy can help you if you struggle with achieving or maintaining sexual arousal.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Marriage counseling with a focus on sex can help couples building sexual desire and sexual arousal.
Sex and intimacy therapy supports couples who experience sexual dysfunction and sexual challenges too. From sex and intimacy counseling, couples can feel empowered to create a positive, happy, and passionate sex life. Often, overcoming sexual issues and gaining skills are ones couples would not otherwise be able to achieve without professional help. At Wisdom Within Counseling, in Southeastern Connecticut, we offer the speciality of sex and intimacy therapy.
Overcoming sexual shame is a part of sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within
When a parson carries sexual shame, they often beat themselves up emotionally for wanting to enjoy sex. A person with sexual shame has a feeling of wrongness for having sexual desires or sexual fantasies. Sex and intimacy therapy sessions help a person overcome cultural and religious shame. Growing up in a hyper sexualized culture that objectives bodies can destroys sexual confidence. Constant dieting and disordered eating habits can kill what could become positive sexual desires. A person who feels they have to be a certain weight, or change their body to be sexy, carries sexual shame. Sex and intimacy therapy teaches people of all sizes how to embrace their sexuality. The feeling of shame is put on us by culture, religion, and caregivers when growing up. Couples therapy can help couples overcome feeling ashamed for wanting a healthy, satisfying, amazing, and passionate sex life.
Talking about sexual shame in counseling
Often times, people enter a romantic relationship with different sexual histories and sexual backgrounds. For instance, if one person in a relationship grew up in a strict religious home, they often carry sexual shame. Growing up with sexual shame can lead to insecurities about openly communicating your sexual needs. There may be shame for wanting to enjoy sexual activities, rather than having sex out of duty. Sexual shame can lead to body image issues and struggles with body positivity. As well, when a person carries sexual shame, they may feel afraid their body smells bad. They worry that sharing themselves sexually will make their romantic partner abandon them. Or, a person may worry, they will face rejection or criticism if they open up sexually to their partner.
Sex and intimacy therapy helps partners get honest with each other about what they need sexually.
You can have a healing conversation about negative, shame-based sexual experiences in the past. From talking and vocalizing sexual needs, this liberates couples from sexual shame. Growing up feeling like your sexuality was rejected by your family can lead to internal shame and inner criticism.
Sex and intimacy therapy helps you develop self compassion and self-awareness to understand how your childhood and upbringing influenced your sexual expression.
If a parent tried to scare you, that can be shaming sexually. Your caregivers had their own sexual shame and fears. For instance, if a caregiver told you that having sex before getting married would cause something really bad would happen to you, this is sexual shame. In a strict religious family, you may have learned to push away sexual pleasure or learned you weren’t supposed to enjoy sex. Maybe, sexual activities are for only making babies and procreating. In a strict religious home, your parents or caregivers may have never talked to you about puberty. Parents and caregivers have their own sexual shame, so they never talked with you about your changing body or consent. Your parents never taught you about sexual consent. Growing up sexual shame develops due to lack of sexual education. Sex and intimacy at the therapy promotes positive, consensual discussion of a healthy sex life.
Proper sexual education comes from sex and intimacy therapy
As well, many people who grow up in strict religious homes do not get proper sexual education. Unfortunately, many people turn to pornography for sex education. Pornography often does a disservice because it gives unrealistic expectations around sex. As well, pornography is not effective sexual education. Therefore, sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling help couples talk about sex in a healthy way. Couples counseling helps couples overcome sexual myths that originate from porn use and porn addiction.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Pornography use can cause couples sexual problems
Plus, pornography use can become addicting and compulsive. Often times, compulsive porn use can be a root of sexual issues or challenges couples face. Due to the unrealistic expectations pornography sets, couples can never live up to these standards. Porn typically does not show adequate length of foreplay necessary to support the female orgasm. Typically pornography includes force, power and control dynamics around sexual activities. As well, pornography puts a hyper focus on sexual performance.
Also, pornography use gives the average human sexual performance anxiety.
Pornography is not about intimate connection or emotionally bonding. Plus, pornography makes a person feel they have to be like a porn star at home. Many times, couples compare themselves to pornography. If a male’s penis is not a large or big as in the pornography video, he may doubt if he can provide a sexually pleasurable experience. To note, male penis size is not predictor of a healthy sex life. Males who have smaller penises than in what they see in pornography videos can have an amazing sex life. Many times, pornography also shows people, especially women, faking an orgasm. Instead of faking an orgasm, couples therapy helps couples create an intimate connection together and mindful connection to their body to foster an amazing orgasm. Pornography addiction and use can lead to obsessive thoughts, OCD and hyper sexualized behaviors long term. If you struggle with pornography use, this could be part of overcoming sexual challenges in sex and intimacy therapy.
Sex and intimacy therapy helps partners talk about anxiety and trauma around sex and rebuild sexual confidence.
The team of sex and intimacy therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling can help. We can help you overcome shame from your upbringing around wanting to be sexually expressive. As well, you get a safe place to talk about internal pressure to meet the unrealistic standards set by the porn industry. You can talk about your desires to create a , positive, passionate, healthy and happy sex life currently.
Sex and intimacy therapy can be a great place to talk about your sexual needs snd communicate better.
Many couples don’t have the ability to be honest with each other about the things they enjoy sexually. A woman may use a vibrator by herself when mastrobating or self pleasuring. However, she may feel insecure or lack confidence to talk to her partner about using a vibrator during sexual intercourse. For instance, one partner may have an interest in trying BDSM or role-play. They may feel insecure or lack confidence in asking their partner to partake in BDSM with them. Intimacy counseling is a safe place to talk about inflicting pain, receiving pain, or playing with dominant and submissive roles. A person may not communicate their needs sexually because they are afraid of rejection too.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Why start in intimacy and sex counseling at Wisdom Within?
One person may wonder if their partner truly understands our sexual needs, type of touch they desire, or sexual fantasies. Sex and intimacy therapy can be a great place to overcome sexual shame that is limiting your sex life from being passionate and amazing. Some men experience erectile dysfunction and other sexual dysfunction that are great reasons to start in sex and intimacy therapy. At times, one or both people experience dissatisfaction with sexual activity. Some people struggle with maintaining sexual arousal, building desire, or reaching an orgasm. Intimacy counseling can help you overcome sexual challenges and learn how to mentally allow an orgasm to come to you.
Differences in sex drives and libido differences
Couples may have differences in libido or sex drives. One person may have a high sex drive and want sex daily or multiple times a day. The other person may have a low libido or low sex drive. They only want to have sexual activities once a week, which causes sexual dissatisfaction. Libido differences in sex drive issues are a great reason to work with a sex and intimacy therapist.
Sex and intimacy therapy can help improve sex drive differences and libido challenges
Relationship problems can lead to a low sex drive and low libido. Work stress, parenting stress, general anxiety can cause sexual problems with libido. A person who is struggling with depression may have a low libido or low sex drive. Also, medications like anti-depressants can lower libido and cause a low sex drive. Also, sexual problems like erectile dysfunction or vaginal dryness can lead to a low sex drive to sexual actives being worrisome, embarrassing or painful. A female’s libido and sex drive can change after pregnancy and after having a baby. As well, hormones change when parenting. Lastly, suffering from adrenal fatigue, being over stress, and tired as a whole are causes for low sex drive issues.
Sexual trauma healing in sex and intimacy therapy
Lastly, sex and intimacy therapy in Connecticut is a safe place to talk about sexual trauma. Both you and your partner may have experience negative sexual memories or unwanted touch of some kind in the past. Even if sexual abuse or sexual trauma took place years ago, current sexual experiences may re-trigger these negative memories. As well, the body keeps the score. So, when you touch your partner’s body, they may feel anxious as if the unwanted touch is occurring all over again. Also, couples therapy helps couples start talking about trauma symptoms. Talking about past sexual trauma can help you and your partner feel safe emotionally together moving forward in your current sexual experiences.
Healing from sexual trauma
Self pleasure and mastrobation are steps your sex and intimacy therapist may recommend when it comes to healing trauma. Notably, sexual trauma takes away a person’s agency and power. So, part of healing from sexual trauma is giving that sense of choice, voice, and power back. If you have a history of sexual trauma or sexual abuse, touching yourself can restore emotional safety. Communicating with your romantic partner about when you feel trauma triggers arising is key too. Couples therapy also teaches survivors of trauma to go slow and take their time. Instead of sex becoming an anxious experience, sexual trauma counseling helps survivors change their meaning of sex. From sex and intimacy therapy, survivors of sexual trauma can use sex as a relaxation. A survivor of sexual trauma knows they can ask their partner to stop touching them or pause anytime. Overall, healing from sexual trauma means setting boundaries, talking about trauma triggers, and building sexual safety.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Improving communication
When couples come in for sex and marriage counseling, there are many issues that your marriage therapist will take into consideration when helping you. There may be elements that correspond to emotional safety and relationship interactions. If you and your partner call each other names and fights and put each other down, this can impact your sex life. Criticism, anger, and yelling never lead to a happy or healthy sex life. To make positive changes in your sex life, learning healthier communication skills will be important in intimacy and couples therapy. Learning how to talk to each other in a gentle and calm way is essential for a passionate sex life. Even when upset or angry, couples can learn to talk gently, which are key parts of healthy communication.
Sex and intimacy therapy can treat erectile dysfunction
If you struggle with erectile dysfunction, there are many issues that could be causing this. There are emotional and physical components to sexual dysfunctions like erectile dysfunction. Being on an antidepressant or an SSRI medication can impact erectile dysfunction and sexual dysfunctions. Not being able to get an erection or maintain an erection could be signs you’re struggling with erectile dysfunction. As a holistic group of marriage and family therapists, we look at your mind, emotions, body, and spirit. Eating a variety of nutritious foods can also play a role in sexual dysfunction treatment. Your therapist will also provide sexual activities for homework to try such as the stop, start, squeeze technique for erectile dysfunction. The stop, start, squeeze technique can help a man who has erectile dysfunction train their penis to remain erect for longer and longer.
When a female experiences difficult getting sexually aroused and orgasming, reach out for intimacy counseling today.
Females may experience difficulty achieving an orgasm, which is a sexual dysfunction. Foreplay is often too short. So, sexual education is a part of sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling. Many times, females do not receive long enough foreplay to be able to physically orgasm. The female brain takes 45 to 90 minutes in order to reach an orgasm. Females are wired differently than males, so they may struggle with more challenges reaching and achieving an orgasm. If you are a female, and you struggle to orgasm, you are not alone. Your sex and intimacy therapist in Connecticut can talk with you about what supports mindful orgasms. An orgasm can feel very far away if you are chasing it.
There are multiple factors can lead to anorgasmia in females.
To note, conflict, relationship stress, and emotional burdens can lead to struggles or orgasm, or anorgasmia. As well, betrayals, trust issues, and secret keeping lead to anorgasmia and intimacy issues. Cultural shame and guilt can cause an inability to reach an orgasm. Anxiety about getting to an orgasm can prevent an orgasm. Essentially, a hyper focus on needing to orgasm can make it virtually impossible to orgasm. At times, if a female feels anxiety or pressure to orgasm to please her partner’s ego, this can contribute to anorgasmia. Also, physical or medical conditions, and certain medications like SSRI’s and antidepressants can lead to anorgasmia. At times, a female may choose to work with her prescriber to come off medications or reduce the dose to treat anorgasmia. Treatments in sex counseling can include education about sexual stimulation. Learning about clitoral stimulation can be positive for many females and their sexual partners. Sex toys and lubricants can also treat anorgasmia.
Your sex and intimacy therapist will give you different techniques to touch your body mindfully and allow your mind to be present and open.
For females, a difficulty achieving in maintaining sexual desire can be related to physical and emotional aspects. If there has been a relationship betrayal, achieving an orgasm can feel much more challenging due to the lack of trust. Couples therapy in Southeastern Connecticut at Wisdom Within Counseling can help couples rebuild trust. From there, couples can gain sexual education to increase the physical length of foreplay. A partner can assist a female through touch to help a woman achieve an orgasm. Women who work with a sex intimacy therapist can learn and train their body and mind to orgasm. An orgasm can be a positive, pleasurable, sexually empowering experience. And, from one orgasm, women can often work to achieve multiple orgasms.
Female sexual pleasure is a huge topic in sex and intimacy therapy.
Your sex and marriage therapist that Wisdom Within counseling is trained to talk with you about orgasm challenges. Females and their intimate partner can learn how to experience pleasurable, massive orgasms. You can talk about how to have and experience multiple orgasms too.
Painful intercourse is a reasons to start in sex and intimacy counseling
Additionally, if you are experiencing pain during intercourse or a sex, this is a great reason to work with a sex intimacy therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Sexual intercourse should not be painful. To note, there are a variety of reasons why pain during sexual intercourse and penetration occurs.
A sex and intimacy therapist can understand different issues you are struggling with sexually and give you techniques to have more pleasurable sexual experiences.
Sex intimacy therapy help women who have pain during vaginal penetration and sexual intercourse.
Throughout the entire lifespan, a female may experience different sensations during vaginal intercourse. Some women come to sex therapy because they are experiencing painful intercourse. There may be friction or dryness when a penis penetrates a female’s vulva and vaginal area. Your sex therapist can talk about different aspects that can make sex less painful and much more pleasurable. Sex should never be painful.
If sexual activities are painful, working with a sex and intimacy therapist can help you incorporate pleasure.
Vaginal wetness, lubricants, sex toys, and the type of sexual stimuli can all help sex be less painful and more pleasurable. Your sex and intimacy counselor will encourage you to talk and communicate with your partner. Some women tend to stay quiet and not communicate they are experiencing pain during sex. Instead of not talking about when sex becomes painful, females can have a voice in their sexual experiences. Sometimes, women feel they have to grind their teeth and bear it rather than having a voice sexually. Increasing foreplay can also be one of the techniques to create more pleasurable sexual intercourse. A longer foreplay experience can increase natural vaginal lubrication. Also, intimacy and sex therapy supports proper sexual education around female pleasure. Notably, during 45-90 minutes of foreplay, women take part in sexual activities that prepare her body for penetration and vaginal intercourse.
Pregnancy, child birth, and menopause changes
As well, females may experience sexual changes before and after childbirth, pregnancy, as well as during menopause. Childbirth, pregnancy, and menopause lead to major changes in a female’s body. A woman or their partner may notice sex drive changes. As well, a female may have a higher or lower libido after these life transitions. To note, during pregnancy, after childbirth, and during menopause, a woman may notice her vaginal wetness and natural lubrication changes. Sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling in Southeastern Connecticut can encourage the use of lubricants. Lubricants and sex toys support a healthy sex life. Talking about silicone, oil base, and water-based lubricant can be parts of building sexual confidence.
When a male experiences premature ejaculation, that is a great reason to work with a sex and intimacy counselor
Premature ejaculation is a great reason to work with a sex intimacy therapist. You may find that you are ejaculating even before vaginal penetration occurs. Or, you are unable to stop yourself from orgasming prematurely. Men may feel inadequate sexually or have anxiety about sexual performance due to premature ejaculation. When a male struggles with premature ejaculation or ejaculation problems, sex and intimacy therapy can help. Different sex therapy homework activities can help a male reduce symptoms of premature ejaculation.
Premature ejaculation problems can lead to low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety about future sexual activities.
Working through the emotional and physical sides of premature ejaculation can help men build sexual confidence. Premature ejaculation can also lead a man’s partner to feel insecure about themselves. A partner may feel they are to blame for not being sexy enough. As well, a partner may feel disappointed and unsatisfied sexually due to premature ejaculation. Therefore, sex intimacy therapy gives couples the safe space to talk about premature ejaculation and the emotions that come along with it. Couples get to dedicate time and attention to healing sexual dysfunctions in counseling at Wisdom Within. Lastly, couples can talk about other emotional issues that cause problems in their sex life.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for sex and intimacy therapy in Southeastern Connecticut.
Talking about sexual fantasies can be a big part of counseling with a sex therapist and intimacy therapist.
Each person has sexual fantasies that turn them on and arouse them sexually. However, a person may find it challenging to transfer sexual fantasies from masturbation and self pleasure into a partner-based sexual experience. Some people can orgasm through masturbation and self pleasure easily. However, they have a difficult time when it comes to sexual experiences with a romantic partner. Having a good time in bed can be challenging at times.
Talking about sexual fantasies can be liberating and stress relieving. Sex and intimacy therapy allows partners to talk about what they need to feel sexually aroused and sexually pleased. For instance, one partner may want to be dominated sexually and take on a submissive role. For this person, a sexual fantasy may involve being told what to do. Another person may have a sexual fantasy that corresponds to making out somewhere in public or doing something else that spices things up.
Sexual fantasies can be different for each person and each couple.
Talking about sexual fantasies build sexual arousal and sexual desire. Another fantasy may include it licking chocolate body paint off of your partners genitals. You might want to incorporate whipped cream or food into a sexual experiences as a sexual fantasy. Another person’s sexual fantasy might mean asking their partner to tie them up or handcuff them to the bed. Being tied up can be a fantasy. Talking about sexual fantasies is consensual in sex and intimacy therapy. Using blindfold, foggers, whips, sex toys, or bondage can be part of talking about sexual fantasies.
Sexual fantasies can correspond to different environments and locations.
Taking your sex life outside of your bed and bedroom can even be a sexual fantasy. For instance, having sexual activities take place in your kitchen or in your backyard in nature can be part of sex and intimacy therapy. Going to a hotel or new location all together to have sex can be sex therapy homework. Improving your sex life can lower anxiety long term. Talking about sexual challenges many couples avoid can help partners overcome depression. Having a healthy, passionate, meaningful sex life can be a stress reliever in life. Couples who have a healthy and satisfying sex life prioritize time to talk about building a healthy sex life. Sex and intimacy counseling at Wisdom Within can be your safe space to create an amazing sex life.
Online and in person in Niantic, Connecticut we help couples in neighboring towns.
In other Connecticut towns, we offer video counseling in Connecticut to families in Portland, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Milford, Kent, Bloomfield, East Hampton, Southington, Haddam, Litchfield, Simsbury, Fairfield, Cobalt, Marlborough, Cromwell, Canton, Avon, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Clinton, Wethersfield, Middlebury, Rye, New Canaan, Cheshire, Waterbury, Guilford, Chester, Deep River, Moodus, Durham, and Middletown, Connecticut. We help families in Connecticut in Bozrah, Waterford, Old Lyme, Ivoryton, Griswold, Darien, Centerbrook, Westbrook, Essex, East Lyme, Newington, Shelton, South Windsor, Granby, Franklin, Branford, Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, Suffield, Lisbon, Montville, Bristol, Stratford, Hartland, Glastonbury, Colchester, East Haddam, Hadlyme, Hamburg, Enfield, Old Saybrook, Riverside, Westport, Ridgefield, and Madison, Connecticut. As well, we help couples and families in Milford, Connecticut in Forest Heights, Fort Trumbull, Baldwins Crossing, Silver Beach, Naugatuck Gardens, Bayview, Oronoque, Johnsons Corner, Connecticut.
Improve your relationship by working with a sex and intimacy therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling
Some couples need professional sex therapy help to gain proper sex education. Also, many couples need help learning how to incorporate a longer foreplay. In general, sex and intimacy therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling helps couples get more playful as sexual partners. Expressing yourself and getting in touch with your sexuality are great benefits of sex and intimacy therapy. You might want to talk about current sexual experiences and problems are facing. As well, talking about past sexual trauma or a history of sexual abuse can be a part of intimacy therapy. At Wisdom Within Counseling, you can talk about future sexual needs such as where on your body you want your partner to touch. Couples need a safe place to practice exercising new sexual skills, and getting to know what each other need sexually to feel satisfied.
