Psychosexual Therapy an Introduction and How It Could Work For You

If you feel your sex life could be the reason why you’re not feeling great about yourself, or vice versa, psychosexual therapy can help.

It is often assumed that these issues are purely physical, but that’s not the case. Psychological and physical reasons for sexual issues are mostly intertwined.

For example, if you’re feeling stressed at work, or you’re feeling less desirable following an illness, you may start to feel depressed, or you distance yourself from your partner and hinder the communication between you. These factors in turn can decrease libido and put a strain on your relationship.

There’s a cyclical effect between the physical and the psychological, which is exactly why psychosexual therapy can be so helpful.

What is Psychosexual Therapy?

Psychosexual therapy involves discussing issues about your sex life and exploring that connections between the psychological and the physiological. The idea is to leverage that connection between the two systems so that each one nurtures the other. It’s about being able to repair and refuel your intimate life.

How does it work?

You can attend psychosexual therapy sessions  in person or online, alone or with your partner, and the topics you can discuss are not confined to your sex life.

This might sound counter-intuitive, but there’s a good reason for this. Other things that are going on in your life, be it family issues, illness, work, ageing, or pregnancy can affect how you feel about yourself, your partner(s), and sex.

For this very reason, psychosexual therapy is a space where you can discuss anything that’s on your mind. Every good therapist will recognise, that anything that’s in your mind, however minor it may seem, could be affecting your sex life.

It may be that you feel it makes sense to attend with your partner. In many relationships, communication issues often result in a loss of libido, for both men and women. Psychosexual therapy is a great opportunity for you and your partner to discuss things that have hindered your communication, and work on finding a solution.

Issues That May be Worth Discussing

Remember, you don’t need to attend a psychosexual therapy session ready to talk about the cause of your problems. You might think that you wouldn’t know what to talk about since you’re not even sure what the cause of the problem is. Since you don’t know what caused it, you might think you have nothing to talk about.

That’s exactly what psychosexual therapy is for. The aim is to uncover the cause and find a solution that works for you. That’s why no topic is off bounds. Your story is unique; it could date back as far as your childhood, be infused by your religious beliefs or something more recent that may have triggered a difficulty. Therefore, a few topics you may want to talk about include:

• Your ideas and beliefs about sex, gender and your body
• Previous sexual experiences
• Childhood
• Questions you have about sex and relationships
• Issues in your previous or existing relationship(s)
• Any worries and anxiety
• Depression
• Infidelity
• Sexual performance and sexual function

These sessions are a safe environment for you to express and explore your concerns, towards finding a resolve.

Our counsellors at the Leone Centre are all members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

To learn more about our range of services, and perspective, visit our blog, and get in touch. 

Cristina Vrech

Co-founder and director of Leone Centre, 20+ years of experience in supporting people, and offering valuable knowledge through Couples Counselling and Individual Counselling. Before becoming a therapist, I worked in the financial sector.

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