You assume that a sex therapist is a professional whom you should contact only when your bedroom is in distress. But this is far from correct. You need a sex therapist throughout your life. It doesn’t matter whether you are planning to begin a liaison, or you are already in a long monogamous relationship. The wide range of issues affecting relationships means that sex therapists are also varied, each specializing in a specific role. But how do you know which one to select? Below are the five tips for choosing the best sex therapist for you and your partner.
- Read up the therapist’s credentials online
When choosing a sex therapist for your partner and you, one of the very first things you can do is to look up a therapist online.
In this way, you can easily read up their credentials at the comfort of your home without breaking a sweat going out.
You don’t have to fear missing out, because after all, good sex therapists will always have an online presence.
You can try to look up a list of sex therapists by going to the official website of a reputable hospital that you like, or you can simply make a quick Google search for a sex therapist in your area.
In an article featured on the Choosing Therapy blog, it is explained that therapist credentials often serve as indicators of their educational background and certification or licensure. The presence of a series of letters after a therapist’s name signifies that they possess more than just general mental health advice to offer, but rather they are legitimate mental health professionals with the expertise and knowledge necessary to provide effective assistance. These credentials demonstrate their qualifications and highlight their ability to offer proper guidance and support.
Read up carefully their reputation, and experience.
Better yet, if it is already clear what their fees are per session, you can also consider the financial aspect of the treatment to include in your long-term therapy plans.
- Consider what results you expect from the therapy
Not all sex therapists are the same. Some of them simply have different specialities and some of them simply work with different things in a couple’s relationship.
Meanwhile, some sex therapists are better at couple counselling and some others are better at assisting an individual in overcoming his or her own issues with how he or she perceives sex.
So, when taking all of this into consideration, you need to be clear first about what kinds of result you want to get from sex therapy.
Sometimes, people don’t even know their own issues, so they can’t figure out what kind of treatment is best for them.
But if you at least know what kinds of result you are expecting from getting treatment, then you can communicate more things to your therapist or hospital before you even dedicate yourself to a particular treatment plan.
- Know that sex therapy does not include a sexual performance
In essence, sex therapy is just a counselling session; just like other types of therapy. With that said, sex therapy does not include any sexual performance. This is therapy, not prostitution.
As outlined in an article published on the Cleveland Clinic website, it is important to note that sex therapy sessions adhere to strict guidelines that prohibit any physical contact or sexual activity between the client and therapist. Maintaining professional boundaries is paramount in this therapeutic approach. In the event that you feel uncomfortable or uneasy during therapy, it is crucial to openly communicate your concerns with the therapist directly. If necessary, you may consider discontinuing the sessions and, if warranted, filing a complaint to ensure appropriate resolution.
So, you need to know that no sex therapy should ever involve any sexual performance, whether that performance is simply touching and the like.
A therapist should not have any physical contact with his or her client in a sexual way, no matter what. That’s just the rules, you know.
With that said, if you met with a sex therapist that suggests the two of you do something together to ‘help’ you overcome your sexual issues, you need to be alerted and suspicious.
Something is fishy and this could borderline be sexual harassment. If this kind of action or suggestion makes you feel highly uncomfortable, you need to stop your therapy and find another therapist.
- Look for a clear treatment plan
When looking up sex therapist credentials, if you can, try to find a treatment plan that may give you a good glimpse into your possible experience with the treatment.
Usually, if you are reading up therapist credentials on their own official website this kind of information may be available.
Even though you are just a common person, it should be ideal to know as much as possible about various treatment plans so you can make adjustments to your daily life.
These adjustments may include financial adjustments, schedule (and other appointments) adjustments, as well as medication adjustments.
The last aspect needs to be considered seriously because you can’t help it that your sexual issues may need the assistance of some medication.
As discussed on the Positive Psychology blog, treatment plans play a vital role in guiding the therapeutic process for both therapists and clients. By outlining a structured approach to treatment, these plans serve as safeguards against fraud, waste, abuse, and any inadvertent harm that may arise during the therapeutic journey. Moreover, treatment plans offer a valuable documentation of all services provided, enabling streamlined and accurate billing procedures.
If you aren’t used to this, or if you are already under many forms of medication, this is something that you want to decide if you can really take.
- Talk with your partner at all times
In deciding to choose a sex therapist, it would do you well to always communicate any new ideas you have with your partner.
In some cases, sex therapy may need to be done together with a patient’s partner.
It takes two to tango, after all. So, since your partner will also be an important part of your therapy, you need to always be in communication with them so they also know what is coming up for them.
Unless you do this, your therapy may not as effective as it should be.
Also, it would do you well to know that your partner is in full support of your treatment.
So, always communicate and discuss the best options together so you have an improved bond in order to overcome your sexual issues together.
Make sure that the scheduling aspect of the treatment matches both of your busy lives.
Bonus Tips Submitted By Viewers
- Assess why you need a sex therapist
Sex therapy is a wide, windy, and unregulated field. The profession involves everything from libido to sex abuse and anything in between.
And so you must know why you are looking for such a service in the first place. To get this right, you must know what is causing you sexual distress.
Is your problem about erectile dysfunction or stress issues? The expert you are looking for should check in queries you need attending to.
The right expert should answer why you need the expertise, why now, and what other remedies are available besides talking to a sex therapist.
Once you have known the exact extent of the challenges you are facing, you can now locate the right expert.
But in selecting the right one, you should also know how the treatment is going to affect your daily schedule. The ideal sex therapist must be easily accessible either physically or online, for the talk session.
- Research widely during your selection process
Finding the right therapist is a slow and long process. But you should get it right the first time, than settle for the wrong expert.
This means that you have to follow the right process. These are many. You can get renowned sex therapists through their professional association, and through referrals from friends, neighbors, and other professionals.
Still, you can do your search via the internet to arrive at the right one. Referrals are better since trusted colleagues have already interacted with such experts.
But the issues that took your friends to such sex therapists may be unrelated to yours. Their selection, thus may not have the right expertise to resolve your unique sex health problem.
Yet, picking an expert from a search engine would require that you do a little more digging to evaluate their credentials and ethical standards.
The best method is to shortlist two or three therapists and then visit them to asses who each would handle your issues before you choose one.
